Channel 5 Transmission Discussion/Updates

[CaptainHulk]

16 hours ago, James Martin said:

Am I right in saying that the programme was initially only shown in the evening when ITV first aired it in 1989, with the lunchtime showing introduced later, initially as part of CITV Summer Mornings?

I briefly remember that all of being  all of 5, CITV w/ Scally the Dog was the lead-in.

[630si]

Ok the early ep drop on the ap is finally listed as Friday and not Monday. Thatl make it less confusing for people! 

[Gerard]

On 12/12/2025 at 22:11, James Martin said:

Am I right in saying that the programme was initially only shown in the evening when ITV first aired it in 1989, with the lunchtime showing introduced later, initially as part of CITV Summer Mornings?

Yes, as far as I know, the series aired at 5:10pm in every ITV region initially in early 1989, then a year or two later they showed a repeat on CITV mornings. I do remember they had on Roger Oakley (Tom) as a guest even. Then it moved to lunchtimes and was shown, I think initially at 12:30, which may have been a repeat of the previous day, and over the years moved to a slightly later slot and a "first showing". Around the early 90's when H&A was very popular, some ITV regions moved the show to 6pm or 6:30pm. Back in those days it's easy to forget H&A was a huge show and at its peak was not far off the "big UK soaps" in terms of ratings. I think it was still pulling in very respectable figures when it left ITV. 

[Bri1231]

Meantime it has remained on air at the same time in Ireland on the same channel since the very first episode. It dominates the ratings there, airing at 6.30pm and available to stream on RTE Player. Linear broadcasts still put it in the top 10 consistently with player racking up even more viewers.

Ireland has never played around with the airtimes. Ask anyone what time it airs and they'll be able to tell you. 

But as for the UK if streaming works ( which I've done since they dropped the 6.00pm airing ) then it's all good. As long as it pulls in the viewers. 

[James Martin]

On 04/01/2026 at 00:04, Bri1231 said:

Meantime it has remained on air at the same time in Ireland on the same channel since the very first episode. It dominates the ratings there, airing at 6.30pm and available to stream on RTE Player. Linear broadcasts still put it in the top 10 consistently with player racking up even more viewers.

Ireland has never played around with the airtimes. Ask anyone what time it airs and they'll be able to tell you. 

But as for the UK if streaming works ( which I've done since they dropped the 6.00pm airing ) then it's all good. As long as it pulls in the viewers. 

Don't you guys lose the 6:30pm for sport etc though quite often, and so either have to watch on RTÉ One at lunchtime or stream?

[Bri1231]

3 hours ago, James Martin said:

Don't you guys lose the 6:30pm for sport etc though quite often, and so either have to watch on RTÉ One at lunchtime or stream?

Very very rarely. If there is a sporting event they just move the time to anywhere as early as 5pm and as late at 7.30pm and it is always clearly announced. It's a well known and cherished show in Ireland, shown edit free, and although it may seem a bit redundant they still cater to those who may not have Internet, a package to allow streaming, or those who don't stream, and air all 5 eps again on RTE Saturday mornings ( Mon/Tues ) Sunday mornings ( Wednesday-Friday ) RTE knows it's a very popular show with a strong fan base so they respect that. 

[James Martin]

19 hours ago, Bri1231 said:

Very very rarely. If there is a sporting event they just move the time to anywhere as early as 5pm and as late at 7.30pm and it is always clearly announced. It's a well known and cherished show in Ireland, shown edit free, and although it may seem a bit redundant they still cater to those who may not have Internet, a package to allow streaming, or those who don't stream, and air all 5 eps again on RTE Saturday mornings ( Mon/Tues ) Sunday mornings ( Wednesday-Friday ) RTE knows it's a very popular show with a strong fan base so they respect that. 

That's incredible that RTÉ still treat the show so well.  Although ITV didn't treat it especially well, I'd argue their treatment was better than what Channel 5 have done to it now.  It was real gift of a show for ITV and even if it outgrew ITV1 it could have been a centrepiece of ITV2's schedule.