The Nation's Favourite

Last updated

The Nation's Favourite
Genre Documentary
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes19 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time60–120 minutes
(inc. adverts)
Production companyShiver
Original release
Network ITV
Release5 December 2010 (2010-12-05)
Related
ITV Specials

The Nation's Favourite... is a British documentary series, celebrating music by a particular artist or popular genre, including ABBA, the Beatles, the Bee Gees, the Carpenters, Elton John, Elvis Presley and Queen.

To date, 19 episodes have been shown with a variety of celebrity narrators, including David Walliams, Alison Steadman, Victoria Wood, Zoe Ball, Matt Lucas, Craig Charles, Rufus Hound, Fearne Cotton, Amanda Holden and Stephen Mulhern.

Most Nation's Favourites are 90 minutes in duration. Each episode features exclusive interviews with the featured band or artist, as well as their songwriters, producers, musicians and celebrity fans. The series is made by Shiver.

Episodes

No.TitleNarratorOriginal air date Viewers
(millions)
1"The Nation's Favourite ABBA Song" Kate Thornton 5 December 2010 (2010-12-05) [1] 5.70 [2]
Top 25
2"The Nation's Favourite Bee Gees Song [4] " Amanda Holden 9 December 2011 (2011-12-09)3.81 [5]
3–5"The Nation's Favourite Number One Single" Fearne Cotton 8 July 2012 (2012-07-08)(part one)

14 July 2012 (2012-07-14)(part two)

15 July 2012 (2012-07-15)(part three)
2.70 (part one)

2.75 (part two) [6]

3.68 (part three) [7]
6"The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song" Liza Tarbuck 22 December 2012 (2012-12-22)1.61 [8]
7"The Nation's Favourite Dance Moment [9] " Rufus Hound 22 June 2013 (2013-06-22)N/A
8"The Nation's Favourite Elvis Song [10] " Zoë Ball 8 November 2013 (2013-11-08)4.48
9"The Nation's Favourite Motown Song [11] [12] " Craig Charles 6 July 2014 (2014-07-06)2.15
10"The Nation's Favourite Queen Song [13] " Matt Lucas 11 November 2014 (2014-11-11)2.72
11"The Nation's Favourite 70s Number One [15] "Zoë Ball5 March 2015 (2015-03-05)2.74
Top 20
  1. "Bohemian Rhapsody" – Queen (No. 1 in 1975 & 1991)
  2. "Dancing Queen" – ABBA (No. 1 in 1976)
  3. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" – Simon and Garfunkel (No. 1 in 1970)
  4. "Heart of Glass" – Blondie (No. 1 in 1979)
  5. "Wuthering Heights" – Kate Bush (No. 1 in 1978)
  6. "I Will Survive" – Gloria Gaynor (No. 1 in 1979)
  7. "Night Fever" – Bee Gees (No. 1 in 1978)
  8. "Without You" – Nilsson (No. 1 in 1972)
  9. "I'm Not in Love" – 10cc (No. 1 in 1975)
  10. "YMCA" – Village People (No. 1 in 1979)
  11. "Hot Love" – T. Rex (No. 1 in 1971)
  12. "December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" – Four Seasons (No. 1 in 1976)
  13. "I Feel Love" – Donna Summer (No. 1 in 1977)
  14. "Sailing" – Rod Stewart (No. 1 in 1975)
  15. "Cum On Feel the Noize" – Slade (No. 1 in 1973)
  16. "Band of Gold" – Freda Payne (No. 1 in 1970)
  17. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" – Elton John & Kiki Dee (No. 1 in 1976)
  18. "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" – Ian Dury & the Blockheads (No. 1 in 1979)
  19. "Block Buster!" – Sweet (No. 1 in 1973)
  20. "Rock Your Baby" – George McCrae (No. 1 in 1974) [16]
12"The Nation's Favourite 80s Number One"Zoë Ball25 July 2015 (2015-07-25) [17] 2.38
Top 20
  1. "Every Breath You Take" – The Police (No. 1 in 1983)
  2. "Billie Jean" – Michael Jackson (No. 1 in 1983)
  3. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" – Bonnie Tyler (No. 1 in 1983)
  4. "Tainted Love" – Soft Cell (No. 1 in 1981)
  5. "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" – Whitney Houston (No. 1 in 1987)
  6. "Come On Eileen" – Dexys Midnight Runners (No. 1 in 1982)
  7. "Don't You Want Me" – Human League (No. 1 in 1981)
  8. "House of Fun" – Madness (No. 1 in 1982)
  9. "Karma Chameleon" – Culture Club (No. 1 in 1983)
  10. "True" – Spandau Ballet (No. 1 in 1983)
  11. "China in Your Hand" – T'Pau (No. 1 in 1987)
  12. "West End Girls" – Pet Shop Boys (No. 1 in 1986)
  13. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" – Wham! (No. 1 in 1984)
  14. "Two Tribes" – Frankie Goes to Hollywood (No. 1 in 1984)
  15. "Stand and Deliver" – Adam and the Ants (No. 1 in 1981)
  16. "Don't Leave Me This Way" – The Communards (No. 1 in 1986)
  17. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" – Dead or Alive (No. 1 in 1985)
  18. "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" – Soul II Soul (No. 1 in 1989)
  19. "Into the Groove" – Madonna (No. 1 in 1985)
  20. "Especially for You" – Kylie and Jason (No. 1 in 1989)
13"The Sound of ITV – The Nation's Favourite Theme Tune" Victoria Wood 16 September 2015 (2015-09-16) [18] 2.39
Top 20
  1. The Benny Hill Show (1969–1989)
  2. Thunderbirds (1965–1966)
  3. Tales of the Unexpected (1979–1988)
  4. The Avengers (1961–1969)
  5. Van der Valk (1972–1992)
  6. Downton Abbey (2010–2015)
  7. Inspector Morse (1987–2000)
  8. Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989–2013)
  9. Coronation Street (1960–present)
  10. Minder (1979–1994)
  11. ITV News at Ten (1967–present)
  12. The Professionals (1977–1983)
  13. The Sweeney (1975–1978)
  14. Blockbusters (1983–1993)
  15. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955–1959)
  16. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (1998–2014)
  17. Emmerdale (1972–present)
  18. World of Sport (1965–1985)
  19. This Is Your Life (1969–1994)
  20. Surprise Surprise (1984–2001)
14"The Nation's Favourite Beatles Number One [19] " Alison Steadman 11 November 2015 (2015-11-11) [20] 2.62
15"The Nation's Favourite Bond Song [22] " David Walliams 17 December 2015 (2015-12-17)2.79
16"The Nation's Favourite Disney Song [23] " Stephen Mulhern 26 December 2015 (2015-12-26)2.2
17"The Nation's Favourite Carpenters Song [25] "Zoë Ball3 September 2016 (2016-09-03)2.5
18"Elton John: The Nation's Favourite Song [26] "David Walliams12 November 2017 (2017-11-12)3.39

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benny Hill</span> English comedy actor (1924–1992)

Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill was an English comedian. He is remembered for his television programme The Benny Hill Show, an amalgam of slapstick, burlesque and double entendre in a format that included live comedy and filmed segments, with Hill at the focus of almost every segment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cilla Black</span> English singer and media personality (1943–2015)

Priscilla Maria Veronica White, better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer and television presenter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoe Ball</span> British television and radio personality

Zoe Louise Ball is a British broadcaster and presenter. She was the first female host of the Radio 1 and Radio 2 breakfast shows for the BBC, and presented the 1990s children's show Live & Kicking, alongside Jamie Theakston from 1996–1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dancing Queen</span> 1976 single by ABBA

"Dancing Queen" is a Europop and disco song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Arrival (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. Andersson and Ulvaeus also produced the song. "Dancing Queen" was released as a single in Sweden on 16 August 1976, followed by a UK release and the rest of Europe a few days later. It was a worldwide hit. It became ABBA's only number one hit in the United States, and topped the charts in Australia, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, West Germany and the Soviet Union. "Dancing Queen" also reached the top five in many other countries.

<i>Royal Variety Performance</i> Variety show in the United Kingdom

The Royal Variety Performance is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity. It is attended by senior members of the British royal family. The evening's performance is presented as a live variety show, usually from a theatre in London and consists of family entertainment that includes comedy, music, dance, magic and other speciality acts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Barlow</span> British musician and television personality (born 1971)

Gary Barlow is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the British pop group Take That.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bradley Walsh</span> English actor, comedian, singer and television presenter

Bradley John Walsh is an English actor, television presenter, comedian, singer, and former professional footballer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wing (singer)</span> Hong Kong/New Zealand singer

Wing Han Tsang, known professionally by the mononym Wing, is a retired Hong Kong-born New Zealand singer. Her singing style has drawn comparisons to Florence Foster Jenkins and Mrs. Miller. She is an example of outsider music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kym Marsh</span> English actress, singer-songwriter (born 1976)

Kimberley Gail Marsh is an English actress, television presenter and singer. In 2001, she won a place in the band Hear'Say as a result of appearing on the reality television series Popstars. Hear'Say enjoyed brief success, achieving two UK number one singles and a UK number one album, but Marsh left the band in 2002 to pursue a solo career. She released an album titled Standing Tall in 2003, which peaked at number nine in the UK and spawned two UK top ten singles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Please Mr. Postman</span> 1961 song by the Marvelettes

"Please Mr. Postman" is a song written by Georgia Dobbins, William Garrett, Freddie Gorman, Brian Holland and Robert Bateman. It is the debut single by the Marvelettes for the Tamla (Motown) label, notable as the first Motown song to reach the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart. The single achieved this position in late 1961; it hit number one on the R&B chart as well. "Please Mr. Postman" became a number-one hit again in early 1975 when The Carpenters' cover of the song reached the top position of the Billboard Hot 100. "Please Mr. Postman" has been covered several times, including by the British rock group the Beatles in 1963. The 2017 song "Feel It Still" by Portugal. The Man draws on "Please Mr. Postman" and includes a credit for Brian Holland.

The Official Albums Chart, previously the UK Albums Chart, is a list of albums ranked by sales and audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on Fridays. It is broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and found on the OCC website as a Top 100 or on UKChartsPlus as a Top 200, with positions continuing until all sales have been tracked in data only available to industry insiders. However, even though number 100 was classed as a hit album in the 1980s until January 1989, since the compilations were removed, this definition was changed to Top 75 with follow-up books such as The Virgin Book of British Hit Albums book only including this data. As of 2021, the OCC still only tracks how many UK Top 75s album hits and how many weeks in Top 75 albums chart each artist has achieved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katherine Kelly (actress)</span> English actress

Katherine Sinead Kelly is an English actress and presenter, who made her TV debut in 2003, appearing on Last of the Summer Wine. Kelly rose to prominence after portraying Becky McDonald in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street between 2006 and 2012. For this role, Kelly won multiple awards including a National Television Award for "Best Serial Drama Performance" in 2012.

<i>The X Factor</i> (British TV series) British reality television music competition

The X Factor was a British reality television music competition, created by Simon Cowell. Premiering on 4 September 2004, it was produced by Fremantle's Talkback Thames and Cowell's production company Syco Entertainment for ITV, as well as simulcast on Virgin Media One in Ireland. The programme ran for around 445 episodes across fifteen series, each one primarily broadcast late in the year, until its final episode in December 2018. The majority of episodes were presented by Dermot O'Leary, with some exceptions: the first three series were hosted by Kate Thornton; while Caroline Flack and Olly Murs hosted the show for the twelfth series.

<i>The X Factor</i> (British series 6) Season of television series

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The sixth series started on ITV on 22 August 2009 and was won by Joe McElderry on 13 December 2009. Cheryl Cole emerged as the winning mentor for the second consecutive year, the first time in the show's history that a mentor has won back-to-back series. The show was presented by Dermot O'Leary, with spin-off show The Xtra Factor presented by Holly Willoughby on ITV2. McElderry's winner's single was a cover version of Miley Cyrus's "The Climb". Public auditions by aspiring singers began in June 2009 and were held in five cities across the UK. Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Dannii Minogue and Cole returned as judges. This season was the first to be sponsored by TalkTalk after they took over the sponsorship from The Carphone Warehouse. For the first time, auditions were held in front of a live audience. Following initial auditions, the "bootcamp" stage took place in August 2009, where the number of contestants was narrowed down to 24. The 24 contestants were split into their categories, Boys, Girls, Over 25s and Groups, and given a judge to mentor them at the "judges' houses" stage and throughout the finals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaheen Jafargholi</span> Welsh actor and singer

Shaheen Jafargholi is a Welsh actor and singer. In 2009, he finished in seventh place on the ITV competition series Britain's Got Talent. Since then, he has portrayed the roles of Shakil Kazemi in EastEnders and Marty Kirkby in Casualty.

<i>The X Factor</i> (British series 7) Season of television series

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The seventh series started on ITV on 21 August 2010 and ended on 12 December 2010. The series saw the creation of the boy band One Direction, from boys who entered the competition as individuals. The winner of the competition was Matt Cardle. Cardle was mentored throughout the show by Dannii Minogue. After the victory, he released his debut single "When We Collide". A total of 15,448,019 votes were cast throughout the series. It was presented by Dermot O'Leary, with spin-off show The Xtra Factor presented by Konnie Huq on ITV2, who took over from Holly Willoughby.

<i>The X Factor</i> (British series 8) British TV competition

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The eighth series aired on ITV on 20 August 2011 and ended on 11 December 2011. Dermot O'Leary hosted the main show on ITV, while Caroline Flack and series 6 runner-up Olly Murs co-presented the spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2. Louis Walsh returned to the judging panel and was joined by Gary Barlow, Kelly Rowland and Tulisa. Barlow, Rowland, Tulisa joined the panel replacing judges, Simon Cowell, Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole. Series 5 winner Alexandra Burke served as a guest judge for week 4 of the live shows due to Rowland having a throat infection.

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The ninth series began airing on ITV on 18 August 2012 and ended on 9 December 2012. Dermot O'Leary returned as presenter of the main show on ITV, whilst Caroline Flack and Olly Murs returned to co-present The Xtra Factor on ITV2. Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow and Tulisa returned as judges. Nicole Scherzinger was confirmed as the fourth permanent judge after Geri Halliwell, Leona Lewis, Rita Ora, Mel B, Anastacia and Scherzinger herself stood in as guest judges for the vacant position left by Kelly Rowland. After the show of 8 December, two of Scherzinger's acts, James Arthur and Jahméne Douglas, became the top two, meaning that Scherzinger was guaranteed to win. Arthur was announced as the winner on 9 December, and released a cover of Shontelle's "Impossible" as his winner's song. As of 2016, it is the most successful winner's single in the show's history.

<i>The X Factor</i> (British series 12) British TV competition

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The twelfth series began airing on ITV on 29 August 2015 and ended on 13 December 2015. The judges were Simon Cowell, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, who returned for their respective ninth and fifth series as judges, series 9 guest judge and former The Voice UK coach Rita Ora, and BBC Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw, with Grimshaw and Ora replacing Louis Walsh, the only judge who had been on the show from its inception in 2004, and Mel B. It was presented by Caroline Flack and Olly Murs, who had both previously co-presented spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2 and replaced Dermot O'Leary, who left after eight series. Rochelle Humes and Melvin Odoom presented The Xtra Factor, replacing Sarah-Jane Crawford. Louisa Johnson was announced as the winner on 13 December 2015, making Ora the winning mentor.

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The thirteenth series began airing on ITV on Saturday 27 August 2016 and ended on Sunday 11 December 2016. Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main show on ITV for the ninth time to replace Olly Murs and Caroline Flack, who left after series 12. Simon Cowell was the only judge from the 12th series to return; Nicole Scherzinger, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh all returned, replacing Rita Ora, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Nick Grimshaw. Matt Edmondson and Rylan Clark-Neal replaced Rochelle Humes and Melvin Odoom as hosts of The Xtra Factor, which was rebranded as The Xtra Factor Live and was broadcast live twice every week, with Roman Kemp making appearances as a digital presenter and social media reporter. Matt Terry was announced the winner on 11 December 2016, making Scherzinger the winning mentor for the second time. Saara Aalto finished second.

References

  1. "Video - ITV Player homepage". Archived from the original on 4 January 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  2. "'The X Factor' semi-final storms past 15m". Digital Spy. 6 December 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  3. "ABBA on TV - The Nation's Favourite ABBA Song". abbaontv.com. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  4. "ITV TV Shows". Archived from the original on 19 October 2012.
  5. "Bee Gees special pulls in 3.8m on ITV1". Digital Spy. 10 December 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  6. "Big Brother slumps to 870,000 on Saturday night". Digital Spy. 15 July 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  7. "'Family Guy' rockets to 1.2m on BBC Three after 'Shrek' boost". Digital Spy. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  8. "'Strictly Come Dancing' 2012 finale second most-watched ever - Strictly Come Dancing News". Digital Spy. 23 December 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  9. "ITV Media". itvmedia.co.uk.
  10. "Shiver Brings Elvis To ITV | Shiver". shiver.tv. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  11. "Nation's Favourite Motown Song Episode 1". itv.com. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  12. "Shiver to reveal The Nation's Favourite Motown Song for ITV". itv.com. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  13. "The Nation's Favourite Queen Song (2014)". BFI. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  14. "The Nation's Favourite Queen Song Top 20 Results and ITV Winner | Telly Chat". tellychat.co.uk. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  15. "The Nation's Favourite 70s Number One Episode 1". itv.com. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  16. "The Nation's Favourite 70s Number One has been revealed, but here are some 70s classics which didn't make the cut | Metro News". metro.co.uk. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  17. "Nation's Favourite 80s Number 1 Episode 1". itv.com. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  18. "The Sound of ITV: The Nation's Favourite Theme Tunes Episode 1". itv.com. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  19. "The Nation's Favourite Beatles Number One". itv.com. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  20. "The Nation's Favourite Beatles Number One Episode 1". itv.com. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  21. "Hey Jude voted the UK's favourite Beatles number one single on ITV | TV | Staying In | London Evening Standard". The standard. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  22. "The Nation's Favourite Bond Song Episode 1". itv.com. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  23. "The Nation's Favourite Disney Song Episode 1". itv.com. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  24. "Let It Go from Frozen is surprisingly not the nation's favourite Disney song". 26 December 2015.
  25. "The Nation's Favourite Carpenters Song Episode 1".
  26. "The nation's favourite Elton John song ever is revealed". Smooth Radio . Retrieved 27 November 2021.