Opinion: British television desperately needs some new ideas

I write this as within 24 hours ITV has announced it’s bringing back the 1990s challenge show You Bet!, while the BBC has just announced a Gladiators Christmas special. Come on folks where are the big new entertainment hits?

The UK TV entertainment cycle is just looking tired and needs fresh ideas. The upcoming autumn/winter line-up feels like Groundhog Day. Strictly Come Dancing 2024 is on its way and it will be celebrating its 20th anniversary! I’m A Celebrity is also coming back and that’s been on even longer! I’m A Celeb has now been on our screens since 2002! Then come early January Dancing on Ice will likely return having been on our screens since 2006.

There’s nothing wrong with old favourites but it gets to the point where television needs new ideas to keep it fresh and entertaining. If the old shows aren’t cleared out every so often there’s no space for new great shows. Do we really want to be watching Strictly, Dancing on Ice and I’m A Celeb for another 20 years? 

It’s obviously safer for television just to stick to tried and tested ideas but with that attitude, nothing would ever change. It’s great to watch something new and bold. There must be inventive people with great ideas for TV shows which are getting blocked by the fact British television doesn’t appear to want to take any risks.

ITV couldn’t resist bringing Big Brother back. When Big Brother launched in 2000 by Channel 4 it was truly revolutionary. People were excited and talking about it. That’s why it made our Top 100 TV shows of all time list. More than two decades on it’s impossible for it now to have that level of excitement for it. As an avid TV watcher that’s what I want from television: to be excited and entertained. That’s part of the reason Squid Game was such a success on Netflix. It was bold, different, and new. 

It’s always tempting to go back to classic TV shows but television must go forward. It must innovate otherwise it risks losing its audience. 

ITV achieved some of that excitement when they launched The Masked Singer, which felt fresh and fun when it began in 2020. But wind forward and if it’s still on the air in 10 years time it will no longer feel exciting. 

Please, please, please can we have some big bold new entertainment shows that will have everyone talking?  Let’s make British TV the envy of the world again.