"No repeats" on BBC1/2- is that what we want?

Michael Grade has pledged that, funding permitted, he wants BBC1 and BBC2 to be repeat free channels within 10 years - but will this really benefit viewers.


Yes, currently there are far too many repeats on the BBC - but the biggest problem IMO isn't the fact programmes are repeated, it's the quality of repeats.

Using Only Fools and Horses to plug any gap in the schedule is nothing more than lazy scheduling, while other more modern repeated programmes are generally second-rate documentaries such as Airport.


However, IMO there is room for repeats of the flagship quality programmes the BBC should be proud of, such as their flagship dramas and comedy.

And what about the cost - the boss of C4 said recently that in today's world it is ludicrous to make a programme only to be aired once. This wouldn't be offering viewers value for money - though of course we don't want programmes repeated endlessly.


Maybe limiting the number of showings of a programme is a good idea. I'd suggest two repeats of a series - one showing the last series ahead of a new series and the second reshowing a whole series once it has finished.


I think this "repeat" pledge is just a poor headline grabbing sweetner which wouldn't deal with the real issues the BBC faces.

And what does repeat mean? Not screening a film more than once, not showing the EastEnders omnibus, not screening Neighbours twice a day. New programmes daily for CBBC and CBeebies, as well as daytime along with primetime.


It's not even feasible - and it's hardly fair to the independent sector to give the BBC more of our money to do something they can't (though to be fair, ITV's schedule is far more repeat free) - and ask the licence payer to pay out even more for a new initiative they would probably rather do without.

yeah I'd prefer to see the more obscure things such as old Horizons repeated instead of OFAH all the time. Perhaps the old ninetees sitcoms too in the post-newsnight red dwarf repeat slot.

Personally i think the best thing they could do is pledge to never show repeats in prime time slots. I'm fine with repeats in late night and early evening slots. Infact i would welcome classic sitcom/tv show repeats in those slots because it is sometimes nice to watch old shows. But having OFAH in a prime-time slot nowadays is unacceptable.

I really don't think that Michael Grade could seriously deliver on his promise of NEVER showing repeats. I really can't see that as possible.

I agree. Repeats should be seriously avoided in primetime slots all though I think that instead of the usual evening Neighbours repeat (17.35), another programme should be repeated instead maybe cutting CBBC down by 5mins to 17.30 so that way a halfhour programme can be shown.

Sometimes repeats can be very useful. Many times in the past I've not watched a series first time round, but after everyone's said how good it was, I've been able to enjoy it when repeated.

I wonder if he hopes to change the rules to allow more repeats on BBC Three and Four - or will we have to wait until programmes get onto UKTV Gold before seeing them repeated?

I think BBC2 should seriously consider cutting down their CBBC/CBeebies schedule. It has been taking over BBC2's morning schedule for far too long. I mean is there really a need to show repeats of CBBC programmes from 6am until 11am every morning? Cheap scheduling definatley me thinks

I agree completely.

What annoys me is that in the past year, the Katherine Tate Show and I Am Not An Animal - amongst several others - have only been shown once as a complete series, yet the BBC3 comedies have been repeated ad nauseam.

Others such as the stupidly scheduled last series of "Would Like to Meet" could do with another outing too.

As the possibility of downloading programmes on request becomes commonplace though, the main channels showing "new content" only could be more feasible I suppose.

I can't see BBC1 & BBC2 offering fresh new programmes day in and day out. Will there be a dedicated "Repeats" channel for output over the last few months. Or will they appear on UKTV a few months down the line.

Talking of which I think that UKTV Gold needs to be on Freeview (for free and not on TUTV) and should show a mix of both classic and new comedy and drama instead of the constant turn around of the same TV shows. Maybe it could become a showcase channel for UKTV Drama, UKTV G2 and decidated Comedy channel?

Talking of Only Fools, the episode last Saturday when Del and Rodney go to the Opera was one I've never seen I don't think.

What I want to know is what happened to Dads Army?

I think (like Brekkie Boy) that its the fact they keep repeating the same type of programmes all the time like OFAH and My Family. We need a variety of repeats as a compromise at least.

I've seen it, but unfortunatly, this showing, and the DVD release has been edited down by nearly 20 minutes, and has a laugh track added (which isn't in the original version).

The problem isn't repeats it's repeats of repeats!! They've shown the Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em Christmas specials three years in a row on BBC2. And they have done the same with Porridge. If they showed a few more episodes of Sykes and The Goodies once in awhile I wouldn't complain!!

I don't think the answer is to banish repeats - it would be a huge drain on resources to try and make every bit of prerecorded programming brand new, and a huge waste of those resources to then permanently exclude it from being shown on mainstream channels again.

It would also disservice future generations by never repeating anything - the decision to rerun Fawlty Towers in primetime on BBC1 over the summer of 1995 was possibly the best thing the BBC have done with that series (except for comissioning it in the first place of course). It introduced the programme to a new generation who had never seen it before and who would in all likelihood never have chosen to watch it were it only ever on UK Gold.

What does need to be banished from BBC1 and 2 however is the repeat culture that is prevelant on them. Repeats are no longer carefully selected examples of the best of the BBC's past, delivered to show people what they had missed, nor are they even just convenience catchups of modern programmes, instead they are increasingly just fillers to kill a few spare slots in the schedule waiting for another series to start after one has ended. And they are fillers from an ever dwindling selection of cliched and overrun programmes. It's pretty much got to the stage now when a half hour timeslot will be filled with Dad's Army, an irregularly sized timeslot will be filled with OFAH (with there being episodes of seemingly every length in that series).

This attitude of 'we've got a spare slot on a Wednesday at 8:30 PM on BBC2 for the next 5 weeks so we're going to chuck on a few episodes of Dad's Army' needs to end. It shows a complete disinterest in scheduling, and a complete lack of respect for the programme being used as a filler.

Scheduling repeats over newly comissioned shows is not necessarily a bad thing, but where it is done it must be done with consideration and for a purpose - not just as a means of plugging a hole.

Things did used to be done this way - until the 80's most programmes would be designed for an initial airing and a single repeat within the next year. Further repeats were generally only undertaken if it was genuinely felt that the programming in question needed to be shown again. The 1995 rerun of Fawlty Towers I mentioned above was I believed only the 2nd time EVER that the series had been repeated on BBC Television (although it's probably been shown about 10 times since then).

Bringing back a similar ethos is the way the channel needs to go. But in the short term, even the present heavy level of repeats on BBC1/2 could be greatly improved if only the schedulers would delive a bit deeper into the archives. 'Factual programme' does not have to mean Airline. 'Classic sitcom' does not have to mean Dad's Army.