BBC One marks 40 years of Watchdog

It may no longer be a show in its own right, but the format lives on within The One Show..

Nikki Fox and Matt Allwright recall the show’s most shocking moments in a 40th anniversary special feature in tonight’s The One Show. The format for Watchdog has somewhat gone ‘full circle’ it began as a segment in news magazine show Nationwide in 1980 with Hugh Scully, who carried its weekly offering into Sixty Minutes in 1983. While there was no ‘Watchdog’ for several months following the end of Sixty Minutes, Lynn Faulds Wood did present a similar weekly slot on BBC Breakfast Time across the absence in 1984-85.

Matt Allwright:

“[Watchdog] it’s absolutely the role of the BBC. That’s what we can do without fear or favour, without adverts, it’s what we should be doing as much as we possibly can. We’re just there as cyphers to get it to telly and then ask the same question of the company that for some reason is ignoring them when they’re there by themselves.”

In 1985 Watchdog became a show in its own right, filling a prime-time half an hour slot – exactly what a public service broadcaster should be doing, along with shows such as Crimewatch. First hosted by Crimewatch’s Nick Ross and investigative journalist Lynn Faulds Wood. Lynn was later joined by real-life husband and BBC Breakfast Time presenter John Stapleton.

John Stapleton and Lynn Faulds Wood, Watchdog favourites / BBC

Other presenters over the years have included Anne Robinson, Sophie Raworth and Nicky Campbell. In 2020 the show came to an end as a stand-alone format and has been a weekly feature in The One Show for the past five years.

Over the years there were also spin off formats including Watchdog Daily, Watchdog: The Hard Sell, Weekend Watchdog and Watchdog Value for Money. Lynn Faulds Wood also made regular appearances on Children’s Saturday morning show Going Live! with a youth-aimed consumer offering during her time with Watchdog.

Nikki Fox:

“I feel very privileged that I get to be a part of helping solve people’s issues, those kind of issues that are so frustrating for so many people. You know, the way you feel like you’re one tiny person trying to fight a huge company and you’re getting nowhere, and at the same time, you’re trying to live your life and work and do everything, and then you have this problem, and you can’t get an answer, and you feel like you’re hitting your head against a brick wall. And I get that, I’ve been there. We all have, and it’s so frustrating.

“And the fact that I get to meet these people, and at least play a small part in telling their stories and getting this injustice out there on Watchdog on The One Show, and getting a solution. And when we get a solution it’s joyful, that’s what I love.”

Anne Robinson with Jonathan Maitland and Matt Allwright on Weekend Watchdog / BBC

Nicky Campbell is just one of the other hosts of Watchdog over the years / BBC