You might remember around this time last year, I posted a long list of 2024’s top fifty television programmes. Except, of course, not in any order of quality, everyone else is doing that. I listed them by quantity. Basically, which television programmes were broadcast most frequently throughout the year. I mean, quality like Celebrity Traitors is all very well and good, but you’ve got 24-hour schedules to fill.

Last year’s list was hugely popular, being the most-read post on this blog over the last twelve months. (Granted, it being the only thing I’ve posted on this blog in the last twelve months may also be a factor.) But anyway, I’ve gone and done it again. Which shows have been thrown on most-frequently by the main free-to-air broadcasters throughout 2025? Let’s take a look!

As with last year’s list, there are a few rules. I’m not including news, weather, teleshopping, Unwind with ITV, overnight gambling filler or pseudo-programmes like FYI Daily that purely exist to exploit ad-minutes-per-hour loopholes. I’m only looking at the main entertainment channels that are (a) available on Freeview and (b) could be considered to have at least a half-decent budget (so, BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC Four, ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, C4, E4, More4 and Five). Oh, and this year I’ve managed to include EastEnders, which fell off the list last year.

There may very well be some omissions that have slipped through my datanet, but hopefully barely any.

But first, here’s a quiz! By my calculations there were a total of nine films that have been broadcast on four of the mainline TV channels in 2025. But what are they? See if you can work it out. I’ve given you the year each film was released, the number of characters in each title, and the number of times each film was broadcast on each channel.

Answers at the bottom of the list. Here’s the rundown!

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50. Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, 334 times
BBC3
Last Year: 47th, 320 times

Repeat runs of Susan Nickson’s noughties sitcom show no sign of stopping, having become a bit of a mascot for BBC Three. Which is quite an achievement, given it pre-dates the channel itself by two years. Personally, I can’t help but wonder if Generation Z only view the series as a historical piece, it being their very own equivalent of the mid-80s BBC1 repeats of Hancock’s Half Hour.

49. Homes Under the Hammer, 344 times
BBC1 x 293, BBC2 x 51
Last Year: 45th, 333 times

As the cost of living continues to outpace rising incomes, there’ll be plenty of fuel for this series where people get forced out of their no-longer-affordable homes, meaning bowtied speculators can snap them up in bargain prices. Erm, hurrah for the invisible hand?

48. Top Gear, 347 times
BBC2 x 21, BBC3 x 326
Last Year: 54th, 291 times

The original series might be dead (or at least sleeping very heavily), but the repeats shall live on forever. A cursory search of the episode descriptions for the year returns 27 matches for “Matt LeBlanc”, but 145 for “Jeremy Clarkson”. And zero for the late Quentin Wilson. For shame.

47. The Adventures of Paddington, 364 times
C5
Last Year: 42nd, 363 times

How many more beloved celebrities will this behatted angel of death drag to the Pearly Gates before he is stopped?

46. Find It, Fix It, Flog It, 366 times
C4 x 177, More4 x 189
Last Year: 31st, 479 times

Noticed it, ignored it, watched another channel instead more like.

45. Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom, 369 times
C5
Last Year: 102nd, 185 times

One of Britain’s most underrated kids shows makes a welcome leap up the chart from last year. So much so, I had to check if some new episodes had been made. Sadly not – the 2013 Christmas two-parter is still the most recently-produced episode – but it means a new generation of kids will get to enjoy routines like “Name?” “The King.” “Occupation?” “King.” “Any previous work experience?” “Being King.” That can only be a good thing.

44. Car S.O.S, 376 times
C4 x 72, More4 x 304
Last Year: 43rd, 362 times

Channel Four’s commitment to outsider art triumphs once again, with this long running series of real-time Dogme95 films exploring the events of stricken motorists on the hard shoulder of the M56 waiting for a breakdown recovery truck to arrive. Obviously, that’s a lie, but the truth – that this is a programme originally made for the National Geographic Channel of all places – should be every bit as strange.

43. Celebrity Catchphrase, 379 times
ITV1 x 71, ITV2 x 308
Last Year: 52nd, 298 times

It’s six years since the last edition of regular Catchphrase aired, which feels surprising. Since then, it’s pivoted to a Celeb-only format – though that does make for a more interesting programme. Anyway, enjoy it in this format while you can, before the hard-working animators (and really, how many working hours must go into each episode of this?) are all replaced by AI slop bros.

41. Fireman Sam, 383 times
C5
Last Year: 32nd, 477 times

Naughty Norman Price still hasn’t been locked away, then. They probably just let him get away with his crimes because it’s so much fun saying his voice in a Welsh accent.

41. The Royal, 383 times
ITV3
Last Year: 37th, 389 times

Not a surprise for an ITV series to be a bit on the older side of current, but this does seem to be one programmes on heavy rotation on the channel that fewest people remember anything about. It’s like Avatar but with sixties Yorkshire accents.

40. Looney Tunes Cartoons, 395 times
ITV2
Last Year: 49th, 304 times

The HBO-funded series that HBO immediately lost interest in at least has an appreciative audience on ITV2. With HBO Max due to launch in the UK in 2026, it remains to be seen if this makes to move to there, or whether nobody involved will notice it, given it’s on at 6.30am on ITV2.

39. Food Unwrapped, 397 times
C4 x 23, More4 x 374
Last Year: 46th, 325 times

Show original Dutch version Keuringsdienst van Waarde, you cowards.

38. Top of the Pops, 399 times
BBC2 x 17, BBC4 x 382
Last Year: 39th, 377 times

The BBC Four repeats currently wading through the reeds of 1998 does nothing to diminish the power of the channel’s most popular repeat run. TIP: If you ever feel like looking at the Official Charts page for any given week in 1998 to see if there were other, much better songs that could be played on any given week, don’t bother. Whenever I’ve done that, the top forty throughout 1998 does generally seem to be just that bad.

37. Bargain Hunt, 400 times
BBC1 x 318, BBC2 x 82
Last Year: 35th, 405 times

Another perennial that shows no sign of stopping. Personally, I wish they’d do at least one episode about people (me, I mean me) on a quest through the charity shops of Britain seeking out Network DVD boxsets going for less than two quid.

34. EastEnders, 409 times
BBC1 x 206, BBC2 x 5, BBC3 x 190, BBC4 x 8
Last Year: 44th, 349 times

Due to a calamitous oversight on my part, I didn’t include ‘stEnders in last year’s rundown – the figure above is where it would’ve been – so it’s nice to see where it actually lands this time. Also nice to see it’s now a member of the exclusive club of Programmes Shown On All Four BBC Channels in 2025. There are just three other things broadcast on all four this year. What were they? I’ll tell you at the end of the rundown, along with those four-channel films – one of them is a bit of a surprise.

34. First Dates, 409 times
C4 x 45, E4 x 364
Last Year: 38th, 381 times

A collection of couples eat the edible sweet fruits that grow on phoenix dactylifera trees for the very first time. Not much of a premise, but that’s E4 viewers for you.

34. Midsomer Murders, 409 times
ITV1 x 17, ITV3 x 392
Last Year: 58th, 272 times

The Middle England Chainsaw Massacre continues unabated. At the time of writing this, there are still six episodes of Midsomer Murders filmed in 2023 that have yet to be broadcast.

33. Pip & Posy, 416 times
C5
Last Year: 34th, 425 times

Channel Five try to thwart me by having some billings of this using ‘and’, and some using an ampersand. But I’m too wily for them.

32. Dinner Date, 451 times
ITV2
Last Year: Not broadcast

A collection of couples eat meals wholly comprised of the edible sweet fruits that grow on phoenix dactylifera trees. The only programme on this list that – as far as I could ascertain – wasn’t broadcast at all in 2024.

31. Hollyoaks, 473 times
E4
Last Year: 21st, 690 times

The move from mainline Channel Four to E4 has done little to stem to flow of episodes emanating out of Chester.

30. Minder, 484 times
ITV4
Last Year: 25th, 592 times

The timeliness adventures of Arfur and Terry continue to entertain. The non-zero chance of a second attempt at a remake but this time starring Bradley Walsh as Arfur continues to linger.

29. The King of Queens, 487 times
C4
Last Year: 40th, 364 times

The US sitcoms acting as interim replacements for RI:SE roll into their 57th year on early morning Channel Four.

28. Teen Titans Go!, 491 times
ITV2
Last Year: 22nd, 671 times

The Justice League’s Under-21 side remain popular, you notice.

27. Friends, 505 times
C5
Last Year: 36th, 404 times

IDEA FOR MISSION DOCUMENTARY: Dave Gorman travels to each household recycling plant in the UK to recover dumped VHS box sets of Friends, then uses them to construct a 1:1 replica of the Central Perk coffee shop. Comedy Central will do it.

26. Everybody Loves Raymond, 594 times
C4
Last Year: 19th, 733 times

Of course, nobody loves Raymond more than the Channel Four schedulers.

25. Countdown, 600 times
C4
Last Year: 30th, 496 times

If you ever needed evidence that Countdown is a show that Does Things Properly, the episode counts I’ve just looked up suggest there have been a total of 8,645 editions of the regular series, and just 24 editions of Celebrity Countdown. It’s the anti-Catchphrase! Which makes it even more of a shame I’d never stand a chance of winning an episode of the former.

24. Brooklyn Nine-Nine, 613 times
E4
Last Year: 7th, 1148 times

Brooklyn’s finest provided enjoyable daytime filler for much of the year on E4, despite only appearing once outside of morning or early afternoon slots.

23. The Goldbergs, 629 times
E4
Last Year: 28th, 548 times

Ditto The Goldbergs, which appeared most frequently in overnight slots. Hey, it all counts though. As long as it’s not Unwind With ITV, I’m not including screensavers in here.

22. Magnum, P.I., 646 times
ITV4
Last Year: 61st, 266 times

Pleasingly, Maggers seems to have been scheduled most frequently in either breakfast slots or after-school slots, heavily suggesting it’s a series much beloved of schoolchildren. The kids are alright, after all.

21. Kojak, 651 times
ITV4
Last Year: 40th, 364 times

Who loves ya, baby? Another ITV4 lynchpin, and another series where I’d love to know the age range demographics for these screenings.

20. Deal or No Deal, 726 times
ITV1 x 158, ITV2 x 568
Last Year: 89th, 228 times

After a (relatively) modest launch in 2024, a Mulhern-led Deal or No Deal was back in a Big Way in 2025. Poor Tipping Point, it never stood a chance. That’s at number 104 on the list, if you’re wondering, with a mere 183 airings in 2025.

19. American Dad!, 735 times
ITV2
Last Year: 18th, 747 times

Perhaps not quite as ubiquitous as it had been in previous years, the Smiths are still a handy go to for ITV2.

18. Gogglebox, 761 times
C4 x 141, E4 x 620
Last Year: 20th, 708 times

Still a huge number of people watching people watching telly. In a world where Twitch produces a conveyor beltful of six-figure salary gamers, I really should have predicted this would be a hit.

17. PAW Patrol, 794 times
C5
Last Year: 16th, 831 times

After a clutch of ITV4 and E4 shows, how about a refreshing slurp of Milkshake? The continued success of Fireman Sam But With Dogs sees Chase and company zoom into seventeenth place.

16. Young Sheldon, 824 times
E4
Last Year: 17th, 749 times

A surprisingly high placing for the Big Bang spin-off, bolstered by being superglued to the 9am and 9.30am slot on E4’s schedule for much of the year.

15. Family Guy, 876 times
ITV2
Last Year: 12th, 994 times

Despite the adventures of the Griffin family long having gone off the boil – we’re not about to get a South Park-style renaissance any time soon, one suspects – this is probably still the ultimate late night “oh well, there’s nothing else on” option.

14. Classic Emmerdale, 967 times
ITV3
Last Year: 10th, 1000 times

13. Classic Coronation Street, 970 times
ITV3
Last Year: 11th, 998 times

Classic-era soaps continue to do business for ITV3 – if you’re wondering, Corrie is up to the Hayley & Roy era, while the ‘Dale is operating in a spell where “Sam decides to tell the police about Eli running the drugs operation” is in an episode summary. Personally, I’m just waiting for the two programmes to get up to the present day so ITV3 can switch to what we all really want, Classic Albion Market.

12. Heartbeat, 1004 times
ITV3
Last Year: 15th, 927 times

While a great many of the programmes on this rundown are operating as filler in off-peak hours, Heartbeat makes most of its appearances in teatime slots. Now, that’s not particularly interesting, but neither is Heartbeat. Now, if there were repeats of Hart Beat, then I’d be interested.

11. Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA, 1049 times
C4 x 324, E4 x 725
Last Year: 8th, 1025 times

The perennial appeal of Seeing Someone Else Get A Bollocking remains strong, I see.

10. 24 Hours in A&E, 1134 times
C4 x 93, More4 x 1041
Last Year: 9th, 1021 times

Having spent ten hours in a children’s A&E one day this year (and if any small children are reading this, a reminder that Hungry Hippo marbles should NOT be swallowed), I feel secure in saying it’s something best experienced on the telly.

9. Cheers, 1188 times
C4
Last Year: 26th, 555 times

One of the all-time great US sitcoms, and one to very much file under “watch while eating your cornflakes if you’ve got a day off”.

(Essential reading: Joel Morris’ Substack post tracking down all the original photos and illustrations from the Cheers title sequence.)

8. A Place in the Sun, 1209 times
C4 x 404, More4 x 805
Last Year: 14th, 930 times

TOP TIP: with the cost of living crisis showing no sign of abating, save money on expensive foreign holidays by simply sitting inches away from the TV screen while watching this.

7. Modern Family, 1377 times
E4
Last Year: 5th, 1786 times

As I said last year: “The viewers look unhappy.” “Shovel on more episodes of Modern Family.” But not quite as frequently this year.

6. Frasier, 1434 times
C4
Last Year: 6th, 1485 times

Still reliably funny, and guaranteed NO risk of being distracted by Rodney Trotter showing up.

5. Come Dine with Me, 1631 times
C4 x 211, More4 x 1420
Last Year: 3rd, 2199 times

The Bickering Olympics continues to enthral many, it seems.

4. Peppa Pig, 2038 times
C5
Last Year: 4th, 2194 times

Still in fourth place, Peppa and family are still as popular as ever.

3. Four in a Bed, 2655 times
C4 x 605, More4 x 2050
Last Year: 2nd, 2337 times

The Bickering Commonwealth Games continues to enthral many, it seems.

2. The Simpsons, 2995 times
C4 x 712, E4 x 2283
Last Year: 13th, 962 times

Last December, the news broke that daily weeknight broadcasts of The Simpsons would be moving from Channel 4 to E4, along with a selection of episodes being made available on Channel 4’s streaming platform. Any suspicions that the channel were washing their hands of Springfield’s first family were clearly unfounded – it would end up being broadcast more than three times as often in 2025 than it had the previous year. And that includes over 700 times on Channel 4 itself.

1. The Big Bang Theory, 3147 times
E4
Last Year: 1st, 3216 times

When I started compiling these figures, back in early December, it looked like The Big Bang Theory was about to be knocked off the top spot. By the end of November, the Simpsons had sneaked ahead of it, airing 2,765 times to Big Bang’s 2,615. And then, in December E4 decided to air Big Bang Theory an average of 17.2 times per day, which put it on top at the end of the year. Presumably the tape got stuck in the machine or something, but in any case there it is – The Big Bang Theory is the most frequently-shown programme on British television in 2025.

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Hang the hell on. What happens if you take all the E4s and ITV3s out of the running? What would be the most commonly spotted series’ if you restrict the list to the proper main channels?

Well, given the lack of variety in the above, that was going to be my original plan for this year’s list. But then I thought it would be interesting to compare everything to last year’s rundown, and that had included all the above channels, so I replicated last year’s format. However, I do have all that information to hand, so here’s a rundown if we’re keeping things to just BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, C4 and C5:

1. Peppa Pig, 2038 times | C5
2. Frasier, 1434 times | C4
3. Cheers, 1188 times | C4
4. PAW Patrol, 794 times | C5
5. The Simpsons, 712 times | C4
6. Four in a Bed, 605 times | C4
7. Countdown, 600 times | C4
8. Everybody Loves Raymond, 594 times | C4
9. Friends, 505 times | C5
10. The King of Queens, 487 times | C4
11. Pip & Posy, 416 times | C5
12. A Place in the Sun, 404 times | C4
13. Bargain Hunt, 400 times | BBC1 x 318, BBC2 x 82
14. Fireman Sam, 383 times | C5
15. Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom, 369 times | C5
16. The Adventures of Paddington, 364 times | C5
17. Homes Under the Hammer, 344 times | BBC1 x 293, BBC2 x 51
18. Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA, 324 times | C4
19. Escape to the Country, 315 times | BBC1 x 266, BBC2 x 49
20. Flog It!, 283 times | BBC2
21. The Chase, 270 times | ITV1
22. Milo, 267 times | C5
23. This Morning, 259 times | ITV1
24. Lorraine, 259 times | ITV1
25. Jeremy Vine, 258 times | C5
26. Richard Osman’s House of Games, 257 times | BBC2
27. Odo, 257 times | C5
28. Tweedy & Fluff, 254 times | C5
29. Storm Huntley, 254 times | C5
30. Emmerdale, 250 times | ITV1
31. Newsnight, 245 times | BBC2
32. Home and Away, 237 times | C5
33. Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go, 236 times | C5
34. Pointless, 234 times | BBC1 x 231, BBC2 x 3
35. Bargain-Loving Brits in the Sun, 231 times | C5
36. Loose Women, 230 times | ITV1
37. Pip and Posy, 224 times | C5
38. The One Show, 223 times | BBC1 x 222, BBC2 x 1
39. Milkshake! Story Den, 222 times | C5
40. EastEnders, 211 times | BBC1 x 206, BBC2 x 5
41. Come Dine with Me, 211 times | C4
42. Morning Live, 197 times | BBC1
43. Tipping Point, 183 times | ITV1
44. Rubble And Crew, 182 times | C5
45. Impossible, 180 times | BBC2
46. Mixmups, 178 times | C5
47. Find It, Fix It, Flog It, 177 times | C4
48. Oggy Oggy, 172 times | C5
49. Tim Rex In Space, 171 times | C5
50. Lingo, 169 times | ITV1

There you go. Okay, onto the promises I’d made at the start of the rundown. First up, those nine films shown on four different channels throughout 2025:

That last one is a bit of a surprise, isn’t it?

As for the four programmes broadcast on all four BBC channels this year:

Lastly, there was one much loved programme title that aired on five different channels, but in different guises this year. That was…Dad’s Army. The series itself appeared on BBCs Two and Four, the 2016 film remake appeared on ITV1 in January, while the original 1971 film version aired on More4 in January, plus on Channel 4 on 28 December.

Hey, that’s the day I’m posting this blog update. I don’t just throw this together, you know. (Okay, I totally do.)

See you in 2026!