BBC announces a string of new and returning shows in major TV schedule shake up

18 October 2023 , 10:31

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BBC announces a string of new and returning shows in major TV schedule shake up

The BBC has announced a major shake up to its schedule and revealed what new and returning shows will be hitting TV screens soon.

Exciting upcoming programmes include Hot Flush, a new drama about menopause and a middle-aged punk band from the mind of award-winning Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright. Set again in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire – where Happy Valley starring Sarah Lancashire was filmed – it follows the lives of five female friends, but two of them have a long-buried secret that could tear everything apart.

Another new BBC drama, The Jetty, created by Cat Jones, who has written episodes of Harlots, EastEnders and Waterloo Road, will see Jenna Coleman play rookie detective Ember Manning. After a fire tears through a holiday home, she must work out how it connects a reporter probing a missing person and a “love” triangle between a man and two underage girls.

BBC comedy thriller Black Ops, starring Gbemisola Ikumelo and Hammed Animashaun as hilarious community support offices Dom and Kay, is set to return for a second season, as is historical drama Marie Antoinette.

MasterChef: The Professionals is returning this autumn (BBC)

The One Show will also be joining forces with Autumnwatch for three seasonal specials to be aired next week. While MasterChef: The Professionals is also back for its second season this autumn. If you love nature and travel, Simon Reeve will journey across the globe to discover some of the Earth’s last great wild areas in Wilderness with Simon Reeve, which will air on BBC Two in 2024.

EastEnders' Jake Wood's snap of son has fans pointing out the pair's likeness

Dermot O’Leary will uncover the untold stories of the heroic efforts of RNLI crews during World War Two in a special episode of Saving Lives at Sea to mark the bicentenary of the RNLI next year.

Historical drama Marie Antoinette is also back for a second series (BBC)

And it’s not just adults who are catered for, as the BBC has announced a number of new commissions for kids channels CBBC and CBeebies. Hey Duggie will return for a fifth season and a one-season spin-off from the show, Hey Duggee’s Squirrel Club, will also air soon.

Two new kids series include Mojo Swoptops, an animated series for preschoolers following an anthropomorphic vehicle who solves problems in his local community. It is based on Cindy Black’s book series of the same name.

Another CBeebies show which has been given the greenlight is Rafi the Wishing Wizard an animated series focusing on Rafi, a seven-year-old girl who learns how to use her first ‘wishing wand’. Pickle Storm, about a nine-year-old girl who leaves a dream world to live in an ordinary British town, will also hit TV screens soon.

CBBC will air three feature-length episodes of a Famous Five adaptation over the Christmas period. While shows back for another season include Olga da Polga about a fictional guinea pig and A Kind of Spark about neurodivergent teenager Addie.

Katie Wilson