63-556: Fifth Gear is a British motoring television magazine series which has been broadcast since 2002. Originally shown on Channel 5 from 2002 to 2011 (and branded as 5th Gear until 2005), it began as a continuation of the original version of the BBC show Top Gear , which ran from 1977 until being cancelled in 2001. It moved to the Discovery Channel in 2012, then in 2015 to History ; since 2018 it has been broadcast on Quest . The show
126-458: A digital on-screen graphic (DOG) in the top left-hand corner. On some programmes in the channel's early years, commercial breaks were introduced by an "end of part one" sign emerging horizontally from the DOG; when the programme returned after the break, this would become a "part two" sign, which then disappears back into the DOG. On 14 April 1997, Teletext reported that 70% of viewers who took part in
189-612: A blue colour. North One North One Television (also known as North One and formerly known as Chrysalis Television ) is a production company based in London and Birmingham, England. Part of All3Media since 2004, the company specializes in factual entertainment, sports and live programming. The company was originally formed in 1980 by Chrysalis Group to produce facilities, and eight years later in 1988, expanded to produce news and sports programming. The name change from Chrysalis to North One took effect in 2004. North One won
252-504: A brief voice over by continuity presenter David Vickery, the first broadcast was the Spice Girls singing a cover version of Manfred Mann 's hit " 5-4-3-2-1 " as "1-2-3-4-5", for which they were reportedly paid around £500,000. Presenters Tim Vine and Julia Bradbury were the first people to introduced the nation to the UK's fifth terrestrial channel with half an hour of previews. The rest of
315-522: A car shootout in Fifth Gear style in the live arena show and said several times to the audience that the show would be back on air in Spring and to ignore the cancellation rumours. The series started on 3 June 2010. The series ran for 10 episodes and the first one had Lewis Hamilton as a guest. On 1 October 2010, it was announced that Ben Collins (who played the original White Stig on Top Gear ) would join
378-720: A digital video subscription service created by the BBC and ITV . Channel 5 HD is a high-definition simulcast of Channel 5. The channel launched on Sky Channel 171 and Virgin Media channel 150 on 13 July 2010. In the Summer of 2015, Channel 5 and Channel 5 HD switched places, with Channel 5 HD now being located in Channel 5's original space of Channel 105. Upon the launch, only the Australian soaps Neighbours and Home and Away were shown in HD, with
441-420: A major rebrand on 16 September 2002. In 2002, Channel 5 decided to drop the word 'Channel' from its name and refer to the channel as 'Five'. A new look was launched on 16 September 2002 featuring live-action footage with the new logo sliding in from the left of the screen. The new idents would sometimes be accompanied by pieces of chart music, such as Children by Robert Miles . The new look made frequent use of
504-585: A mix of live-action and CGI idents; some of these included supermarket trolleys, the Food Chain, Invisible Superheroes and Drawings. The look was refreshed in July 2009, making the logo notably larger, and the circle becoming red. As part of the refresh, special idents were made for popular shows such as The Mentalist , Paul Merton in Europe , CSI: Crime Scene Investigation , The Gadget Show and FlashForward with
567-452: A multimillion-pound project directed by Trevor Beattie . The channel's director of marketing at the time, David Pullen, said: This campaign set out to achieve three key objectives: to clarify the channel's creative strategy; to refresh the channel's on-screen identity; and to address the gap between the common perceptions of Five and the new reality of our programming – stimulating viewers' reappraisal of Five's programmes and brand. Channel 5
630-635: A new series of Fifth Gear which aired in September 2018 on Quest , but by 2019 had left the show to join Lovecars.com and their ITV4 programme On the Road . Following a 2021 relaunch, with an emphasis on electric cars , it was rebranded as Fifth Gear Recharged . Fifth Gear Recharged was presented by Vicki Butler-Henderson , Sid North, Karun Chandhok and Jason Plato with Grace Webb and engineer Jimmy de Ville also involved in reports. In 2024, North One scrapped
693-513: A poll were in favour of removing the DOG. Channel 5 refused to remove it, though they did state that since launch, the DOG had been toned down. Channel 5 explained their reasons for keeping the DOG on screen, in an interview on 30 March 1997, they explained that: Five's candy stripes are intended to join the Nike tick, the Levi's tab and the three Adidas stripes as signifiers of belonging... Brand identity
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#1732869474876756-459: A return to the 'Channel 5' moniker. In October 2010, Desmond revealed the station's new look and confirmed its official on-screen identity as "Channel 5" during a press launch. Desmond promoted these changes in his tabloid newspapers, the Daily Express and Daily Star . There is also cross-promotion between Northern & Shell's newspaper and magazine titles with their websites promoted on
819-415: A robot figure with the "5" logo imposed in neon lights (outlined). "VIP" features a model walking on a red carpet formed from the big screen with the logo formed out of the camera flashes. "Car Chase" features a police car chasing another car which eventually crashes 'through' the big screen with the logo being on the side of the police car. A generic ident with the Channel 5 logo pulsating on the studio screen
882-703: A sister to CBS in the United States and Network 10 in Australia. Channel 5 received Channel of the Year honours from the Royal Television Society and Broadcast Awards in 2020, with judges for both recognising the network's expansion under ViacomCBS. On 20 August 2024, it was reported that Paramount was planning a rebrand of Channel 5 to occur in early-2025, which would see its name shortened to "5". In addition, catch-up platform My5 will also be consolidated under
945-456: A year to boost programming and the equivalent of £20m promoting the channel and its shows in a marketing campaign in Northern & Shell publications. Upon completing his takeover of Five on 23 July 2010, Richard Desmond remarked; "I prefer Channel 5 to Five, but... we haven't met with the team yet to discuss these sorts of details". The day after, Desmond's Daily Express newspaper noted that
1008-519: Is currently presented by Vicki Butler-Henderson and Jason Plato , with Rory Reid , Grace Webb and Jimmy de Ville featuring in some episodes. Its former presenters include Quentin Willson , Adrian Simpson , Jonny Smith , former racing driver Tiff Needell and Car SOS host Tim Shaw . Fifth Gear was first broadcast on 8 April 2002, featuring the same format and many of the same presenters, including Willson, Needell, Butler-Henderson and Simpson, as
1071-570: Is now known as North One Television, part of the All3Media group). In series 14, a location change from the Ace Cafe meant link sequences were filmed instead at the Millbrook Proving Ground , along with some of the vehicle testing features. In 2005, the show's producer, Jon Bentley , also became a part-time presenter for a year before he went back to being solely the producer. Tim Lovejoy
1134-462: Is the new holy grail of marketing... Product recognition is the winning move in the new consumer system. Five is being sold like a car or a running shoe. Not surprisingly it will be the first of our terrestrial channels to wear its own label on the outside... "Consumers are very brand-conscious these days..." "...and we are definitely describing ourselves as a very modern channel. It would be curious to launch an old-fashioned channel without an image in
1197-556: The Anglesey Circuit on the Isle of Anglesey close to Aberffraw . During the refurbishment of Anglesey, shoot-outs were switched to Castle Combe Circuit . In Series 19, a new segment was introduced, called the Team Test. This is where Tiff , Jason , Jonny and Vicki all did a group test on an important new car. They all scored the car out of 10, and added their scores together to get
1260-455: The Helvetica typeface. The informal name "Five" was used in early continuity announcements and idents containing a lowercase 'five' had been used on the channel from the launch. The final set with this logo was launched on 23 January 2006, based on four-letter words such as Hope, Fast and Love. The idents at first did not feature the logo, but the idents were revised on 2 January 2007 to include
1323-449: The "5" branding to unify its linear and streaming outlets, following the lead of Channel 4. In addition, plans to consolidate Pluto TV with My5 were shelved. The British frequency plan had only allowed for four channels to be transmitted over the whole of the UK using analogue terrestrial transmitters, but the ITC identified that UHF channels 35 and 37 could provide coverage for around 70% of
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#17328694748761386-424: The (now-cancelled) nightly entertainment show OK! TV . Audience figures for the relaunch were boosted with increased viewing figures for the main 5 News bulletins and improved figures for OK! TV in the 6.30 p.m. slot over its predecessor Live from Studio Five . On 18 August 2011, Channel 5 relaunched Big Brother , starting with Celebrity Big Brother 8 and followed by Big Brother 12 , having bought
1449-410: The 2008 set being withdrawn except for the 'news safe' CGI idents. In February 2010, an additional ident was introduced, featuring a CGI aurora forming the logo tilted on its side. This was used at closedown and, sometimes, before news bulletins. After the takeover by Richard Desmond 's Northern & Shell , major changes and considerable financial investment were promised by the new owners, alongside
1512-809: The BBC's Top Gear . Channel 5 originally wanted to carry on using the Top Gear name, but the BBC refused as it still operated the Top Gear magazine ; the BBC relaunched Top Gear with a drastically revised format later in 2002, placing a strong focus on comedy and general entertainment. Fifth Gear has been referenced in Top Gear , such as when a barn fire damaged Top Gear property, host Jeremy Clarkson satirically claimed that Fifth Gear had "burned our furniture." Needell announced Fifth Gear' s cancellation on 24 May 2016. On 14 June 2018, Needell announced on his official Twitter account that he had been doing some filming work for
1575-413: The Channel 5 launch night schedule, along with the official viewing figures, was as follows: Overall, an estimated 2,490,000 tuned in to see Britain's fifth free channel launch, a figure higher than that achieved by the launch of Channel 4 , fourteen and a half years earlier. The first advert shown on Channel 5 was for Chanel No. 5 perfume. On 16 September 2002, Channel 5 re-branded to Five , in
1638-470: The Channel 5 website. In 2010, afternoon movies on Channel 5 were sponsored by the Daily Express . As for the logo, the red circle was retained, however, the word "FIVE" was replaced with the numeral "5". The extended version of the logo has the word "CHANNEL" in upper case font to its left. The DOG revived the "5" motif, originally as a transparent '5' cutout in a bright grey circle. From 18 February 2011,
1701-458: The DOG was modified to a white semi-transparent '5' on a faint grey circle. The DOG was later returned to the transparent '5' cutout in a bright grey circle. On 5 March 2013, the DOG was moved into the 16:9 safe area , along with the rest of their channels. A range of new idents for Channel 5 was launched in February 2011 incorporating the "5" motif featuring live-action and CGI elements. They echo
1764-532: The Spring!" and also hinted the show will have a new format in his next tweet "Glad so many of you are delighted by the Fifth Gear news — and, yes the format will be moving away from the stupid ... but still having fun!" On 17 January 2010, Vicki Butler-Henderson and Tiff Needell confirmed at the Autosport International Show that Fifth Gear will be returning in Spring 2010. The pair featured
1827-421: The UK population. These channels were used by many domestic video recorders for RF connection to television sets. Before the channel could launch, the broadcaster had to provide over-the-phone instructions or visit any home that complained, to either retune the video recorder or fit a filter to completely block the Channel 5 signal. For many transmitters, channels 35 and 37 were 'out of the group', which meant that
1890-414: The UK's commercial PSB services – ITV/STV/UTV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 – now have one-hour timeshifts. The original Channel 5 logo was a numeric "5" within a circle, sometimes accompanied by "candy stripes" of five colours (an idea based on the colour bars used by vision engineers to monitor picture output). Between 30 March 1997 and 15 September 2002, Channel 5 was the only UK terrestrial channel to display
1953-642: The United Kingdom. Channel 5 was renamed Five , from 16 September 2002 until 13 February 2011. Most of this was under the RTL Group 's ownership with Richard Desmond purchasing the channel on 23 July 2010 and reverting the name change. On 1 May 2014, the channel was acquired by Viacom (now Paramount Global) for £450 million (US$ 759 million). It is a general entertainment channel that shows internally commissioned programmes such as The Drowning , All Creatures Great and Small and Ben Fogle: New Lives in
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2016-635: The Wild . The channel has also relied on imports from the United States, including the CSI franchise, the NCIS franchise, the first three series in the Law & Order franchise, Power Rangers , The Mentalist , Body of Proof , Once Upon a Time , Dallas , Under the Dome , and sitcom Friends . Wolff Olins and Saatchi & Saatchi were the main companies behind
2079-591: The all-EV format, with the programme reverting to being Fifth Gear and with Rory Reid rejoining the presenting line-up. Repeats of Fifth Gear also started being broadcast on UKTV channel Dave in April 2008 and later on Discovery Turbo , with early episodes of the show being streamed '24/7' via the British feed of Pluto TV in 2019. The first seven series consisted of a 23-minute programme, not including approximately seven minutes of adverts. The eighth series returned in
2142-421: The autumn of 2005 in a longer format of 45 minutes, and the ninth series (which went to a 13-week run) was increased to a one-hour airtime slot (approximately 46 minutes excluding adverts). For series 17, the show had reverted to the original format of 23 minutes, which including adverts takes the show to half an hour. In Series 21, the show reverted to the previous one-hour airtime slot. At the start of series 10,
2205-400: The channel's name was to change: "From today the rather vague 'Five' (Five what? Days of the week? Fingers?) reverts to the much more informative Channel 5". On 11 August 2010, Desmond confirmed the restoration of the original name used from 1997 to 2002. The restoration was revealed onscreen on 14 February 2011. The relaunch also saw investment in a range of new programming with the debut of
2268-645: The episode. Fifth Gear has been broadcast on the Speed Channel in the United States for a short period in 2004 to early 2007. It began airing on Velocity on Wednesdays after Wheeler Dealers as of 3 October 2012. Fifth Gear began broadcasting in Australia in November 2009, on Seven Network 's free-to-air digital channel 7mate (previously shown on 7Two ). Fifth Gear started Canadian broadcast on Discovery Channel Canada in 2008, beginning with 2006 series. This version ran in half-hour format. Fifth Gear
2331-413: The era of Next, Levi's and Nike. On 6 September 1999, Channel 5 launched its new 'celebrity' idents, making the candy stripe more frequently used in idents and graphics, most notably in a hole in the backdrop of the idents. The set of idents was refreshed on 11 September 2000, as well as new idents from 4 March 2002, featuring the logo on coloured backgrounds by going widescreen. These idents were used until
2394-465: The font "Gotham" in upper case. Break bumpers featured the "5" logo in the left-hand corner of the screen with a pattern of circles radiating out from the logo in an alternating red and black colour scheme. This logo was retired from use on 10 February 2016; a virtually identical logo would later be used by American ABC affiliate WEWS-TV in Cleveland, Ohio beginning in September of that year, albeit in
2457-430: The frequencies Channel 5 would begin broadcasting on in the months before launch as well, including a trailer for the channel and information screens. After re-tuning, around 65% of the population's televisions could view the channel on launch night, and a month after launch, the channel launched on satellite to provide coverage to the rest of the UK. The channel's launch on 30 March 1997 (Easter Sunday) at 6 p.m. After
2520-526: The future. In October 2013, Channel 5 HD became a subscription channel on the Sky satellite platform. Previously, it was available as a free-to-view channel, but is now only available to Sky 'Family Bundle' customers or those with the HD pack. On 27 April 2016, Channel 5 HD test transmissions started on Freeview Mux. BBCB (CH105). On 4 May 2016, Channel 5 HD became free-to-air, coinciding with its launch on Freeview and Freesat . The time-shifted Channel 5 +1
2583-547: The letters HD placed in the top right-hand corner of the screen. Channel 5 HD was due to launch on Freeview in 2010 but was unable to reach the 'key criteria' to keep its slot. In 2011 Channel 5 HD was the sole applicant for a fifth high-definition channel slot on Freeview, intending to launch in spring or early summer 2012. On 15 December 2011, Channel 5 dropped its bid to take the fifth slot after being unable to resolve "issues of commercial importance". Channel 5 said it "remains committed" to having an HD channel on Freeview in
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2646-504: The major Tyne & Wear conurbation; many areas in Scotland ; most of Wales , most of Northern Ireland and parts of Cumbria . The channel is available on all digital platforms ( Freesat , Sky satellite, IPTV and Freeview digital terrestrial, and also most cable operators). On 5 November 2008, the channel launched on digital satellite service Freesat, on the Astra 28.2°E satellites. It
2709-463: The pre-launch advertising campaign: "Give Me 5". The channel would be both modern and mainstream. A logo (a numeric "5" within a circle) and visual motif (a "candy stripe" bar of colours, reminiscent of TV test cards) were used, and an attempt was made to establish a collection of Channel 5 faces; through the spring of 1997, billboards of Jack Docherty were displayed, along with other unknown characters. A series of pre-launch screens were displayed on
2772-410: The predominantly red colour scheme of the channel's new corporate image, each based in a spacious studio with a large screen as the backdrop for the action. "Drums" features a drummer against a backdrop of animated shapes with the "5" appearing on a screen behind. In "Equaliser", a "5" contained in a cube emerges from a graphic equaliser display. "Imagination" features a battle between a toy dinosaur and
2835-448: The rights to air the programme following its cancellation by Channel 4 in April 2011. The deal was worth a reported £200 million. The show helped the channel's viewing figures and audience share to rise slightly year-on-year, from 4.4% to 4.5%, in 2012. It was only achieved by Channel 5 and BBC One later in 2012; all other terrestrial broadcasters fell in comparison. In 2013, Ben Frow , the channel's Director of Programming, revealed that
2898-413: The roof-top receiving aerials were not designed to cover Channel 5's broadcast channels. Many people either could not receive the channel at all or required a new aerial. The broadcaster progressively added to the transmitters to improve the analogue terrestrial coverage since that time. From 23 April 1997, the channel was also provided on the analogue Astra satellite service, which enabled people outside
2961-414: The score for the car. Channel 5 executives had been quoted as saying, "Five is proud of Fifth Gear's contribution to the channel but after 16 series, feels it's time to try something new." On 27 November 2009, Jeremy Clarkson mentioned on The Chris Moyles Show that it was a shame that Fifth Gear had been cancelled. In late December 2009, however, presenter Jonny Smith suggested via Twitter that
3024-455: The show could return for another series early in 2010. On 8 January 2010, Smith tweeted: "Fifth Gear IS coming back!", and in his next tweet, he said "Wow, such quick responses! Basically, we all know there's room for two car TV shows. FG will simply be a reviews based visual car magazine." Tiff Needell also tweeted saying "Home to the news that, after much negotiating Fifth Gear looks like it will after all be returning to your screens sometime in
3087-600: The show in guest roles (Jonny Smith has left the series to present The Late Brake Show webshow). As well as testing purely electric cars such as the Cupra Born , Hyundai Ioniq 5 , Polestar 2 and ATAE Munro Mark 1 , the show will also feature hybrids such as the Peugeot 508 PSE. Each year for a few series, the programme gives out various Car of the Year type awards: During recording for Series 12, Episode 7 , two accidents took place while on set. Both accidents were shown on
3150-696: The show introduced between-feature links filmed at the Ace Cafe in London. In previous series, these links were filmed at the production company offices in Birmingham . Originally produced by Chrysalis Television, the Birmingham offices were situated on the top floor of the headquarters of 100.7 Heart FM (also, at that time, a Chrysalis Radio company), near Birmingham's Five Ways area. The team moved out when Chrysalis sold its television division to All3Media in September 2003 (the section which later produced Fifth Gear
3213-421: The show was relaunched as an electric car show under the amended title of Fifth Gear Recharged . Former Top Gear presenter Rory Reid, joined the presenting team of Vicky Butler Henderson, Jason Plato and Karun Chandhok (with the former Formula One driver and Sky F1 pundit now being part of the core presenting team and not a guest), while consumer journalist Grace Webb and engineer Jimmy de Ville will contribute to
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#17328694748763276-632: The show. On 14 May 2016, Tiff Needell announced the cancellation of Fifth Gear following its last episode repeat airing on ITV4 . Following a three-year hiatus, Needell announced the show's return on 14 June 2018, having started filming for a new series to be aired in September 2018 on the Discovery -operated Quest TV channel. Fifth Gear is now being broadcast in the United States on the MotorTrend channel. Season 27 started on February 15 (episode 2, but episodes 1 and 3 are scheduled on Feb. 22nd). In 2021,
3339-579: The station would be moving away from broadcasting just American imports, by introducing shows from other countries such as Canada , Ireland and Australia to the schedules. The station has since begun screening the Australian prison drama Wentworth Prison and the Irish gangland series Love/Hate . In January 2014, it was reported that Richard Desmond was looking at selling Channel 5 for up to £700 million. On 1 May 2014, Desmond agreed to sell Channel 5 to Viacom for £450 million (US$ 759 million). The deal
3402-454: The terrestrial reception areas to receive it via a dish. Unlike the other four analogue British television channels, the channel could not be received via analogue terrestrial broadcasts in many areas, including some parts of the south coast of England where the signal would otherwise interfere with signals from television stations in France ; many areas of North East England , especially around
3465-431: The word Five again. Additional idents from late-2007 such as Bike, Beach, and Celebrity. On 6 October 2008 at 9 pm, Five launched and aired a new look, replacing the lower-case "five" logo with an upper-case "FIVE" in a circle occasionally with pink, turquoise and purple light effects. The rebrand was conducted by DixonBaxi, and according to them, the new look was "more vocal, expressive and creative". The relaunch included
3528-445: Was a name; 'Five' is a brand. 'Five' as a brand reflects the evolution the channel is undergoing in programming and in becoming a more confident and distinctive viewer proposition. Five was taken over by Richard Desmond 's publishing group Northern & Shell on 23 July 2010 for £103.5 million. Desmond pledged to top up the broadcaster's total budget to about £1.5bn over the next five years, including new investment of £50m to £100m
3591-526: Was also telecasted in Asia-Pacific in Discovery Turbo. It aired the 60 minute version. Channel 5 (UK) Channel 5 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited , a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global 's UK and Australia division. It was launched in 30 March 1997 to provide a fifth national terrestrial channel in
3654-542: Was approved on 10 September 2014 and at the same time, it was announced that it was to co-commission programmes with its pay channels such as Nickelodeon and MTV . Under Viacom, the channel planned to increase its original programming output, increasing its budget by 10%. On 11 February 2016, Channel 5 also unveiled an overhauled brand, meant to reflect a new remit of "Spirited TV with an Emotional Heart". In December 2019, Viacom re-merged with CBS Corporation , forming ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global) and making Channel 5
3717-498: Was due to changes to the Freeview platform, which necessitated moving Channel 5 from a commercial multiplex to a public service broadcasting multiplex. This was to increase the coverage of the channel from around 70% to 99% of the country by using relay transmitters : these only carried the three PSB multiplexes but did not carry the three commercial multiplexes. On 20 September 2019, it was announced that Channel 5 had joined BritBox ,
3780-578: Was hired in September 2006 for series 9 and 10. In August 2008, Tim Shaw became a presenter on the show for series 14. In October 2010, Ben Collins , formerly The Stig on BBC's Top Gear , came to Fifth Gear for series 18. Sid North, joined the presenting line-up for the all-electric Fifth Gear Recharged format in 2023, but was replaced by a returning Rory Reid in 2024. Fifth Gear claimed to be 'world renowned' for its 'infamous' shoot-outs, between similarly priced, similarly powerful cars, or, recently, cars versus bikes. These shoot outs took place at
3843-433: Was introduced in April 2012. Several special idents have also been used for The Hotel Inspector , The Walking Dead , Impossible? , Big Brother , The Bachelor , Europa League , The Mentalist , Tamara Ecclestone: Billion $ $ Girl , It's All About Amy , How to Take Stunning Pictures , and The Gadget Show: World Tour also based around the same theme of the studio and screen. Programme preview cards feature
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#17328694748763906-448: Was launched on Freesat , Freeview and Sky on 6 December 2011. The channel was also expected to be made available via Virgin Media during 2012, eventually launching on 25 October 2012. As with other similar '+1' services, Channel 5 +1 rebroadcasts Channel 5's entire programming output on a one-hour time delay, though the 'Supercasino' commercial gaming block is blacked out on the timeshift. The launch of Channel 5 +1 meant all three of
3969-506: Was the first terrestrial channel in the UK to use a permanent digital on-screen graphic , though this was removed in September 2002; however, the children's programming strands kept the DOG. In October 2007, the channel's logo returned to the screen. Channel 5 is available in Switzerland on Swisscom TV and Cablecom . On 30 September 2009, the channel temporarily ceased broadcasting on Freeview from around 9:30 am until midday. This
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