2020 in Scottish television

This is a list of events in Scottish television from 2020.

Events

January to June

• No events.

July

• 31 July – Steve Carson named as new director of BBC Scotland, to replace Donalda MacKinnon later in the year. ^[1]

August

• 25 August – Filming recommences on BBC Scotland's soap River City after it was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[2]

September

• No events.

October

• 19 October – Steve Carson starts as director of BBC Scotland. Around twenty staff departures, including some long-serving correspondents, are announced, as attempts are made to reduce the budget of the organisation by around £6.2 million by April. ^[3]

November

• 4 November – Amazon announces that its supernatural thriller series The Rig is to be filmed in Scotland. ^[4]
• 7 November – Sky Sports announces that the Scotland and Northern Ireland Euro 2020 play-off finals will be made free-to-air on UK television. ^[5]

December

• 1 December – BBC Scotland announces that Susan Calman will front their Hogmanay Live programme for a second time, with Deacon Blue, Amy Macdonald and Blazin' Fiddles. Jackie Bird is to host an hour-long programme celebrating Scotland's heroes of the coronavirus pandemic. ^[6]
• 19 December – Nicola Walker will take on the role of DI Annika Strandhed in a UKTV drama series around murders that are discovered in the waterways of Scotland. ^[7]
• 27 December – Details of the cast for BBC Scotland's Hogmanay programme for 2020, are released. ^[8]
• 31 December – Hogmanay Live with Susan Calman sees in the New Year; overnight viewing figures indicate it is watched by 1.05 million viewers. ^[9]

Debuts

BBC

The Scotts, Group and the Daly Grind. ^[10]

Ongoing television programmes

1960s

• Reporting Scotland (1968–1983; 1984–present)

1970s

• Sportscene (1975–present) ^[11]
• Landward (1976–present)
• The Beechgrove Garden (1978–present)

1990s

• Eòrpa (1993–present)

2000s

• River City (2002–present)
• The Adventure Show (2005–present)
• An Là (2008–present)
• Trusadh (2008–present)
• STV Rugby (2009–2010; 2011–present)
• STV News at Six (2009–present)

2010s

• Scotland Tonight (2011–present)
• Shetland (2013–present)
• Scot Squad (2014–present)
• Two Doors Down (2016–present)
• Molly and Mack (2018–2022) ^[12]
• The Nine (2019–present)
• Debate Night (2019–present)
• A View from the Terrace (2019–present)

Ending this year

• Only an Excuse? (1993–2020) ^[13]

Deaths

• 9 July – Johnny Beattie, 93, actor ^[14]
• 15 July – Maurice Roëves, 83, actor ^[15]
• 26 October – John Duncanson, 80, broadcaster ( North Tonight ) ^[16]

See also

• 2020 in Scotland

References

1. Mullen, Stacey (31 July 2020). "Steve Carson named as new director of BBC Scotland". Glasgow Times . Retrieved 1 January 2021.
2. McLean, Pauline (25 August 2020). "Coronavirus: Filming resumes on Scottish soap River City". BBC News. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
3. Boal, Daniel (16 October 2020). "BBC Scotland newsroom talent lead mass exodus amid cost-cutting measures". The Press and Journal . Retrieved 1 January 2021.
4. "Amazon Original The Rig to be filmed in Scotland". BBC News. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
5. "Scotland & Northern Ireland Euro 2020 play-off finals free-to-air". BBC Sport . 7 November 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
6. Ferguson, Brian (1 December 2020). "Jackie Bird to make BBC Scotland festive comeback as Deacon Blue and Amy Macdonald headline Hogmanay special". The Scotsman . Retrieved 31 December 2020.
7. Ferguson, Brian (19 December 2020). "Scotland to get new marine murder mystery TV series focusing on Norwegian detective". The Scotsman . Retrieved 31 December 2020.
8. Sabljak, Ema (27 December 2020). "Susan Calman reveals cast of Hogmanay 2020 show". Glasgow Times . Retrieved 30 December 2020.
9. "New Year fireworks watched by 10 million viewers on BBC One". 1 January 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021– via www.bbc.co.uk.
10. Ferguson, Brian (26 November 2019). "BBC ready to launch three new comedies with Scottish star Shauna Macdonald". The Scotsman . Retrieved 2 January 2020.
11. "Sportscene at 50: Famous faces back for anniversary". BBC Sport. 6 August 2025. Archived from the original on 11 August 2025. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
12. "Goodbye Molly and Mack – CBeebies' most adorable show". the Guardian. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
13. "Only An Excuse had 'a good kick of the ball'". BBC News. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
14. "Stage and screen entertainer Johnny Beattie dies aged 93". BBC News. 9 July 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
15. "Scottish actor Maurice Roeves dies aged 83". BBC News. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
16. "Obituary: John Duncanson, broadcaster who anchored Grampian TV's North Tonight for 20 years". The Scotsman. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2024.