Watchdog (TV programme)

Watchdog was first shown on 8 September 1980, as a pre-recorded weekly feature for BBC1's news magazine programme Nationwide,[4] with Hugh Scully, best known for presenting the Antiques Roadshow, being its first host. After Nationwide ended in 1983, Scully continued hosting the feature on Sixty Minutes until the show's final episode in 1984. A year later, the BBC decided to make a stand-alone version of the feature, with its first episode aired on 14 July 1985. The programme's first series was aired weekly on Sunday evenings, and presented by Nick Ross and Lynn Faulds Wood.[5] The following year, the programme was rescheduled to become part of the BBC's new daytime service. It was broadcast each weekday for fifteen minutes at 8.40am, with Ross replaced by Faulds Wood's husband, John Stapleton. The programme's new schedule was considered by Michael Grade, the BBC1 Programme Controller in 1986, as helpful to defying the laws of "television gravity" by boosting viewer figures for the launch of BBC Daytime.[6] In autumn 1987, the BBC reverted the programme back to being a weekly programme on Sunday evenings, but with the addition of repeats being shown the following day during the daytime.

A year later, in 1988, the programme received another rescheduling that saw it broadcast on Mondays during both daytime and peak time slots, but with a significant change in focus on its format. Unlike previous years, Watchdog began to employ a more forceful approach in consumer investigations, including investigating big businesses and conducting more investigative journalism. Changing their approach with their investigations led to the programme achieving many multimillion-pound product recalls by companies, the recovery of £19 million in overpaid fuel surcharges on package holidays, while also regularly featuring major name companies who had let down customers.[7] By January 1989, peak time audiences of the show averaged around 6 million, leading the BBC to drop daytime broadcasts as a direct result. Both Faulds Wood and Stapleton remained with the programme into the early 90s until the former was diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer; after she was treated and had recovered from the condition, both Faulds Wood and Stapleton left the programme, to conduct a series of journalistic investigations for ITV's World in Action.[8][9]

For the 1993 series, the BBC decided upon assigning Anne Robinson as the new host of Watchdog. This decision had a change in style brought about by Robinson's style of presenting, including her approach to interviews with notable figures from within the companies featured in investigations on the programme. For her first series, she was teamed up with Simon Walton and Alice Beer, the latter having been an assistant producer until she was brought on as a co-presenter, assigned with being a link between the consumers (on the phone in earlier years, and e-mail in later years) and the main presenter. Walton left after the first series, while Beer remained until 1999, whereupon she was replaced by Charlotte Hudson, who remained until 2001. Because of her workload requiring her to be present with hosting the British and American versions of The Weakest Link, Robinson also left the programme that same year. Following Robinson's departure, the BBC replaced her with Nicky Campbell as the programme's main presenter, with Paul Heiney joining a year later as a regular co-presenter of his team; additional co-presenters in the team were changed during Campbell's tenure, and included Ashley Blake, Saima Mohsin, Nick Lawrence, and Dan Penteado. Between 2001 and 2004, Campbell was joined by Kate Gerbeau as the other main presenter of the programme, while between 2005 and 2009, he was joined by Julia Bradbury, who was temporarily replaced during her last series in 2009 by Anita Rani between 6 February and 20 April;[10][11] Rani was retained as a reporter following this, taking the place of Mohsin.

On 10 May 2009, the BBC announced plans to relaunch the format for Watchdog, which included bringing back Anne Robinson to host the programme, and extending the length of episodes from thirty minutes to one hour.[12] In order to make this extension, the decision was made to incorporate the format of another consumer show, Rogue Traders, as a multi-part segment of the same name, with Matt Allwright becoming a part of the presenting team alongside Robinson and Anita Rani. His co-presenter, Dan Penteado, was retained, but worked mainly within the films for the new segment. The new series of Watchdog under this new format, began airing on 10 September 2009. In 2010, Rani left the programme, leading to her being replaced by Chris Hollins. In July 2012, Dan Penteado was sacked from the programme, after it was uncovered that he had fraudulently claimed £25,000 in benefits during his work as a co-presenter, to which he was later found guilty of benefit fraud at Bournemouth Magistrates' Court and jailed for 12 weeks.[13] On 12 November 2012, the BBC launched a daytime companion show, entitled Watchdog Daily, for weekday mornings, which ran for 4 weeks.[14][15] In March 2014, the BBC launched another daytime companion show called Watchdog Test House, which was presented by Sophie Raworth, with former host Faulds Wood assisting as a reporter.

On 10 September 2015, after having spent a total of 15 years presenting the programme, Robinson left the programme to focus on her commitments to assisting with the production of BBC's Britain's Spending Secrets.[16] Her departure led to Raworth replacing her as the new host, with Michelle Ackerley joining alongside her, Collins and Allright. On 22 June 2016, Hollins announced his decision to step down as co-host, whereupon after his departure, Allright was reassigned as one of the main presenters alongside Raworth, while Ackerly was demoted to being a co-presenter, with Nikki Fox and Steph McGovern being added to the lineup, with the show being moved to Dock10 studios, MediaCityUK. In 2017, Raworth and Ackerly left the programme, leading to McGovern joining Allright as a main presenter. The show was also given a more permanent studio at Dock10 for the 2017 series.

On 21 February 2020, the BBC announced that Watchdog will cease to be broadcast as a standalone series, but will be aired instead as a feature in The One Show. The segment on The One Show will be presented by Matt Allwright and Nikki Fox.[2]

Watchdog primarily consists of films involving journalistic investigations into consumer complaints, brought to the attention of the programme's research team by viewers and customers, in which the general basis of the investigation is to look into issues, concerns and complaints made about businesses and companies in regards to products/services offered, the quality of customer care, and other concerns/issues/problems that have arisen of late. Films usually consist of one or two major components - tests conducted by the research team, into various aspects such as quality, value for money, safety and hygiene, and so forth; and interviews with some of the consumers who contacted the programme, in regards to their experience with the company/business connected to the investigation that the interviewee had dealings with, what concerns and worries they have about a product/service they purchased and their overall general opinion of the business.

The film is usually presented to viewers by either one of Watchdog's current presenters, or a reporter for the programme, who gives out a general overlay of the matter being investigated, and conducts interviews with the consumers that were affected. Towards the end of the film, a response from the businesses/companies involved (if provided) is often given, which can include their views on the programme's findings, if any issues raised have been dealt with, and if the consumers featured on the programme have had their complaints dealt with. If the programme puts forward their findings to any regulatory bodies connected to the product/service offered, including Trading Standards, they will also read out a response from them, including any consumer advice regarding the issues featured in the film.

In some investigations, hidden cameras are used to record specific areas of the investigation, that are done in secret by the research team; an example of this is when researchers pose as customers, go to different branches of a business under investigation, and secretly record a conversation between themselves and a number of employees they randomly approach, mainly on answers given in regards to consumer inquires they make (i.e. "What is the cooling down period for returning an item if we aren't satisfied?"). In a number of investigations where multiple companies/businesses are being investigated on the same aspects under investigation, researchers will usually conduct secret testing on multiple branches used by each business/company being investigated, to which their findings in regards to concerns and/or failings on anything (such as hygiene, safety, and customer service for example), are revealed during the film, including a comparison between the branches visited and how they match up to findings made in the other branches.

In some cases, company representatives are invited to discuss the consumer problems that were investigated by Watchdog, although a number frequently turn down the offer. However, many companies use the opportunity to voice their own opinions and thoughts on the subject of the investigation, some of whom also take advantage of the situation to offer full apologies and refunds to affected customers. From the start of 2000, company interviewees invited to take part in the programme are commonly given advice by media advisers before they are filmed.

• Short Change – about consumer affairs aimed at children between 7-16-year-olds, originally presented by Zoë Ball, then Andi Peters, Tim Vincent, and up until 2003, Angellica Bell. It was then presented by Thalia Pellegrini, Rhodri Owen and Ortis Deley. Many complaints included problems with service, bad deals, and being generally ripped-off. Finished in 2005.
• Rogue Traders – undercover series examining con artists and cowboy workers
• Rogue Restaurants – spin-off series to Rogue Traders, examining restaurants

• Rogue Traders
• Points of View
• That's Life!
• Rip Off Britain
• Don't Get Done, Get Dom
• Short Change
• Crimewatch
• Marketplace
• Fair Go

• Watchdog on The One Show at BBC Online
• Watchdog Daily