X-Nico

17 unusual facts about Channel 4


An Unfinished Journey

Also included is an essay called The Illusion of the Third World originally commissioned by Channel 4 Television.

Broadcasting Act

The Broadcasting Act 1980, that among other things allowed for the creation of Channel 4

Burslem School of Art

In 1985, the school was featured in Pottery Ladies, a series of TV documentaries made for Channel 4 with the support of the Arts Council of Great Britain.

Do You Feel What I Feel?

The group once again performed the song on 25 November on The Graham Norton Show, and on their special for Channel 4's The Album Chart Show on 27 November.

Eye Spy

Eye Spy (TV programme), a British TV programme broadcast in July 2013 on Channel 4, where a hidden camera captures people's reactions to pretend discrimination events happening around them.

Goodwood Racecourse

From 1968 to 1970 the course's late summer meeting was shown on ITV, and from the early 2000s some races from the course occasionally appeared on Channel 4, but otherwise the course had been covered exclusively by the BBC for 50 years from 1956 (when it first appeared on television) to 2006.

Kevin Bridges

In 2010, he took part in Channel 4's Comedy Gala, a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, filmed live at the O2 Arena in London.

Lonnie Pitchford

North Carolina Public TV; A Dibb Direction production for Channel 4.

Michael Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun

In 2004, Britain's Real Monarch, a documentary broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom repeated the claim that Abney-Hastings, as the senior descendant of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, is the rightful King of England.

Morrissey Fox

Development of the original 'Blonde' ale began in January 2008 and was documented in the Channel 4 programme Neil Morrissey's Risky Business.

Raleigh Gilbert

His TV work declined further when the number of meetings covered by commercial television declined considerably from January 1986 onwards, but he was still heard quite often on ITV and later Channel 4 through the late 1980s and early 1990s, often commentating on the earlier stages of major races at Newmarket where two commentators were deemed necessary.

Reed Mill, Kingston

The conversion was covered in the first programme of the second series of Channel 4's Restoration Man programme.

Renee Williams

She was also the subject of a British television program called "Half Ton Mum" broadcast on Channel 4 after her death as part of the BodyShock series.

Saving Africa's Witch Children

The film was part of Channel 4's Dispatches Series and won numerous awards, including a BAFTA and an International Emmy for Best Current Affairs.

Slavery in Sudan

The issue was the subject of a Channel 4 dramatised documentary, I Am Slave in August 2010, in which none of these religious conflicts were highlighted.

The ITV Seven

ITV's midweek racing coverage had already been on Channel 4 since 22 March 1984; from 5 October 1985 the Saturday afternoon coverage also moved to the fourth channel, permanently becoming Channel 4 Racing, although it was reduced in scope considerably at the start of 1986, and would not become as extensive as it was in the ITV era until the late 1990s.

Who Killed Thomas Becket?

Who Killed Thomas Becket? is a 2004 Channel 4 documentary concerning the murder of Thomas Becket, who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to his death in 1170.


1985 Handsworth riots

Filmmaker and artist Pogus Caesar extensively photographed the second Handsworth riot, it was also witnessed by Bronx graffiti artists Brim and Goldie, who documented the devastation in the Channel 4 documentary Bombing.

Adora Svitak

In January 2009 she appeared in a Channel 4 documentary, The World's Cleverest Child and Me, presented by Mark Dolan.

All In The Best Possible Taste with Grayson Perry

All In The Best Possible Taste with Grayson Perry is a 2012 documentary television series on United Kingdom station Channel 4, starring Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry.

An Act of Valour

The cast of An Act of Valour mainly consists of members of the Caravanserai Productions and Acting Studio, but also of experienced actors like Gerard Monaco, and most notably Marcus D'Amico, best known for his portrayal of Michael 'Mouse' Tolliver in the Channel 4 adaptation of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City.

Brazilian presidential election, 1989

This event was explored on Channel 4's documentary Beyond Citizen Kane, where the head of journalism of Globo at the time, Armando Nogueira, explained how his edit of the debate shown at the lunchtime news program was altered to favor Collor on the evening news.

Dallol, Ethiopia

Dallol became more known in the West in 2004 when it was featured in the Channel 4/National Geographic documentary Going to Extremes.

Dave Kendall

Since the cancellation of 120 Minutes, he's worked on the internet, creating programs such as The Daily Dish, as a DJ, spinning records at clubs in New York and London, and on Television, at TechTV/G4, Sky, Channel 4, Travel Channel and Animal Planet.

David Bull

David Richard Bull (born 9 May 1969) is an English doctor, author, and host and commentator on a variety of British and US television programmes, such as Sugar Dome,the BBC's Watchdog, Watchdog Healthcheck,Newsround, Living TV's Most Haunted Live!, Channel 4's Richard & Judy, Tomorrow's World, and Sky's The Breathing Life Awards.

David Harsent

His work in music theatre has involved collaborations with a number of composers (but most often with Sir Harrison Birtwistle, the opera Gawain being their most notable collaboration) and has been performed at the Royal Opera House, Carnegie Hall, the Southbank Centre, The Proms, the Wiener Kammeroper, and broadcast on BBC Two, Channel 4 and Trio (USA).

Emma Freud

Emma has also presented Channel 4 programmes, such as The Pulse on the subject of health, and The Media Show.

Emmerdale plane crash

In the 5 January 1994 episode of Channel 4 soap Brookside, character Mick Johnson (Louis Emerick) was seen reading a newspaper with the front page headline "AIR DISASTER TOLL RISES - Village Mourns As Many Die", reflecting the events in Emmerdale.

Finn Brothers

This song was also used on the final session of the last day of the 2005 England vs. Australia Ashes cricket series on Channel 4 Television, at the end of the last day of cricket being shown on British terrestrial television.

Greg Mulholland

In 2007, he was nominated for best campaigning politician in the Channel 4 Political Awards for helping to secure the release of Mirza Tahir Hussain from prison in Pakistan.

Helen Geake

Dr Helen Geake (born Helen Louise Nerde) is one of the key members of Channel 4's popular and long-running archaeology series Time Team, presented by Tony Robinson, along with Mick Aston and Phil Harding.

Heywood Community High School

Elliott Tittensor, an actor best known for his role of Carl Gallagher in the Channel 4 show Shameless, is a former student of Heywood Community High School.

Hillside Animal Sanctuary

Hillside the animal sanctuary and also Hillside's separate work in uncovering animal cruelty have both featured in television programmes, including Channel 4's It's Me or the Dog, BBC Three's The Baby Borrowers and the BBC Two programme Escape to the Country which has an episode dedicated to Hillside.

Horseferry Road

Other notable institutions which are or have been located on Horseferry Road include Broadwood and Sons, the Gas Light and Coke Company, British Standards Institution, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the Burberry Group headquarters in Horseferry House, the National Probation Service and Channel 4.

Jane Margaret Rogers

In 2010, Jane Margaret Rogers appeared in an episode of Channel 4's television documentary Country House Rescue.

Ken Hames

Following a debut on Battle Stripes for Sky TV in 2000, Hames designed and presented Channel 4's Desert Darlings, and in October 2002, filmed the follow on in Namibia with couples who attempted to cross the Namib Desert.

Lisa Maffia

Maffia has appeared/performed on a number of different television shows including Top of the Pops, Brit Awards, MOBO Awards, The Jonathan Ross Show, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Celebrity Juice, CD:UK, Popworld and appeared in series three of The Games.

Luke Toyne

His live event hosting includes public entertainment, corporate networking, media workshops and marketing campaigns including 'Robots Live' - the roadshow tour of Robot Wars, Carphone Warehouse, Virgin and Derren Brown's dating experiment for Trick or Treat on Channel 4.

Matt Day

He has said that his favourite role of this period was the photographer Frank Hurley in the 2002 Channel 4 television film Shackleton, in which Kenneth Branagh played the title role.

Matt Tebbutt

Tebbutt also co-presents Channel 4's Drop Down Menu with Gizzi Erskine and Food Unwrapped alongside Kate Quilton and Jimmy Doherty.

Moonshake

During his Moonshake years, David Callahan enjoyed brief cameos with contemporaries Stereolab (performing "French Disko" with them on Channel 4's The Word in 1993) and the Stereolab spin-off project Turn On.

Old Man of Stoer

In the Channel 4 television programme Hidden Talent, 45 year-old Maggie Reenan climbed the stack after 18 days of intensive training, after her natural aptitude for climbing was discovered.

Open Mind Productions

They have produced some 500 programmes for children and educational TV, including The Number Crew,Rat-A-Tat-Tat and Maths Mansion for Channel 4 and Little Ninjas Karate for Playhouse Disney Numberjacks for BBC2.

Pam Ayres

Since 2002 Ayres has appeared a number of times on Channel 4 in Countdowns Dictionary Corner alongside Susie Dent.

Popworld Promotes

Popworld Promotes is a competition run by Channel 4's Popworld television programme, searching for potentially talented unsigned bands in the UK.

Ruth Bratt

Bratt has made notable appearances on several TV shows including FAQ U on Channel 4 (2005) and Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive on BBC Three (2006).

Ruth Dudley Edwards

Her non-fiction books include An Atlas of Irish History, James Connolly, Victor Gollancz: A Biography (winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize), The Pursuit of Reason: The Economist 1843–1993, The Faithful Tribe: An Intimate Portrait of the Loyal Institutions (shortlisted for Channel 4/The House Politico's Book of the Year) and Newspapermen: Hugh Cudlipp, Cecil King and the glory days of Fleet Street.

Sally Jones

She has presented a string of other TV and radio programmes, including several series of "On the Line", the BBC TV sports politics show, the daytime show "The Garden Party", real tennis documentaries for Channel 4, coverage of women's British Open golf (St Mellion, Cornwall), international tennis, women's rugby and NBA basketball (BBC TV), "Transworld Sport" (Channel 4) and international gymnastics (ITV).

Saltley Gate Peace Group

In January 2007, the group publicly supported the city's Green Lane Mosque against accusations of extremism, made in the Channel 4 documentary Undercover Mosque.

Surrey Heath

Surrey Heath was voted the 6th best place to live in Channel 4's 2007 Location, Location, Location 'best and worst' survey.

Talk down aircraft landing

In 2010 British hypnotist and illusionist Derren Brown presented a programme on Channel 4 television entitled "Derren Brown: Hero at 30,000 Feet".

Tears in rain soliloquy

In the Channel 4 documentary On the Edge of Blade Runner, Hauer, director Ridley Scott, and screenwriter David Peoples asserted that Hauer wrote the "Tears in Rain" speech.

The Blunkett Tapes

The diaries were also the subject of two episodes of the Channel 4 Dispatches documentary in October 2006, and were read on BBC Radio 4 as book of the week in October 2006.

The Chimes, Uxbridge

The Chimes was used to film scenes for the Channel 4 television comedy The Inbetweeners, offering itself as a shooting location on just three days' notice after another shopping centre withdrew.

The Jump

The show is broadcast live on public service broadcaster Channel 4, from Innsbruck in Austria.

The Last Leg

The Last Leg (known during its first series as The Last Leg with Adam Hills and its end of year special as The Last Leg of the Year) is a UK TV show that originally ran alongside the 2012 Summer Paralympics every night following the main coverage on Channel 4.

The Law of the Playground

The Law of the Playground is a British television series broadcast on Channel 4 produced by Zeppotron in which various British comedians and celebrities recollect the past times of childhood at school.

The Perfect Home

The Perfect Home is a television series of three 42 minute episodes commissioned for Channel 4 based on the book The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton which first aired in 2006.

There's No One Quite Like Grandma

More recently, the song was used within the one-off Channel 4 comedy by Peter Kay called Britain's Got the Pop Factor..., which had Sally Lindsay, who was in the original choir of the song, in a cameo role.

Tobie Puttock

The creation of the restaurant and training scheme formed the basis of a 2002 TV series on Channel 4, Jamie's Kitchen.

Tristan Gemmill

In 2005, on ITV, Gemmill starred in Distant Shores, as Duncan, alongside Samantha Bond and Peter Davison, while in 2007, Gemmill he appeared as Dr David York in the Channel 4 drama Cape Wrath.

Vince Earl

In November 2007, Earl returned to the set of Brookside in West Derby, Liverpool for an interview with ITV Local News to celebrate 25 years since the show started on Channel 4.

Won't Go Home Without You

Robert Christgau gave a positive review on the album as well as the song, saying "The devilishly memorable "Won't Go Home Without You" combines confidence with affection rather than macho." Channel 4 called the song "the musical equivalent of a dog's fart at the dinner table" and gave it just one star out of a possible ten.

Young Fathers

During this time they released another single, "Automatic," appearing on Channel 4's Big Brother's Big Mouth in 2009 and performing at T in the Park, Creamfields, Wakestock, Belladrum and Sónar amongst other festivals, as well as main support on tours with Esser and Simian Mobile Disco.