It’s very rarely I’d blog to complain about a TV programme, but after watching the new and “improved” Watchdog on BBC One this evening I had to get on my soapbox.

In the last few years Watchdog, sad as it is to admit, was always a telly highlight for me. I’m quite fond of Nicky Campbell and wasn’t too keen on him being replaced by Anne Robinson, the original host of the programme.

However Anne Robinson isn’t the problem here. It’s the new format I have a problem with. In the old style Watchdog she would have been fine.

Here’s my problems:

#1 They have extended a 30 minute programme into an hour. When you double the length of a programme you need to make sure you have  a 100% perfect programme.  At 1 hour it is just prolonging the agony of the following points.

#2 The film look. Recently lots of soap dramas have been adding this American film effect to the programme. Neighbours and Casualty are two examples I can think of.  It works to an extent on soaps, it doesn’t work on Watchdog.

#3 Watchdog seems to have turned into a chat show.  This week we had special guests. I use that term loosely. Gabby Logan and the girl who plays Lucy Beale in Eastenders doing a report. Next week, guests are Beverly Knight and a “special” star from X-Factor.  This is Watchdog. Before the only guests would be MD’s from companies under the spotlight.  Add to that the fact they now have an audience and Anne Robinson doing quiz sections, it’s like watching some poor daytime TV programme.

#4 They’ve incorporated the TV programme “Rouge Traders” into Watchdog. Presumably to pad out the hour. In Rouge Traders we see presenter Matt Allwright drive about the country on a motorbike with his assistant fighting rouge traders. Turning up at their doors unannounced. Going undercover. That sort of thing.  Except half of the Rouge Traders element was spent with Matt and his assistant trying to be funny.  Once again, let me remind you, this is Watchdog. Not a comedy programme. I wouldn’t mind if they had been funny, it was just cringeworthy. In one part of Rouge Traders, the salesman they accosted claims “you should do some research, your programme is a joke”, the irony is, he was right. It is a joke.

#5 They now seem to cover less stories over a whole hour. There were very few interesting consumer pieces. They also used to give good advice, but now that seems to have gone.  On one story there were three people who had all lost relatives and as a result Virgin Media had cancelled their broadband, rather than transfer the contract to a surviving family member. All three customers were having trouble getting through to Virgin Media support. This could have been a good piece. Except the only suggestion Watchdog had was to write a song, make a video and add it to You Tube to gain some exposure. Hardly good advice. Especially if Virgin Media have cancelled their broadband. How would they upload it?

I feel sorry for Anita Ranni. She was on the old style Watchdog and was a good presenter. Now she seems to be co-presenting a middle of the road chat show for the lowest common denominator. We already have the One Show for that.

I can only presume they were going down the Top Gear road. Entertaining rather than informing. Except Top Gear manages to pull that off, Watchdog doesn’t. Nicky Campbell must have a good chuckle to himself this evening.