A dog in the fight

As Watchdog enters a new era MARION MCMULLEN looks back at its 40 years of protecting consumers

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FLAMMABLE seat covers and sewage polluting the water of Britain’s bathing beaches were among the topics featured on the first episode of Watchdog 40 years ago.

The BBC consumer programme began life as a strand on news round-up — Nationwide and was presented by Hugh Scully.

It proved so popular that it was developed as a stand-alone programme, launching on July 14, 1985 with Nick Ross as the presenter and Lynn Faulds Woods as the consumer champion. The first episode also featured an awards ceremony for the least-trusted professions.