Rip–Off Britain (TV programme)
British consumer rights television series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rip–Off Britain is a BBC One daytime series which exposes Britain's Rip-Offs and helps consumers. It began on 30 November 2009, presented by former news journalists Angela Rippon, Gloria Hunniford and Jennie Bond. Newsreader Julia Somerville replaced Bond from series three.
Julia Somerville (2011–present)
Louise Minchin (2024–present)
Angela Rippon (2009–2024)
Jennie Bond (2009–2010)
| Rip–Off Britain | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Factual |
| Presented by | Gloria Hunniford (2009–present) Julia Somerville (2011–present) Louise Minchin (2024–present) Angela Rippon (2009–2024) Jennie Bond (2009–2010) |
| Theme music composer | Martin Medina |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 16 (Regular) 11 (Holidays) 10 (Live) 5 (Food) |
| No. of episodes | 377 (Regular) 115 (Holidays) 95 (Live) 50 (Food) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Production company | BBC Studios Documentary Unit |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One |
| Release | 30 November 2009 – present |
Rip-Off Britain has had three spin-off series: Rip-Off Britain: Food, Rip-Off Britain: Holidays and Rip-Off Britain: Live. The live shows were shown for one week, twice a year, but ended after ten live series due to budget constraints.
In 2024, Angela Rippon partnered with Smart Energy GB, alongside Ross Kemp, to launch a campaign promoting the installation of smart meters to consumers. The integrated adverts aired on television in the UK from November 2023 into 2025. Due to this, the BBC saw a conflict of interest, as Rip-Off Britain often holds energy companies and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to account on the roll out of smart meters. The promotion of such meters could impact the public's trust of the programme, and so it was mutually agreed that Angela Rippon would take leave from BBC productions for 12 months.
It was announced on 19 December 2024 that Louise Minchin would replace Angela Rippon for the third and final block of series 16, airing from 6 to 24 January 2025, and full-time from series 17, airing April 2025 onwards.
Format
The Rip-Off Britain production team investigate and probe viewers' stories and complaints, exposing companies, organisations and individuals who are ripping-off consumers, and seek answers, remediation, refunds, compensation and other ways to leave customers and viewers satisfied.
Films are created, looking into cases and stories, often with multiple case studies of viewers who have experienced the same, or similar, situations. The team travels cross-country, from London, Brixham and Bournemouth in the south, to Manchester, Sunderland, Edinburgh and Aberdeen in the north, to hear from viewers and allow them to tell their stories in their own words.
The presenters then bring experts into the Rip-Off Britain HQ, delving more deeply into each story. They offer advice on how to go about the situation, how to avoid it, and what next steps customers could take. They may also bring in representatives from organisations, such as government departments, companies and charities, to offer explanations or their replies, as well as what steps may be taken in future to ensure certain situations do not happen to others.
Experts and guests who regularly appear on the show include Simon Calder, David McClelland, Kate Hardcastle, Sylvia Rook, Helen Dewdney, Adam French, Gary Rycroft, Sarah Pennels, Paul Lewis and Martyn James.
Transmissions
Regular
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 November 2009[1] | 4 December 2009[2] | 5[2] | Daytime |
| 2 | 22 November 2010[3] | 17 December 2010[4] | 20[4] | |
| 5 January 2011[5] | 8 April 2011[6] | 11[6] | Primetime | |
| 3 | 28 November 2011[7] | 23 December 2011[8] | 20[8] | Daytime |
| 18 January 2012[9] | 30 May 2012[10] | 8[10] | Primetime | |
| 4 | 3 September 2012[11] | 28 September 2012[12] | 20[12] | Daytime |
| 7 January 2013[13] | 5 August 2013[14] | 8[14] | Primetime | |
| 5 | 2 September 2013[15] | 27 September 2013[16] | 20[16] | Daytime |
| 6 | 15 September 2014[17] | 10 October 2014[18] | 20[18] | |
| 7 | 14 September 2015[19] | 9 October 2015[20] | 20[20] | |
| 8 | 12 September 2016[21] | 7 October 2016[22] | 20[22] | |
| 9 | 1 May 2017[23] | 13 October 2017[24] | 20[24] | |
| 10 | 11 June 2018[25] | 12 October 2018[26] | 20[26] | |
| 11 | 6 May 2019[27] | 11 October 2019[28] | 20[28] | |
| 12 | 6 July 2020[29] | 16 October 2020[30] | 20[30] | |
| 13 | 3 May 2021[31] | 15 October 2021[32] | 20[32] | |
| 14 | 2 May 2022[33] | 14 October 2022[34] | 20[34] | |
| 15 | 15 May 2023[35] | 22 January 2024[36] | 40[36] | |
| 16 | 20 May 2024[37] | 24 January 2025[38] | 45[38] | |
| 17 | 14 April 2025[39] | 2 May 2025[39] | 15[39] | |
Holidays
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 January 2013[40] | 11 January 2013[41] | 5[41] |
| 2 | 6 January 2014[42] | 10 January 2014[43] | 5[43] |
| 3 | 5 January 2015[44] | 16 January 2015[45] | 10[45] |
| 4 | 4 January 2016[46] | 15 January 2016[47] | 10[47] |
| 5 | 2 January 2017[48] | 20 January 2017[49] | 15[49] |
| 6 | 2 January 2018[50] | 22 January 2018[51] | 15[51] |
| 7 | 7 January 2019[52] | 25 January 2019[53] | 15[53] |
| 8 | 6 January 2020[54] | 17 January 2020[55] | 10[55] |
| 9 | 4 January 2021[56] | 15 January 2021[57] | 10[57] |
| 10 | 17 January 2022[58] | 28 January 2022[59] | 10[59] |
| 11 | 2 January 2023[60] | 13 January 2023[61] | 10[61] |
Food
Live
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 October 2014[72] | 24 October 2014[73] | 5[73] |
| 2 | 19 October 2015[74] | 23 October 2015[75] | 5[75] |
| 3 | 10 October 2016[76] | 14 October 2016[77] | 5[77] |
| 4 | 15 May 2017[78] | 20 October 2017[79] | 10[79] |
| 5 | 25 June 2018[80] | 19 October 2018[81] | 10[81] |
| 6 | 20 May 2019[82] | 18 October 2019[83] | 10[83] |
| 7 | 20 January 2020[84] | 23 October 2020[85] | 10[85] |
| 8 | 18 January 2021[86] | 22 October 2021[87] | 15[87] |
| 9 | 31 January 2022[88] | 21 October 2022[89] | 15[89] |
| 10 | 16 January 2023[90] | 20 October 2023[91] | 10[91] |
Competitive tender
On 16 January 2025, the BBC announced that it had put the series' tender up for auction as part of its "competitive tender" policy, allowing independent companies to bid on producing the programme.[92] The format of the programme remains the same within the tender, producing three blocks of 15 episodes, totalling 45 episodes per year, for a total of two years. Each episode is 45 minutes long.