UK Gold is a British television channel, originally launched on November 1, 1992 (coincidentally, the day before Channel 4's 10th birthday) as a joint venture between Thames Television and the BBC to show their 'classic' archive programming (see: rerun). The channel's major drawbacks in its early years were the insensitive placement of commercial breaks in BBC shows, and the heavy-handed editing of BBC programmes to fit commercial timeslots. The channel joined Sky's basic subscription package in 1993.
UK Gold's programming includes such viewer favourites as:
- Absolutely Fabulous
- Bergerac
- The Bill
- Blackadder
- Doctor Who
- EastEnders
- Last of the Summer Wine
- Only Fools and Horses
- The Vicar of Dibley
Unfortunately the BBC still cuts programmes (mainly documentaries) for commercial timing on some of the UKTV channels, which seems somewhat hypocritical, although UK Gold programmes are now shown apparently uncut in longer slots - for instance, most half-hour BBC sitcoms are shown in 40-minute slots.
UK Gold and is available on digital satellite and cable, but not any form of terrestrial television in the UK.