Kilroy (TV series)
Television series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kilroy is a BBC One daytime chat show hosted by Robert Kilroy-Silk that began on 24 November 1986 and finished on 23 January 2004 after 17 years. Originally called Day to Day, the programme was renamed to Kilroy in September 1987.
| Kilroy | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Day to Day |
| Genre | Daytime chat show |
| Presented by | Robert Kilroy-Silk |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Kilroy Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One |
| Release | 24 November 1986 – 23 January 2004 |
The format featured the host moving among an audience made up of experts and members of the public, speaking to them one by one on a different topical or moral issue per episode.
In February 1999, the show was one of three to be caught up in a fake guests controversy and faced similar accusations to ITV's Trisha and The Vanessa Show. Kilroy-Silk defended his show saying that after 1,700 programmes and 120,000 guests, it had only been hoaxed four or five times and called for people who hoax programmes to be prosecuted.[1]
Series
| Season | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 November 1986[2] | 22 May 1987[3] | |
| 2 | 12 October 1987[4] | 27 May 1988[5] | |
| 3 | 17 October 1988[6] | 26 May 1989[7] | |
| 4 | 16 October 1989[8] | 3 April 1990[9] | |
| 5 | 15 October 1990[10] | 26 March 1991[11] | |
| 6 | 14 October 1991[12] | 20 March 1992[13] | |
| 7 | 12 October 1992[14] | 2 April 1993[15] | |
| 8 | 11 October 1993[16] | 20 May 1994[17] | |
| 9 | 17 October 1994[18] | 26 May 1995[19] | |
| 10 | 16 October 1995[20] | 24 May 1996[21] | |
| 11 | 2 September 1996[22] | 25 July 1997[23] | |
| 12 | 1 September 1997[24] | 24 July 1998[25] | |
| 13 | 7 September 1998[26] | 23 July 1999[27] | |
| 14 | 6 September 1999[28] | 19 July 2000[29] | |
| 15 | 31 August 2000[30] | 20 July 2001[31] | |
| 16 | 3 September 2001[32] | 8 July 2002[33] | |
| 17 | 2 September 2002[34] | 4 July 2003[35] | |
| 18 | 1 September 2003[36] | 23 January 2004[37] | |
Controversy and cancellation
The show was taken off the air in 2004 after Kilroy-Silk made allegedly racist remarks. Kilroy-Silk questioned what contribution Arabs have made to civilisation beyond oil.[38] The Commission for Racial Equality reported him to the police.[39]
The BBC cancelled the show, stating that his views were a threat to the network's impartiality. Kilroy claimed afterwards on the BBC's Question Time that he had been under a six-month investigation when this happened. He stated that his show was cancelled because he was anti-religion, rather than racist.[40] However, panellist Shaparak Khorsandi claimed that his views were about Arabs as a people rather than their religion. Kilroy-Silk had previously claimed to have apologised in 2004. It was rejected primarily because Kilroy-Silk himself twisted his words. Iqbal Sacranie (secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain) claimed that Kilroy-Silk had not retracted his views but skimmed over the apology and changed a few words.[41]
The programme was replaced by Now You're Talking!, which followed a similar format and was presented by Nicky Campbell and Nadia Sawalha. The show was also produced by Kilroy-Silk's production company.[42] Though contemporary reports suggested that his agent had offered the show to Channel 5, the broadcaster did not commission it.[43]