2017 AS SEEN ON SCREEN
The Great British Bake Off’s new team rose to the occasion, Doctor Who announced a Time Lord sex change and Love Island gave viewers some new lingo. Marion McMullen looks back at some of TV’s highlights
1 THE Great British Bake Off debuted on its new Channel 4 home with Paul Hollywood stepping into the big white tent with new co-judge Prue Leith, Sandi Toksvig and Noel Fielding and a dozen fresh-faced bakers. The only let down was when Prue’s spoiler revealing Sophie Faldo’s victory on Twitter before the final.
2 IT was a sad start for Strictly Come Dancing as it returned to BBC just weeks after the death of former presenter Sir Bruce Forsyth. New judge Shirley Ballas made herself at home, taking over from Len Goodman.
3 X FACTOR hit a bum note as it lost out to Strictly in the Saturday night ratings.
Some pre-watershed swearing from Sharon Osbourne and Nicole Scherzinger’s choice of acts did not help the ITV contest.
4 THE dominant storyline on Corrie was undeniably Bethany Platt’s harrowing experience of sexual exploitation, which saw her groomed and threatened by older boyfriend Nathan and anused by his friends, before she bravely went to the police.
5 WOMEN have dominated the crime drama scene. Vicky McClure, pictured gave another sterling performance in the award-winning Line Of Duty and Thandie Newton’s arrival as corrupt Roz Huntley stole the BBC 2 show. Suranne Jones was also back in Doctor Foster.
6 A CULTURE shift was announced for Doctor Who with Jodie Whittaker, pictured, cast as the first female to take on the iconic role. She made her debut during this year’s Christmas special, which also marks the end of Peter Capaldi’s reign as the 12th Doctor.
7 BLUE Planet II narrated by Sir David Attenborough has proved to be one of the TV highlights of the year. The first episode of the BBC wildlife was watched by more than 14 million viewers.
8 ITV2 struck gold with Love Island, describing it as the most successful format of its entire history. Almost four million tuned in to the final following seven weeks of saucy island drama, with Blazin’ Squad star Marcel Somerville’s tips on love proving a particular hit with viewers.
9 THE penultimate season of Game Of Thrones offered long-awaited romance between Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen, pictured – and a dragonfilled finale.
10 CLAIRE FOY, above, appeared as Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix drama The Crown. Broadchurch star Olivia Colman will takeover her role for the third series.