This is a list of events that took place in 2015 related to British television.
Events January Date Event1BBC One airs the final ever episode of Miranda Hart's self-titled sitcom, Miranda. Overnight viewing figures suggest it was watched by an audience of 7.3 million.2Consolidated viewing figures reveal the comedy Mrs. Brown's Boys to have been the most watched programme on Christmas Day 2014, with an average audience of 9.69 million. However, viewing figures were lower than the previous year.3George Gallagher wins BBC One's Frank Sinatra: Our Way, a one-off show marking the 100th year of Sinatra's birth in which amateur performers provide their own interpretations of Ol' Blue Eyes classics.5The broadcasting regulator Ofcom clears EastEnders of breaching its regulations over a storyline involving the rape of Queen Victoria pub landlady Linda Carter (played by Kellie Bright).Waterloo Road returns for its final run, but is moved from its Wednesday evening primetime slot on BBC One to a Monday evening slot on BBC Three, where it airs at 8:00. It is then repeated on BBC One at 10:35.6Comedian and actor Stephen Fry confirms he is to marry his partner, Elliott Spender. The couple are married two weeks later at a register office in Norfolk.7The Top Gear Patagonia Special, which included the series' controversial trip to Argentina, was the most watched programme on BBC iPlayer over the festive period.It is confirmed that Gemma Atkinson will join Emmerdale as new character Carly Hope.8Prime Minister David Cameron says he will not take part in planned debates ahead of this year's general election unless the Green Party is included.Ofcom opens a consultation on whether any of the smaller political parties should be considered as major parties ahead of the election, a status that entitles them to be allocated at least two Party Election Broadcasts. The regulator says it is minded to consider the UK Independence Party as a major party, but not the Green Party. The process will finish in February, after which Ofcom will publish its findings.9It is reported that the BBC has submitted its news coverage of the police raid on a property belonging to Cliff Richard in July 2014 for best news story at the 2015 Royal Television Society journalism awards.10Former Baywatch actor Jeremy Jackson is removed from the fifteenth series of Celebrity Big Brother after he got drunk and pulled open fellow contestant Chloe Goodman's dressing gown the previous day. Jackson is subsequently given a police caution for common assault over the incident.Comedian Dara Ó Briain confirms he is stepping down as presenter of The Apprentice: You're Fired!. Jack Dee is confirmed as his replacement in September.Two weeks after receiving its British television premiere, Skyfall airs again on ITV as part of its Saturday night schedule.12BBC News reporter Tim Willcox issues an apology after making what he describes as a "poorly phrased" comment while talking to the daughter of a Holocaust survivor during a broadcast from the previous day's demonstrations in Paris to remember the 17 victims of the 2015 Île-de-France attacks. After the woman, who was marching with the crowd, had expressed her concern that the persecution of Jews was "back to the days of the 1930s in Europe", Willcox had replied "Many critics though of Israel's policy would suggest that the Palestinians suffer hugely at Jewish hands as well". Willcox says the question was "entirely unintentional".Former Coronation Street actor Ken Morley is removed from the fifteenth series of Celebrity Big Brother for using "unacceptable and offensive language" after Ofcom received 233 complaints about his behaviour. The decision was taken to remove him from the house after he called fellow contestant Alexander O'Neal a "negro".ITV confirms that it is to axe its 1940s crime drama Foyle's War, the second time the series has been cancelled.14Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage, the three respective leaders of Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the UK Independence Party, have written to prime minister and Conservative Party leader David Cameron to say that they will still take part in the planned pre-election televised debates even if he is not present. They will call for the various broadcasters holding the debates to include an empty podium, enabling Cameron to be included if he changes his mind. The issue is also the subject of a heated exchange between Miliband and Cameron at the day's session of Prime Minister's Questions.Comedian Al Murray confirms his intention to stand for the Thanet South constituency at the general election, where one of his fellow candidates will be UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage. Murray will stand as his character The Pub Landlord for the Free United Kingdom Party, a version of Farage's party.Ballet dancer and Strictly judge Darcey Bussell is announced as co-presenter and dance expert for the Grand Final of the inaugural BBC Young Dancer competition, which will be aired live from Sadler's Wells Theatre on BBC Two in May.15The CBBC programme Blue Peter launches a competition to select three of its viewers to become "CBBC Intelligence Officers" who will be given a tour of Thames House, the headquarters of MI5. The visit will be filmed, marking the first time television cameras will have been allowed inside the building.16A report from the House of Lords Communication Committee suggests there are "simply not enough" women in broadcasting and that more should be done to increase their number.Andy Wilman, the executive producer of Top Gear tells Broadcast magazine that the BBC has lost confidence in the programme following an "annus horribilis".BBC Three announces the cancellation of its supernatural drama, In the Flesh after two series.18Soul singer Alexander O'Neal becomes the third Celebrity Big Brother contestant to leave the series and was evicted via a public vote after walking out. He had previously been reprimanded for using homophobic language towards another housemate.Comedian Richard Blackwood will join the cast of EastEnders as a villain, it is announced, making his debut in February's 30th anniversary live episode.19Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna walks out of an interview with Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan after criticising him for asking about a letter that Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government had sent to British mosques urging them to make greater efforts to combat Islamic extremism. Umunna had not read the letter at that stage.Katie Redford, who was scheduled to play 14-year-old Bethany Platt in Coronation Street, is dropped from the series after claiming to be younger than her actual age. An ITV press release had given her age as 19, but users of the Digital Spy website discovered evidence suggesting she is 25. The role is subsequently recast, and Lucy Fallon is announced as the actress who will play Bethany.Anne Kirkbride, who played Coronation Streets Deirdre Barlow for 42 years, dies in a Manchester hospital following a short illness. Production of the series is suspended the following day as a mark of respect to her.BBC One airs the 5000th episode of EastEnders.20In an attempt to save BBC Three from closure, the Avalon Group and Hat Trick Productions approach the BBC Trust with an offer to buy the channel.21William Roache of Coronation Street and Adam Woodyatt of EastEnders lead tributes to Anne Kirkbride at the 20th National Television Awards.The television adaptation of Hilary Mantel's factual-based novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies debuts on BBC Two to much critical acclaim, but viewers quickly take to social media to complain about the poor lighting in the series.22Figures reveal that an episode from the third series of Sherlock from January 2014 was the most watched programme on BBC iPlayer during 2014, with an audience of 4.2 million.Ray Mears loses a £10,000 speaking gig at the forthcoming Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show after he described caravans as "hideous" and "ghastly" on a recent edition of Room 101.23New proposals are published by the UK's major broadcasters to include the leaders of more political parties in the forthcoming televised debates. The BBC and ITV will now host seven-way debates between the leaders of the Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats, UK Independence Party, the Green Party, the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru. Channel 4 and Sky will host head-to-head debates between David Cameron and Ed Miliband.Coronation Street actress Barbara Knox (who plays Rita Sullivan in the series) is banned from driving for twelve months after pleading guilty to a drink driving charge.The BBC announces sixteen new shows that will be exclusive to iPlayer. They include Funny Valentine, a comedy starring Bill Bailey, and rapper Tinie Tempah giving a tour of the Victoria and Albert Museum.Interior designer Kelly Hoppen announces she is leaving Dragons' Den after two years.26The BBC announces that Atlantis will not be renewed for a third series. The second part of series two is scheduled to be screened in the spring.27In a Radio Times interview BBC Director-General Tony Hall suggests that the rise of on demand television may render the current 9.00 pm watershed ineffective in restricting the availability of unsuitable material to underage viewers.28A BBC report recommends improvements to local and international news coverage, as well as digital content, if the broadcaster is to maintain its relevance in the modern climate.29BBC Sport signs a new three-year deal with the Premier League to air football highlights up to the end of the 2018–19 season. The agreement will see the launch of a new midweek football programme, as well as the continuation of Match of the Day and Match of the Day 2 at weekends.An Ofcom report on subtitling highlights the difficulties caused by voice recognition software that can fail to recognise speech patterns during live subtitling of programmes such as the news, sometimes rendering the translated text almost impossible to decipher. Examples of such goof ups include words such as "sauces" instead of "sources", and an instance when Manchester United footballer Adnan Januzaj's name was translated as Janet Jazz Jazz Jam.BBC and ITV both decline a request from Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party to be included in the forthcoming leadership debates because both broadcasters feel it would be impartial for only one of the Northern Ireland parties to participate.
February