Strictly, Celine Dion and Diane’s masterful funeral: it’s 2024’s most jaw-dropping TV moments

It’s certainly not been a dull 12 months. From a drama that actually changed the law to a stunning turnaround for Strictly, here’s our selection of the standout events as seen on TV.

Mr Bates rocks the nation

The Post Office scandal had already been exposed by journalists, ex-subpostmasters and whistleblowers, but after ITV’s all-star dramatisation Mr Bates vs the Post Office, it caused nationwide outrage – then changed the law. Its impact was never clearer than the moment the show won a National Television Award and the victims of the scandal took to the stage, with one of them, Jo Hamilton, announcing: “Trust me, nothing has changed. All of these people behind me haven’t been paid yet.”

Celine Dion’s shock comeback

Celine Dion’s Paris Olympics performance of Edith Piaf’s Hymne à l’amour was as emotional as comebacks get. Last year, she cancelled a Las Vegas residency after a diagnosis of stiff person syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that causes pain and muscle spasms. Months earlier, she spoke in a documentary of her determination to return to the stage: “If I can’t run, I’ll walk,” she said. “If I can’t walk, I’ll crawl.” And there she was, performing on the Eiffel Tower. In the last few moments of her performance, you could see the realisation dawning on her face that, against the odds, she had achieved it. Unforgettable.

Raygun breaks the internet and Tom Daley bids farewell

Celine wasn’t the only Olympic moment everyone talked about. Turkey’s Yusuf Dikeç became a meme for casually winning a Silver in the shooting with his other hand in his pocket. Team GB’s Alex Yee surged out of nowhere to win gold at the men’s triathlon. And then there was Australia’s Raygun, for those moves in the Breaking.

Then, after winning a silver with Noah Williams in the 10 metre synchro, Tom Daley announced his retirement from diving. Holding back tears to BBC News, he could hardly come up with the words: “It’s hard to talk about, when you’ve loved something so much,” he said. Aw.

Chris McCausland’s blackout

Strictly has had a hell of a year, so they must have been thankful for the pairing of comedian Chris McCausland and dancer Dianne Buswell, who radiated joy and warmth. The show’s first blind contestant, McCausland was taught the routines by being physically placed into each shape in rehearsals and given detailed instructions of the moves. And while they were not the strongest pair technically, they provided some of the standout moments of the series. During John Lennon’s Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) he even replicated his experience of being blind, with the lights being switched off as McCausland lifted Buswell over his shoulders. It was a breathtaking moment.

Weeks later, more than 8 million people watched Chris and Dianne lift the glitterball trophy. “It shows that with opportunity, support and determination, anything can happen,” McCausland said during his win.

Diane’s funeral

The gothic glamour of it! The OTT Victorian styling! The ludicrously unnecessary use of a 20-person, black-clad choir to sing info to contestants! Of the many high points of The Traitors season two, the greatest was all the contestants being forced to march in a funeral procession – without knowing which of them was dead. From making participants climb into a coffin in gloomy woodland, before one of them was lowered into the earth by pallbearers, it was one of the most visually iconic bits of TV this year. Not least when Diane mouthed “Bye!” to her son Ross as he laid a black rose on her body. No you’re crying!

‘We need jungle I’m afraid’

University Challenge’s Amol Rajan going viral after his polite response to an answer about 90s music (“I can’t accept drum’n’bass – we need jungle I’m afraid”): was it the oddest BBC musical moment of the year? Or was that when BBC News presenter Ros Atkins sampled and remixed the BBC News theme during a DJ set at Glastonbury? Hard to say.

Em and Dex in that maze

The decades-long will-they-won’t-they between Em (Ambika Mod) and Dex (Leo Woodall) in One Day was a love letter to those unexplained friendships that don’t always cross over to something more. Plus the music choices throughout? Sublime.

One scene, when Em and Dex got lost in a maze at a friend’s wedding, then shared a kiss, was a perfect metaphor for the entire series. Oh, how we all longed for Em to not get on that bike.

Saoirse Ronan speaks out

Actor Eddie Redmayne gave a lighthearted story on The Graham Norton Show about his training for The Day of the Jackal, which taught him that a phone could be used as a weapon if you’re attacked. Fellow panellist Paul Mescal responded: “Who is actually going to think about that? … If someone attacked me I’m not going to think … phone.” Saoirse Ronan’s response silenced the all-male panel and caused rapturous applause: “That’s what girls have to think about all the time,” said Ronan. “Am I right ladies?” Brilliant.

Sue Tech to Sutekh

As expected, the supersize Russell T Davies series of Doctor Who with Ncuti Gatwa in the lead took big swings, with the moving folklore-themed 73 Yards a particular highlight. Even though there were moments in the new series that left people scratching their heads (Space Babies, anyone?), the central mystery of why a minor character called Susan Triad (Susan Twist) kept popping up in every episode was captivating. And it resulted in the arrival of a monster named Sutekh the Destroyer: a genocidal alien who had been clinging on to the Tardis throughout all of the Doctor’s adventures. While the final episode didn’t exactly stick the landing, the tense cliffhanger at the start of the two-parter was enough to leave many viewers anxiously watching from behind the sofa.

Andrew Scott’s bad rug

Andrew Scott was spellbinding as the charming monochrome conman in Ripley, the eight-part Talented Mr Ripley adaptation, although a final scene did raise eyebrows. With the world closing in on him, the master of misdirection decided to wear a disguise for the final episode. And oh boy, it did not work.

“On one hand, it makes him look like a stray Bee Gee, or the cowardly lion from The Wizard of Oz begrudgingly attending the wedding of one of his girlfriend’s friends, or a version of Noel Edmonds that hasn’t invested in proper lighting for his house,” wrote Guardian writer Stuart Heritage. “But on the other, and I really cannot state this strongly enough, it also makes him look exactly like Andrew Scott.”

Gordon’s excruciating proposal

So accomplished was the second season of Colin from Accounts, the witty, acerbic tale of romance between craft brewer Gordon and junior doctor Ashley, that there was seemingly no moment of relationship drama they couldn’t turn into a quirky delight. Until, that is, it showed us Gordon’s attempted marriage proposal. Not only was it easily the most unbearably awkward bit of TV this year … but it left the series on one hell of a cliffhanger.

Lizzie and Freddie’s love affair

Highlight of the raunchfest … Katherine Parkinson and Danny Dyer in Rivals. Photograph: PR

The highlight of Disney+’s adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s raunchfest Rivals? The slow-burn fling between erotica writer Lizzie (Katherine Parkinson) and tech mogul turned TV executive Freddie (Danny Dyer). Which, in typical Jilly Cooper style, reached a climax with them having sex by a tree. Not that all the love for the steamy moment has gone down fantastically. “There’s a headline that went, ‘The biggest plot twist about Rivals is that Danny Dyer can act,’ Dyer said on his podcast Live and Let Dyers. “In a way, I’m going, ‘Oh, thanks for the compliment’ at the same time going, ‘Well, fuck off!”

‘How Big Is Your Hole?’ – the year’s best news fails

It wouldn’t be an end-of-year list without cataloguing some of the most catastrophic news fails. One technical error resulted in the BBC forecasting 25,000mph winds (one weather forecaster called it “a bit of a glitch”, which is a very British way to describe it). And during a segment on potholes, Look North presenter Peter Levy accidentally asked viewers: “how big is your hole?”. But the best booboo of the year came in the closing moments of a BBC North West bulletin, in which weather forecaster Kawser Quamer was asked what she was up to that weekend.