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