Radio Times and Latitude Festival have revealed the shortlist for the greatest television show of the past 20 years, following a major public vote.
To celebrate Latitude’s 20th anniversary, viewers were invited to choose the programme they believe has defined the two decades since the festival first launched in 2006.
Voting opened in March, with audiences choosing from an extensive longlist spanning drama, comedy, entertainment and factual television from the UK and around the world.
The votes have now been counted and the field has been narrowed to 28 shows, featuring prestige dramas, much-loved sitcoms, reality favourites, soaps and some of the biggest international hits of the streaming era.
The greatest TV show of the past 20 years shortlist
- Gavin & Stacey
- Inside No. 9
- Breaking Bad
- Detectorists
- Line of Duty
- Peaky Blinders
- Strictly Come Dancing
- It’s a Sin
- The Office
- Game of Thrones
- The Great British Bake Off
- Black Mirror
- Doctor Who
- Slow Horses
- Fleabag
- EastEnders
- Friday Night Dinner
- Gogglebox
- Life on Mars
- Mad Men
British comedy is strongly represented, with Gavin & Stacey, Inside No. 9, Detectorists, Fleabag, and Friday Night Dinner all making the shortlist.
Some of the most acclaimed dramas of the era are also in contention, including Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Game of Thrones and Peaky Blinders, alongside homegrown favourites such as Line of Duty Life on Mars, It’s a Sin and Slow Horses.
Doctor Who and Black Mirror represent science-fiction, while Strictly Come Dancing, The Great British Bake Off and Gogglebox demonstrate the enduring power of television that brings audiences together, with EastEnders representing the continuing importance of soaps.
How will the winner be chosen?
The public vote determined the final shortlist, but the ultimate winner will now be selected by a panel of TV experts and Radio Times critics, hosted by RT’s TV and Podcast editor Caroline Frost.
The panel will debate the merits and cultural impact of the 28 remaining programmes before deciding which one deserves to be named the greatest TV show of the past 20 years.
The result will be revealed at Latitude Festival on Sunday 26 July 2026, as part of the event’s anniversary celebrations at Henham Park in Suffolk.
Latitude will take place from Thursday 23 to Sunday 26 July, with a line-up spanning music, comedy, literature, science, theatre and family entertainment.
Among those appearing at this year’s festival are Marcus Brigstocke, Robin Ince, Gareth Malone and Rosie Jones, who have shared what keeps bringing them back to Latitude.
Marcus Brigstocke
The comedian and broadcaster is playing Latitude’s Comedy Arena for the 19th time.
Marcus Brigstocke has played every single Latitude since the festival started in 2006 – “except the year my son was born”. These days, he says, “it’s part of my family’s summer. We go to Southwold, swim in the sea, then go on site [at nearby Henham Park, Suffolk] and do the whole festival. Then when we leave, we go back in the sea and rinse it all off.”
What he loves is that “the comedy is not an afterthought. The stage is rammed so they put on big screens for people who can’t get in”. That means even the top performers get nervous: Brigstocke was talking to Greg Davies backstage last year, and found the Taskmaster star a little on edge. “He’s very famous, his stuff is dynamite. But he was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine… nervously.'”
Marcus’s top three things to catch at Latitude this year:
- The Flaming Lips: “I’ll definitely be watching.”
- David Byrne: “I’m not ruling out a massive suit.”
- The Comedy Store Players: “The only live comedy I’d seen before I became a comedian was the Comedy Store Players. And now I play with them!”
Robin Ince
The presenter, poet and former host of The Infinite Monkey Cage is co-curating with Trent Burton Latitude’s “Cosmic Shambles Forest of Science and Culture”.
The Cosmic Shambles Forest is “a dedicated area that’s part science festival, part book club, part comedy club, part music gig” – and after 20-odd years of running shows at the festival, it’s science broadcaster Robin Ince’s “happy place”.
“Of all the festival fields that have been my temporary summer homes over the years,” he says, “Latitude is where we have been able to create some of the wildest and silliest ideas of my career.” His highlights include “seeing David Soul being so relaxed as my then three-year-old son ran up to him and screamed, ‘COCK-A-DOODLE DANDY!'”
Robin’s top three things to catch at Latitude this year:
- British Cosmonaut Helen Sharman: “It’s cheating to choose her, because she’s on our Cosmic Shambles stage, but you don’t want to miss listening to an astronaut.”
- Beth Orton: “Never pass up a chance to see Beth Orton.”
- Poetry: “So many wonderful poets this year. John Cooper Clarke, Hollie McNish, Salena Godden, Luke Wright…”
Gareth Malone
The choirmaster and star of The Choir is leading 100 ordinary festival-goers in a performance on the main stage.
How does Gareth Malone top his 2015 feat of forming an instant choir to perform on the main stage? By doing it again this year, with 100 no-experience-necessary volunteers from among the Latitude crowd, singing 20 bangers to represent the festival’s 20 years.
“The setlist? I’ve got everything from Pet Shop Boys to Blondie to Florence and the Machine to Mumford and Sons. And we’ve got the Killers’ Mr Brightside, which we’re going to finish with.”
Gareth’s top three things to catch at Latitude this year:
- The Choir’s Saturday Performance on the Main Stage: “Last time we had six, seven, eight thousand people right in front of us, everyone singing along – incredible.”
- Surprise Sets: “At the 10th anniversary, Ed Sheeran and Tom Jones did pop-up sets, so I’m sure there will be some this year for the 20th anniversary.”
- Family-Friendly Acts: “I always take my family, and we all have a really good time. I just love it.”
Rosie Jones
The comedian and children’s author is performing stand-up in the Comedy Arena and appearing as part of Latitude’s children’s programme.
For Rosie Jones, Latitude is the one festival comedy gig she actually enjoys. “I love performing comedy, but I hate performing comedy at festivals, apart from Latitude,” she says. “By far my very best [gig] for comedy, because people seek out that comedy.”
Unlike at many music festivals, Latitude attracts an audience that has actively chosen to watch stand-up. “There’s some people who go to Latitude just to watch comedy,” she says, describing them as “a lovely warm crowd”.
This year, Jones will perform material from her current show, I Can’t Tell What She’s Saying, before appearing on the children’s programme to discuss her Edie Eckhart book series. “I’ll probably be telling jokes about gravy and boobs, my two favourite passions in life,” she says of her Comedy Arena set.
Rosie’s top three things to catch at Latitude this year:
- The Comedy: “People seek out that comedy” at Latitude, with Jones praising its “proper lovely warm crowd”.
- The Children’s Programme: Jones will discuss her Edie Eckhart books and meet young readers who feel represented by them – “always such a lovely thing to do”.
- The Setting: “Such a beautiful venue” for what she calls “an amazing weekend,” with sunny weather that always seems to hold.
Visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
