X-Nico

18 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.

Anthony Powell Society

The Society emerged from the Anthony Powell Resources website begun in 1994 by Dr Keith Marshall and its associated email discussion list arising from the interest in Powell stimulated by the dramatization of A Dance to the Music of Time on UK Channel 4 TV in autumn 1997 and following his death.

Bill Goldfinch

Six years later a full-sized replica of the Colditz glider was commissioned by Channel 4 and was built by Southdown Aviation Ltd at Lasham Airfield.

Blame It on the Girls

He performed the song on So You Think You Can Dance on 30 January, as well as on Alan Carr: Chatty Man on the 11th, and on The Album Chart Show on Channel 4 on the 12th.

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.

Edgar Wallace Mysteries

In Britain it was seen on ITV, Channel 4 and Bravo at various times from the late Sixties through to the Nineties.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Mousehole Cat

In 1994, Grasshopper Enterprises created an animated version of the tale as part of Channel 4's Beastly Xmas in 1995, narrated by Sian Phillips.

Whitefriars Shopping Centre

The "Big Dig" archaeological excavation was carried out on the site by the Canterbury Archaeological Trust in conjunction with Channel 4's Time Team from 2000–2003, unearthing mostly Roman and Mediaeval finds.


A Jihad for Love

A Jihad for Love is produced by Halal Films, in association with the Sundance Documentary Fund, Channel 4 Television (UK), ZDF (Germany), Arte (France-Germany), Logo (US) and SBS (Australia).

Alan Carr

In 2010, Carr 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 on 30 March.

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.

Ashley Slanina-Davies

Ashley Slanina-Davies (born 18 December 1989) is an English actress born in Standish, near Wigan, who is notable for playing the role of Amy Barnes on Channel 4's teen soap, Hollyoaks.

Battle of Orgreave

The event took place on 17 June 2001 and was filmed by film director Mike Figgis for a Channel 4 documentary.

Bill Goldfinch

The programme was shown in 2000 Channel 4 in the UK as part of a 3-part (150 minute total) "Escape from Colditz" documentary.

Cremation of Care

The Grove and Jones' investigation were covered by Jon Ronson in Channel 4's four-part documentary Secret Rulers of the World.

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.

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).

Dirk Obbink

In March 2010 Obbink appeared in Channel 4's series Alexandria: The Greatest City, presented by Bettany Hughes.

Emma Freud

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

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.

Gypsy Blood

Transmitted on 19 January 2012, Gypsy Blood launched 2012’s season of the True Stories documentary strand on Channel 4 and was the first True Stories to premiere on the main channel, rather than the digital channel More4.

Helen Ukpabio

In 2008, the TV news documentary Dispatches Saving Africa's Witch Children by UK broadcaster Channel 4 stated the views that she expresses have led to a massive upsurge in children stigmatised and abandoned by their families in West Africa, particularly in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.

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.

Jago Cooper

Involved in popularising archaeology through television, he co-presented the 2009 Channel 4 documentary Man on Earth with Tony Robinson and Joy Singarayer.

James Rusbridger

In May 1989 Rusbridger made an extended appearance on the Channel 4 discussion programme After Dark, alongside Tony Benn, Lord Dacre, Miles Copeland and others.

Jane Margaret Rogers

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

John Fielding

The 2008 Channel 4 television series City of Vice is based on the crime investigation work of the Fielding brothers.

John Francome

He was a trainer for 18 months before becoming a TV presenter for Channel 4's horse racing broadcasts.

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.

Lighter

In August 2011 Stephen Fry chose the lighter as the greatest gadget in his Channel 4 programme Stephen Fry's 100 Greatest Gadgets, one of the 100 Greatest strand, describing it as "fire with a flick of the fingers".

Michael Checkland

It has been claimed that the exodus to Channel 4 in the early 1990s of dramatists like Dennis Potter and Alan Bleasdale, who had both been responsible for series which caused outrage among Conservatives during the Milne era, had much to do with the relative lack of risk-taking at the BBC under Checkland and his successor John Birt, who was deputy director-general throughout Checkland's reign.

Miss Naked Beauty

Miss Naked Beauty is a short-lived, six-episode reality television show produced by Maverick Television, aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom.

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.

Pam Ayres

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

Paula Yates

She first came to prominence in the 1980s, as co-presenter (with Jools Holland) of the Channel 4 pop music programme The Tube.

Radioville

It is responsible for much of Britain's blue-chip company radio advertising, including among its clients The Carphone Warehouse, Harrods, BBC, Nationwide Building Society, Nestlé, Churches Advertising Network, Channel 4, DRDB, Autoglass and Time Out.

Richborough Power Station

The power station can be seen in several scenes of the 2008 film Son of Rambow, and was the location for the 2003 Channel 4 television series Full Metal Challenge.

Right to Reply

Right to Reply (sometimes called R2R) was a British television series shown on Channel 4 from 1982 until 2001, which allowed viewers to voice their complaints or concerns about TV programmes.

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.

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.

So Easy

The sampled lyrics are: "Blue on blue, heartache on heartache/Blue on blue, Now that we are through." "So Easy" was used for a time on British television adverts for T-Mobile, as well as the displays between programs on Channel 4.

Tamzin Malleson

She originally played Alison Dangerfield in Series 3 and 4 of the BBC drama Dangerfield, before going on to play one of the starring roles (Penny Neville) in the Channel 4 comedy, Teachers, for three of the programme's four series, and she starred in one of ITV's Poirot adaptations, "Evil Under The Sun."

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 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.

The Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star

The Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star is a British comedy series, which aired on Channel 4 in 1998.

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.