While we start to settle down for winter, with our TV guides delivered via Magazines Direct and our onesies and prepare for a cosy season of great telly, it’s a good time to reflect on some of the most iconic moments in UK TV – because there are quite a few to reminisce on!
Here are ten of our favourites; how many do you remember?
1. #bingate
No Great British Bake Off episode has been received with such uproar and anger as the 2014 Baked Alaska tragedy, which was caused by someone taking Iain Watter’s creation out of the freezer prematurely. Iain threw a wobbly and his hope of winning the competition in the bin and was booted off the show by Berry and Hollywood. Twitter went wild accusing another contestant, Diana, of causing the mishap.
2. ‘You aint my mother!’ – ‘Yes I am!’
Who could forget this iconic EastEnders scene, featuring Kat and Zoe Slater having it out only for it to be revealed that Kat is Zoe’s Mum and not her sister, leaving the nation reeling from shock? A typically hard-hitting EastEnders storyline, Kat had been sexually assaulted by Harry at the age of 13, become pregnant and then her parents brought Zoe up as their own.
3. Will Young’s Pop Idol win
You thought hedgehog haired Gareth had it in the bag didn’t you? Well, cheeky grinned Will was secretly the nation’s favourite and actually went on to create some great tunes – unlike some winners of these singing reality shows *cough Leon Jackson.*
4. The moment when Susan Boyle shocked the nation
When Susan walked on stage each and every one of us more than likely had a mean thought about her ability to sing. No matter how you try to word it, Susan looked like that strange lady you avoided at the bus stop and after peculiarly gyrating at Simon on stage you probably assumed she usually sat at home with 20 cats perched on her sofa watching Coronation Street. But it’s definitely an iconic UK TV moment that also taught us all to stop being so judgmental.
5. Katie Price and Peter Andre getting together on I’m a Celebrity
While it only lasted four years and there is a bitter legal battle ongoing as we write this, you can’t deny that Katie Price and Peter Andre’s developing relationship in the Australian jungle wasn’t fun to watch. There was flirting from the start that blossomed into a full blown romance, a Barbie style wedding dress, two children and a duet we will never forget of the classic Disney song ‘A Whole New World’. Thank you Ant and Dec, thank you for this beautiful memory.
6. Catherine Tate’s catchphrase
The bane of teachers and parents everywhere, Tate’s schoolgirl in her sketch show loved to say ‘am I bovvered?’ regularly, to wind people up who argued with her. Cue everyone using the phrase to emphasise their indifference in an argument forever more.
7. When we received 0 points on Eurovision
Yes, that’s right, in 2003 our UK act didn’t pick up a single point in the competition – the first time in the show’s history and thankfully it hasn’t happened again since. Now, we know we shouldn’t expect high marks when it comes to Eurovision but to not receive a single point just goes to show how terrible Jemini our act was.
With a cringe worthy rendition of their song ‘Cry Baby’, they later claimed that there were issues affecting their performance, with one of the duo stating that: “the hall it was held in wasn’t a music stadium, it was a sports hall, so it wasn’t somewhere which usually holds concerts.” He also said, “The monitors weren’t working, Gemma couldn’t hear herself, so she was out of tune.” We’re not so sure everyone agrees with those excuses.
8. Who shot Calvin?
Soaps love a good old fashioned ‘whodunit’ and Hollyoaks is no stranger to the concept. When Calvin Valentine was shot on his wedding day viewers found out who pulled the trigger six months later in a special episode – dammit, Theresa!
9. ‘Who is she?’
Who could forget Nikki Grahame’s famous outbreak on Big Brother, back in 2006, as she screamed ‘who is she?’ at the camera after a spat with Susie Verrico? So who is Susie Verrico? Well, she’s apparently a model and actress but she actually won her place in the house via a competition by apparently purchasing 60 boxes of Kit Kats.
10. Sherlock’s death
Watching Cumberbatch fall from that building was one of the most shocking moments on TV in 2012 but it was later revealed that it was a ploy to trick everyone into thinking he’d died. While many of us are still a little confused with how he faked his own death (there were prosthetic face masks and swapped bodies and a safety harness – possibly…) it’s still an iconic moment on our UK telly sets.
[This is a promotional feature.]