lWatchdog was the first to expose the Hoover Free Flights debacle in 1994/95. Hoover offered free return flights to various destinations if you bought a vacuum cleaner – thousands bought one but didn’t get the flights they wanted.
lBritannia Airways virtually non-reclining seat 11F removed, due to persistence from Watchdog.
lWatchdog widely criticised for 1997 Holiday
Rescue game-show format. People having a terrible holiday were told to ring a telephone number and ask to be rescued. Viewers were then asked to vote on the size of refund for holidaymakers. Watchdog was accused of encouraging people to complain and offering them club-class flights home.
l July 1998 – The Broadcasting StandardsCommission upheld part of a complaint by Airtours against Watchdog which criticised one of theoperator’s Turkish hotels, Club Bodrum.
lBegan in 1980 as an occasional strand in Nationwide, presented by Hugh Scully.
lAnne Robinson joined in 1993 and theprogramme started investigating bigger companies rather than the small-time conmen operating out of a lock-up garage. Audiences grew by 14% and the programme was moved to Thursday in 1996.
lWeekend Watchdog began in March 1997. Watchdog Extra on digital TV began in September 1998.
lWatchdog runs all year round; its counterpart Weekend Watchdog runs from September to December and March to June. Watchdog Extra is set to resume this month.
lThe last series of Watchdog had 7.5m viewers and Weekend Watchdog had 6.9m viewers.
lWatchdog receives up to 10,000 letters a week and up to 1,000 e-mails a day from consumers.