Underplayed Gems

Rip Off Britain (2009)

Rip Off Britain poster
Genre
factual television program
Country
United Kingdom
Length
18 seasons, 437 episodes
Rated
NR
Rating
3.0 of 10 from 2 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

The series investigates overpriced goods and services in Britain. It helps viewers avoid being overcharged and offers advice on getting better value for money. The presenters share their findings and tips from their experience as journalists.

informativestraightforwardconsumer-focusedclearpracticalearnesteducationalneutral

What happens

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. 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. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.