15 TV Shows That Changed Channels Just Like Deal Or No Deal

After it was announced the Channel 4 gameshow is being rebooted by ITV, take a look at some other hit shows that switched sides.
Noel Edmonds was the original host of Deal Or No Deal on Channel 4
Noel Edmonds was the original host of Deal Or No Deal on Channel 4
ITVITV/Shutterstock

Another classic show is on its way back to our screens with the news Deal Or No Deal is being rebooted.

As well as having a new host in the shape of Stephen Mulhern, who is taking over from Noel Edmonds, the beloved Channel 4 gameshow will also move to a new home on ITV.

However, a change of channel is nothing unique in TV land, with plenty of popular shows switching sides over the years...

Great British Bake Off (BBC Two to BBC One to Channel 4)

Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry on the original Bake Off
Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry on the original Bake Off
BBC

The Bake Off tent was rocked by the news the show would be leaving the BBC in 2017, shortly after airing its most popular series that saw 16 million viewers tune in for the finale.

Channel 4 outbid the show’s original home for the rights to produce and air further series, with its first airing in 2018 featuring a new presenting team and judge in the shape of Prue Leith.

But let’s not forget that GBBO first moved channels in 2014, when it made the leap from BBC Two to the main channel, with fans fearing too much mainstream attention could lead to overexposure and ruin the show they loved. Needless to say, they were proved wrong.

Neighbours (BBC One to Channel 5 to Amazon Freevee)

The Neighbours cast on the final day of filming in June 2022
The Neighbours cast on the final day of filming in June 2022
Fremantle/Twitter

Neighbours devotees were crestfallen in 2022 when it was announced the Australian soap would be ending for good after being axed by Channel 5 in the UK.

It had aired on the network – who contributed significantly to its production costs, thus leaving it with a funding shortfall – since 2008, after it outbid the BBC, who’d originally brought the show to the UK more than 20 years prior.

However, months after Neighbours’ emotional finale aired, it was announced that a production deal with Amazon had been struck, with the show relaunching on Amazon Freevee in the UK later in 2023.

It should be noted that Neighbours previously survived being axed by its original Australian network Seven just months after it launched in 1985. It was later picked up by Network 10, who aired it until the soap moved to its digital channel 10Peach in 2011.

Through The Keyhole (ITV to Sky1 to BBC One to BBC Two, then back to ITV)

David Frost and Loyd Grossman on Through The Keyhole
David Frost and Loyd Grossman on Through The Keyhole
ITV/Shutterstock

Through The Keyhole is perhaps one of the most enduring TV formats of all time, having first launched on ITV in 1987 with David Frost and Loyd Grossman at the helm.

After eight years, it moved to Sky for a series before then finding a new home on daytime BBC One, where it aired for seven years until moving to BBC Two in 2004.

After the show – which sees a panel having to guess which celebrity a mystery house belongs to – finished in 2008, it was revived by ITV in 2013 as a Saturday night entertainment show, with Keith Lemon taking over from David and Loyd.

The reboot was later canned in 2019.

Buffy, The Vampire Slayer (The WB to UPN)

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy the Vampire Slayer
20thCFox/Everett/REXShutterstock

It was one of the surprise hits of the 1990s, but when ratings began to decline, The WB decided that Buffy had run its course, and decided not to renew it after its run in 2000 was up.

They probably regretted this a year later, when series six debuted on UPN, attracting the second-highest ratings the show had ever had.

Gladiators (ITV to Sky1 to BBC One)

Tornado on the Sky version of Gladiators in 2008
Tornado on the Sky version of Gladiators in 2008
Sky TV/Justin Downing/REXShutterstock

Gladiators was a Saturday night staple for ITV back in the 1990s, nestled in with Stars In Their Eyes and Blind Date for the perfect night in.

When Sky announced they’d be rebooting the show in 2008, viewers were curious. It wasn’t a total flop, admittedly, but failed to live up to its predecessor, eventually facing cancellation after two series in October 2009.

In 2022, it was announced the show would be rebooted again – this time airing on the BBC. A new generation of Gladiators will burst onto screens some time in 2023.

Birds Of A Feather (BBC One to ITV)

Lesley Joseph, Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson of Birds Of A Feather
Lesley Joseph, Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson of Birds Of A Feather
Geoffrey Swaine/REXShutterstock

Birds Of A Feather seemed like an odd choice for a reboot, when ITV announced they’d be screening new episodes of the sitcom 16 years after it ended on the BBC in 2014.

It paid off, though, with three series and two Christmas specials airing up until 2020, before it was later announced there were no plans for any more episodes.

The Graham Norton Show (Channel 4 to BBC One)

The Graham Norton Show
The Graham Norton Show
BBC

It was huge news when the Beeb managed to poach Graham from his home on Channel 4, where his raucous shows So Graham Norton and V Graham Norton won him a legion of fans.

It took two years for him to debut his self-titled talk show on the BBC, prompting speculation the broadcaster didn’t know what they were doing with Graham... which, of course, proved to be completely unfounded, as The Graham Norton Show is now must-watch TV.

The Jonathan Ross Show (BBC One to ITV)

Jonathan Ross with One Direction
Jonathan Ross with One Direction
Brian J Ritchie/ITV/RexShutterstock

After the scandal of Sachs-gate had died down, Jonathan announced he was stepping down from his critically-acclaimed talk show, and landed a new deal with ITV in 2011.

His Friday Night show turned into The Jonathan Ross Show after the channel hop, but swapped to Saturday nights.

As of 2023, 20 series of the latest incarnation have aired on ITV.

Men Behaving Badly (ITV to BBC One)

Neil Morrissey, Leslie Ash, Martin Clunes and Caroline Quentin in Men Behaving Badly
Neil Morrissey, Leslie Ash, Martin Clunes and Caroline Quentin in Men Behaving Badly
FremantleMedia Ltd/REXShutterstock

It wasn’t until BBC One got their hands on Men Behaving Badly in 1994 that it turned into a great success, making household names out of its main cast.

Original star Harry Enfield did not make the jump with the show, with Neil Morrissey joining Leslie Ash, Martin Clunes and Caroline Quentin for its subsequent series until the show’s end in 1998.

University Challenge (ITV to BBC Two)

University Challenge host Jeremy Paxman
University Challenge host Jeremy Paxman
BBC

It might seem like a show that’s got ‘BBC’ running through it like a stick of rock, but before University Challenge made its debut on the Beeb in 1994, it had previously enjoyed success on ITV for a quarter of a century.

The Simpsons (BBC Two to Channel 4)

The Simpsons
The Simpsons
FoxSearch/Everett/REXShutterstock

While The Simpsons has always had a home on FOX in the US, here in the UK it spent six years on BBC Two, before being bought by Channel 4 in 2002 (also being shown on Sky1 throughout).

It’s stayed on C4 ever since, becoming one of its flagship shows, with the cartoon family even delivering the channel’s alternative Christmas message in 2004.

Big Brother (Channel 4 to Channel 5 to ITV2)

Davina McCall is seen during a Big Brother eviction night
Davina McCall is seen during a Big Brother eviction night
MJ Kim via Getty Images

The original reality show was a huge hit when it originally aired on Channel 4 between 2000 and 2010.

After it was axed amid a slump in ratings, it found a new home on Channel 5 in 2011, with the broadcaster airing two celebrity and one civilian series each year until it dropped Big Brother in 2018.

In 2022, it was announced that BB would be making its way back to screens the following year, after ITV2 picked up the rights to produce a reboot.

Blind Date (ITV to Channel 5)

Cilla Black as the host of Blind Date
Cilla Black as the host of Blind Date
ITV/Shutterstock

Cilla Black fronted the hit Saturday night dating show for 18 years until she quit live on air in 2003.

After years of speculation about a reboot, in 2017, Channel 5 picked up the show with the late Cilla’s best friend Paul O’Grady taking over on matchmaking duties. However, it was axed in 2019 after four series.

Don’t Tell The Bride (BBC Three to BBC One to Sky1 to E4)

The original Don't Tell The Bride logo
The original Don't Tell The Bride logo
BBC

Don't Tell The Bride – which saw grooms tasked with organising a wedding without any input from the bride – was a huge hit for BBC Three, airing for 10 series between 2007 and 2015.

After one series aired on BBC One, the show then moved to Sky1 for another series in 2016, before then finding a more permanent home on E4, where two series comprising 48 episodes aired until it was axed in 2018.

American Dad (Fox to TBS)

American Dad
American Dad
c20thCFoxEverettREXShutterstock

When Fox chose to step away from the Animation Domination its schedule had become known for, Seth MacFarlane’s American Dad was one of the biggest casualties.

Fortunately for the show, it landed a new home on TBS, where it has continued to thrive.

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