The BBC is axing Watchdog after 40 years - here’s why

By Claire Schofield
Published 24th Feb 2020, 10:46 BST
Updated 24th Feb 2020, 10:54 BST
The fan favourite is to be axed as a standalone show after 40 years (Photo: BBC)The fan favourite is to be axed as a standalone show after 40 years (Photo: BBC)
The fan favourite is to be axed as a standalone show after 40 years (Photo: BBC)

The BBC will stop broadcasting Watchdog as a standalone programme after 40 years on air, with the show to become a segment on The One Show instead.

The TV fan favourite, which held businesses to account and aimed to protect consumer rights, had good viewing figures and produced more than 1,000 episodes over its 41 series.

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Making cuts

Despite being a hit with viewers, the programme is to lose its current one hour format and instead be merged into a shorter segment on The One Show.

A TV source told The Sun, “The BBC is being forced to make cuts and unfortunately the bosses have decided they cannot justify keeping Watchdog as a full series, twice a year.

“This doesn’t seem to make much sense given that Watchdog still pulls in good figures and is performing a public service.

"Taking it from full one-hour episodes in a proper series to just a segment on a magazine show will infuriate a lot of people.

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