'Watchdog' axed and will become segment on 'The One Show'

The BBC’s Watchdog has been axed as a standalone programme after 35 years.

The consumer show – which started as a feature on Nationwide in 1980 before becoming its own series in 1985 - will now feature as a segment on The One Show.

The programme usually runs for two series a year but will now appear throughout the year on the BBC’s live nightly show.

Read more: Steph McGovern bids farewell to BBC Breakfast

Co-host Steph McGovern has moved to Channel 4, but Matt Allwright and Nikki Fox will continue to be the faces of Watchdog.

Alison Kirkham, controller BBC Factual, said: “Nikki and Matt will continue to be the viewers trusted guide as the nation’s leading consumer champion moves to The One Show where it will achieve even greater prominence and success in raising awareness of their rights."

Carla-Maria Lawson, head of daytime and early peak, says: “Watchdog has been tenaciously fighting for viewers rights since the strand started 40 years ago within Nationwide, so it's fitting that in its anniversary year we are able to open up the potential for viewers to connect with the brand through The One Show.”

The One Show’s editor Rob Unsworth said it was “exciting” and a “great opportunity” for the programme.

Journalist and TV presenter Martin Lewis, who founded the website MoneySavingExpert.com, was among those to respond to the news.

“Sad to hear Watchdog is being culled as a standalone programme (and enveloped instead by the One Show),” he tweeted.

“Campaigning consumer journalism must remain a core public service.”

Watchdog - which sees the presenters investigate and expose the companies, institutions and fraudsters who are ripping viewers off - has aired over 1,000 episodes in the 40 years since it began.