BULLDOGS AWARDS 2008
CHANNEL OF THE YEAR
BBC2

Winner

BBC2

The only terrestrial channel to see its primetime share increase in the face of stiff multi-channel competition, Roly Keating’s BBC2 proved there’s life yet in many of its longest running formats even though some of them end up being nicked by BBC1. The channel, accused at times of ‘dumbing down’ while some of the more difficult fare it used to carry is pushed on to BBC4, has proved to be a broad church that can carry massively popular factual entertainment like Top Gear and MasterChef as well as the seriously blue chip with the compelling Andrew Marr’s A History of Modern Britain and Iain Stewart’s Earth: The Power of the Planet being stand out hits of the last year. There’s great comedy too like Never Mind the Buzzcocks and QI and event natural history series like Springwatch and Autumnwatch through to dramas like Stephen Poliakoff’s recent Capturing Mary and Stuart: A Life Backwards.

RUNNERS UP
Channel 4

2nd

Channel 4

Channel 4’s 25th anniversary year kicked off in disastrous fashion with the damaging Celebrity Big Brother race row, followed swiftly by the Richard and Judy You Say We Pay phone-in scandal. Amongst the problems, however, there were some programme-making gems such as Molly Dineen’s The Lie of the Land, Keo Films’ Meet the Natives, comedy The IT Crowd and drama Boy A. And a beefed up Dispatches proved to be on fine form - particularly in its foreign reports from Iraq and Afghanistan.

BBC1

3rd

BBC1

2007 was not a happy year for BBC1, which lost its highly regarded controller Peter Fincham in the wake of the Crowngate affair. But he left behind a channel in good health. Family friendly shows like Strictly Come Dancing, Robin Hood and Doctor Who won audiences. He also rounded out the channel, investing in comedy like Not Going Out, brought Panorama back to primetime, launched The One Show and reaped success with glossy, modern dramas - plus of course classics like Cranford.