2013 in Scottish television

This is a list of events in Scottish television from 2013.

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Events

January

• 11 January – STV is awarded local TV licences to provide evening broadcasts for Edinburgh and Glasgow.^[1]
• 14 January – BBC One Scotland begins broadcasting in high-definition.^[2][3]
• 30 January – South of Scotland MSP Joan McAlpine leads a debate in the Scottish Parliament highlighting concerns over local news coverage in the Borders region.^[4] The debate follows concerns expressed by Ofcom over the quality of Scottish news coverage offered by ITV Border, which merged with ITV Tyne Tees in 2009 and moved its news operations to Gateshead.^[5]

February

• 3 February – Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon interviews Sidse Babett Knudsen, the star of Danish political television drama Borgen for Scotland Tonight ahead of a screening of the second series finale at the Edinburgh Filmhouse. The interview is broadcast by STV the following evening.^[6][7]
• 5 February – A conference in southern Scotland is announced for the summer to discuss news coverage of the region by ITV Border which was considered unsatisfactory. The event aims at involving broadcasters and politicians and to be hosted by Scottish Borders Chamber of Commerce.^[8]

March

• 19 March – It is reported that Channel 4 will screen a documentary The Murder Trial showing footage of the trial of Nat Fraser, who in 2012 was convicted of the murder of his estranged wife, Arlene.^[9]
• 26 March – The Gaelic language channel BBC Alba is given a more prominent position on Sky's electronic programming guide.^[10]

April

• No events.

May

• 21 May – The BBC announces £5m worth of investment in new programming ahead of the 2014 independence referendum.^[11]

June

• 13 June – Comedian Rory Bremner presents Rory Goes to Holyrood, a one-off comedy programme for BBC Scotland that takes a satirical look at Scottish politics and the independence debate.^[12] The show was conceived as a way of injecting some comedy into a subject that has suffered from an absence of humour.^[13][14]
• 17 June – A report in The Scotsman claims that Scotland lost out on the chance to play host to the fantasy television series Game of Thrones because of a lack of studio facilities. The series was instead produced in Northern Ireland.^[15]

July

• No events.

August

• No events.

September

• 27 September – Prime Minister David Cameron confirms he will not have a television debate with Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond ahead of next year's referendum on Scottish independence.^[16]

October

• No events.

November

• 20 November – At the Salford Media Festival in Manchester, Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop says that an independent Scotland would have a new licence fee funded broadcaster based on the assets and staff of BBC Scotland.^[17]
• 13 November – announcement of transmission changes that were being carried out on Freeview to support separate broadcasts to the sub-region of ITV Border Scotland. The technical change allows new services to begin broadcasting in January 2014.^[18]
• 26 November – The Scottish Government publishes Scotland's Future, its white paper laying out the case for an independent Scotland, and the means through which this would be achieved. Among the proposals are plans to replace BBC Scotland with a Scottish Broadcasting Service, although the body would continue to have close ties with the BBC, including airing content such as Doctor Who and EastEnders.^[19][20]

December

• 18 December – Radio Today reports that five of the ten radio stations taken off air on Freeview during the evenings to make way for BBC Alba will return full-time to the platform thanks to an improvement in efficiency. Those restored are BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 4 Extra, BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and BBC Asian Network, while BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio nan Gàidheal and BBC World Service remain unavailable while BBC Alba is broadcasting.^[21]
• 31 December – New impressions on this year's edition of Only an Excuse? include singer Susan Boyle, and a sketch in which Labour leader Johann Lamont debates Scottish independence with Alex Salmond.^[22][23]

Debuts

BBC

• 10 March – Shetland on BBC One
• 13 June – Rory Goes to Holyrood on BBC Two
• 31 December – Two Doors Down on BBC One^[24]

Television series

• Reporting Scotland (1968–1983; 1984–present)
• Sportscene (1975–present)
• Public Account (1976–present)
• The Beechgrove Garden (1978–present)
• Only an Excuse? (1993–2020)^[25]
• River City (2002–present)
• The Adventure Show (2005–present)
• Trusadh (2008–present)
• STV Rugby (2009–2010; 2011–present)
• Gary: Tank Commander (2009–present)
• Sport Nation (2009–present)
• STV News at Six (2009–present)
• The Nightshift (2010–present)
• Scotland Tonight (2011–present)

Ending this year

• Limmy's Show (2010–2013)^[26]

Deaths

• 26 January – Lesley Fitz-Simons, 51, actress^[27]
• 2 December – Mary Riggans, 78, actress^[28]

See also

• 2013 in Scotland

References

1. "STV awarded Glasgow and Edinburgh local TV licences". BBC News. BBC. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
2. . a516digital. 8 January 2013. Archived from the original on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
3. "Launching BBC One Scotland HD and BBC One Wales HD". BBC. 11 January 2013.
4. "SNP MSP leads a South of Scotland TV debate". BBC News. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
5. "McAlpine leads debate on South of Scotland TV". Scottish National Party. 30 January 2013. Archived from the original on 5 August 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
6. Whitaker, Andrew (4 February 2013). "Borgen's Filmhouse finale wows Edinburgh". The Scotsman. Johnston Press. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
7. . STV News. STV. 4 February 2013. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
8. "ITV south of Scotland local news coverage criticised". BBC News. 5 February 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
9. Sherwin, Adam (19 March 2013). "American-style televised courts move a step closer: Channel 4 to show a British murder trial for first time". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
10. "Gaelic channel BBC Alba is given new slot on Sky". BBC News. BBC. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
11. "BBC announce additional £5M investment for referendum output". BBC Media Centre. BBC. 21 May 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
12. Rudden, Liam (12 June 2013). "Rory Bremner talks Scottish politics in Rory Goes To Holyrood". The Scotsman. Johnston Press. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
13. "Rory Bremner puts Scottish politics under satirical spotlight". BBC Media Centre. BBC. 27 March 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
14. "Scottish independence: Rory Bremner in comedy call". The Scotsman. Johnston Press. 28 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
15. "Lack of TV studios 'cost Scotland Game of Thrones'". The Scotsman. Johnston Press. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
16. "Scottish independence: David Cameron will not have TV debate with Alex Salmond". BBC News. BBC. 27 September 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
17. "Scottish independence: Scotland 'would have licence fee funded TV'". BBC News. BBC. 20 November 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
18. "ITV Border south of Scotland switch paves way for programmes". BBC News. 13 November 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
19. Watt, Nicholas; Carrell, Severin (26 November 2013). "Independent Scotland would keep sterling, says Alex Salmond". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
20. Ross, Jamie (30 December 2013). "Scotland's referendum: Ten things we learned in 2013". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
21. "BBC radio stations return to Scotland TV". Radio Today. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
22. "Lamont in Watson's line of fire as impressions show returns" (subscription required). The Herald. Newsquest. 28 December 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
23. "Only An Excuse: Susan Boyle faces TV send-up on iconic Hogmanay comedy show". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. 28 December 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
24. English, Paul (31 December 2013). "New Scots comedy Two Doors Down to debut on prime time Hogmanay slot as BBC ponder six part series". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
25. "Hogmanay favourite Only an Excuse says cheerio. What did you think?". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
26. "Here's how to watch all three series of Limmy's Show". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
27. "Lesley Fitz-Simons obituary". The Herald. Newsquest. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
28. Munro, Alistair (4 December 2013). "Take the High Road actress Mary Riggans dies". The Scotsman. Johnston Press. Retrieved 1 January 2014.