1988 in British television
This is a list of British television related events from 1988. Events January 1 January New Year's Day highlights on BBC1 include the network television premiere of Roger Donaldson's 1984 historical drama The Bounty, starring Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins. BBC2 airs a five-hour Whistle Test special to welcome in 1988 which aired from 9:35pm on New Year's Eve to 2:55am on New Year's Day. The special takes a look back through the archives in what is the programme's final outing. It will be three decades later in 2018 before a new edition of the programme is broadcast. Michael Grade takes on the role of Chief Executive of Channel 4. From today, each programme on ITV is no longer preceded by the identifier of the regional company that had produced the show. 2 January – No. 73 is broadcast for the final time on ITV. It has been known as 7T3 since January. 4 January – BBC1 moves the repeat episode of Neighbours to a 5:35pm evening slot, the decision to do this having been made by controller Michael Grade on the advice of his daughter. 5 January – Actor Rowan Atkinson launches the new Comic Relief charity appeal. 6 January – All ITV regions network Emmerdale Farm in the Wednesday and Thursday 6:30pm slot. 8 January – Launch of LWT News, a news service from London Weekend Television providing at least eight bulletins each weekend for the ITV London region and created as a response to IBA concerns about the lack of a proper news service in London at weekends. 9 January – The network television premiere of the 1984 film Supergirl on ITV, starring Helen Slater. 11 January The US animated series The Real Ghostbusters, based on the hit 1984 Ghostbusters movie makes its UK debut on Children's ITV. Debut of the game show Fifteen to One on Channel 4, presented by William G. Stewart. The show's first winner is Gareth McMullan, a teacher from Northern Ireland. 14 January – Talks between TV-am's management and the ACTT union begin, aiming to resolve the ongoing strike. 25 January – TVS launches Late Night Late and gradually extends its broadcast hours over the next few months. 25–29 January – TV-am airs a week of live broadcasts from Sydney to celebrate Australia's bicentenary and featuring Anne Diamond and Mike Morris. 30 January – The network television premiere of the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy on ITV, starring Roger Moore. February 1 February TV-am celebrates its fifth birthday, with Anne Diamond being joined by Richard Keys, Gyles Brandreth, Su Pollard and Jimmy Greaves. It is the first time has been able to get its daily output down to an hour of pre-recorded material since the beginning of the strike. However, the station continues to air imports of old US shows for several months. The deadline on which the ACTT must accept TV-am's "Ten Point Plan" aimed at resolving the strike. However, the plan is rejected by a ballot and the union refuses