History
Watchdog was first shown in 1980 as a weekly slot on BBC1's news magazine programme Nationwide. Hugh Scully, best known for presenting the Antiques Roadshow, was the original host. Nationwide ended in 1983, but Watchdog continued with its successor, Sixty Minutes. Sixty Minutes lasted only nine months, and Scully left the programme at the end of the 1984 series.
Watchdog returned in 1985 as a stand-alone weekly evening programme, presented by Nick Ross with Lynn Faulds Wood, then the consumer expert with the BBC breakfast programme, Breakfast Time. Ross was replaced in 1986 by Faulds Wood's husband, John Stapleton, as Watchdog became a daily morning programme in 1987. The new husband and wife team was the first married team of presenters on UK television, beating Richard and Judy by two years. They made the show even more forceful, investigating big businesses and conducting more investigative journalism, and it quickly returned to a weekly evening slot.
When the 1993 series was taken over by Anne Robinson, Watchdog shifted focus slightly. Previously, it had been primarily investigating safety issues and those related to children, but it now began looking into issues that would affect a wider audience. Robinson was teamed with Simon Walton and Alice Beer, an assistant producer who was brought on as a link person between the consumers (on the phone in earlier years and e-mail in later years) and the main presenter. Beer left in 1999 and was replaced by Charlotte Hudson. Robinson followed in 2001 when she went on to front the British and American versions of The Weakest Link, to be replaced by Nicky Campbell and Kate Sanderson. In 2005, the presenters were Campbell and Julia Bradbury, with assistance from Paul Heiney and Saima Mohsin. Nick Lawrence replaced Saima Mohsin as reporter in 2005.
Julia Bradbury briefly departed the programme on 16 February 2009, returning on 20 April 2009. During her absence, she was replaced by Anita Rani. Rani continued as a reporter with the programme in replace of Saima Mohsin.
On 10 May 2009, a plan to relaunch Watchdog was announced. The new series began on 10 September 2009, with presenters Nicky Campbell and Julia Bradbury replaced by returning host Anne Robinson, Anita Rani, and Matt Allwright, whose show Rogue Traders is incorporated into the new programme. In 2010, Rani left the programme and was replaced by Chris Hollins.
On 30 October 2012, it was announced that a new daytime series would launch on Monday 12 November 2012 on BBC One. Watchdog Daily will run every weekday morning at 11:00am for 4 weeks.
Read more about this topic: Watchdog (TV series)
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