The BBC marks its 90th birthday on November 2, 2026, and a new ranking has placed Strictly Come Dancing at number seven in a list of the best BBC shows of all time. The index, compiled by Zingo Bingo, analysed 31 BBC programmes featured on the Broadcasting Press Guild's Top 50 Landmark TV Programmes list.
Ranking Methodology
The rankings were determined using a combination of IMDb ratings and votes, BAFTA nominations and wins, and National Television Awards (NTA) nominations and wins. The resulting index scores produced a top 10 countdown, from The Office to Fleabag and Strictly Come Dancing.
The anniversary marks exactly nine decades since the BBC Television Service launched the world's first regular, public "high-definition" television service from Alexandra Palace in North London in November 1936. Alexandra Palace, affectionately known as Ally Pally, is set to host a series of events to mark the birth of British TV. Organisers hope to use the anniversary to also mark "the significance of the site of the first television station".
The Top 10 Countdown
At number 10 is Have I Got News For You, which first premiered on September 28, 1990. The panel show, featuring Ian Hislop, Paul Merton and a rotating cast of hosts, received an IMDb rating of 7.9, 28 BAFTA nominations including three wins, and an index score of 71.9.
Number 9 is Monty Python's Flying Circus, the sketch comedy show starring John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Eric Idle. It premiered on October 5, 1969, on BBC1 and ran until 1974. With an IMDb rating of 8.8, 9 BAFTA nominations including two wins, it scored 72 on the index.
The Great British Bake Off ranks at number 8. The baking show originally aired on the BBC in 2010 for seven series before moving to Channel 4 in 2017. Previously hosted by Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc alongside judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, it received an IMDb rating of 8.6, 7 BAFTA nominations and three wins, earning a score of 73.2.
Strictly's Surprising Position
Strictly Come Dancing, which premiered in 2004, ranks seventh despite being the most-nominated programme at both the BAFTAs and the NTAs. The dance competition received 40 BAFTA nominations and 28 NTA nominations, but its IMDb rating of 6.1 – the second lowest of the 31 programmes analysed – brought its overall score down.
The format has been exported to 60 other countries under the title Dancing with the Stars, licensed by BBC Worldwide, and led to a spin-off, Strictly Dance Fever. The Guinness World Records named Strictly as the world's most successful reality television format in 2010. The series was presented by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly from its inception, with Claudia Winkleman joining Daly as a lead presenter from the 2014 series. The duo stepped down from their roles last year, and the show is now hosted by Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe.
