Big Brother and X Factor lead British GQ's 25 moments that changed TV
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Television quickly became the most exciting, influential and daring art form of the 21st century.

Programmes and series have had the power to change narratives, ideas and start political movements.

And now, celebrities behind the episodes have shared the untold stories behind the most iconic TV moments between 2000 and 2025.

For their latest edition, British GQ spoke to the likes of Davina McCall, Simon Cowell and Phoebe Waller Bridge.

When asked about the early days of reality TV and Big Brother’s launch in 2000, Ms. McCall, 57, recalled a memorable incident where contestant Nasty Nick stirred trouble by pitting housemates against each other.

‘Nobody had a clue what they were doing,’ recounted Davina McCall, the iconic host of Big Brother and arguably its most devoted viewer, about the Channel 4 team at the helm.

Big Brother's Nasty Nick scandal has joined British GQ's list of 25 moments that shaped TV from 2000 to 2025

Big Brother’s Nasty Nick scandal has joined British GQ’s list of 25 moments that shaped TV from 2000 to 2025

‘Working with everyday people was a first for everyone. It genuinely was a social experiment: What happens if they have alcohol? If they’re isolated from the outside world, what unfolds? We were completely in the dark.’

‘The press got so out of control, we started worrying about [Nick’s] safety.

‘In the end, he was evicted, and we had to discreetly whisk him away to a hotel for his safety. I distinctly remember needing to buy a pair of pants from Tesco just for a disguise, to avoid being followed when I went to interview him. It was chaos.’

Another TV show to make the list was The X-Factor, for disrupting the pop industry from 2004.

‘People had a real appetite to buy these kinds of [reality] shows,’ Cowell told GQ.

‘When we pitched the concept, they accepted it almost immediately. Originally, we wanted to name it Star Wars, but soon realized there might be some legal hurdles with that choice.’

The Office, The Osbournes and Lost also made the list.

As did CSI, The OC, The Sopranos and Mad Men.

Also on the list was the controversial finale to US mob drama The Sopranos, which due to its abrupt ending, led millions to question whether their TVs has broken

The infamous conclusion of the US crime drama The Sopranos also made the list, sparking confusion among millions due to its sudden ending and leaving many convinced there was a problem with their TVs.

Another TV show to make the list was The X-Factor, for disrupting the pop industry when it first hit screens in 2004 (Simon Cowell is pictured with winner Steve Brookstein)

Another TV show to make the list was The X-Factor, for disrupting the pop industry when it first hit screens in 2004 (Simon Cowell is pictured with winner Steve Brookstein)

Phoebe Waller-Bridge, 40, who created, wrote and starred in the comedy series Fleabag in 2016 won numerous accolades for her work.

She told GQ: ‘I wanted to write about a f*****-up woman whose bad behaviour couldn’t be explained by one big traumatic assault in her past, but just by the multitudes of paper cuts that come from living in the modern world.

‘But mainly I wanted to write a woman who was so funny about her pain that we didn’t see it coming. A tragedy hidden in what seemed at first to be a light sex comedy.’

Series such as House of Cards, Black Mirror and Game of Thrones were also named by GQ.

Nicole Kidman, 58, was asked about Big Little Lies which was her gateway from film to TV in 2017.

‘The limited series became incredibly valuable and important and viable,’ she said.

‘I hadn’t ever seen women talking like this before.’

When asked why she now does more TV work than film, she said: ‘I just have more opportunities in doing something very entertaining on television. I can do something that’s got mass appeal.’

Elsewhere on the list was Love Island for its iconic 2019 year, I May Destroy You for defining the #MeToo moment and lockdown’s Normal People.

RuPaul’s Drag Race was highlighted for bring drag into the mainstream in 2021 as well as Adolescence which was about a 13-year-old boy driven by the manosphere to murder a female classmate.

Sarah Owen, a Labour MP said the show spread like lightning in Westminster.

‘For politicians that weren’t engaged with this already, all of a sudden they were getting emails from concerned parents, from teachers or from young people themselves,’ she said.

British GQ’s Top 25 Moments that changed TV forever 

August 2000 – Big Brother’s Nasty Nick invents the reality TV villain

July 2001 – The Office redefines comedy – and how we speak – forever

March 2002 – The Osbournes opens the door for The Kardashians

September 2004 – Lost spawns the era of the online superfan

September 2004 – The X-Factor disrupts the pop industry

May 2005 – The OC wins the needle drop wars

May 2005 – Quentin Tarantino directs CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

June 2007 – The Sopranos’ finale breaks TV

July 2007 – Mad Men saves the pocket square industry

2010 – Louie bends the rules of auteur comedy

December 2011 — Black Mirror forecasts our growing tech anxiety

April 2012 — Girls is the first great millennial TV show

February 2013 — House of Cards kickstarts the Netflix revolution

June 2013 — Game of Thrones’ invites us to the Red Wedding

August 2016 – Fleabag reframes female desire

February 2017 – Big Little Lies births the Nicole Kidman Cinematic Universe

April 2018 – Atlanta hits its creative peak

•June 2019 – Love Island hard launches Tommy Fury and Molly-Mae

September 2019 – Top Boy takes Black British culture global

November 2019 – Bluey rewrites the TV dad

April 2020 – Lockdown TV peaks early with Normal People

June 2020 – I May Destroy You defines the Me Too moment

January 2021 — RuPaul’s Drag Race UK takes drag mainstream

January 2023 — The Last of Us cracks the game-to-screen code

March 2025 – Adolescence meets the political moment

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