2003 in television

Table of contents

1 Events
2 Debuts
3 Popular Television Shows
4 Ending this year
5 Births
6 Deaths

Events

February 16 - The landmark 300th episode of The Simpsons airs.
Late February-March - Talk show host David Letterman is forced to take a few weeks off from his Late Show due to a bout of shingles (subsequent Top Ten Lists would occasionally have entries that poked fun at this). A string of celebrities guest host for Letterman while he's away including Bruce Willis, Regis Philbin, Will Ferrell and Elvis Costello.
November 10 - The 4000th episode of Wheel of Fortune since the pairing of host and hostess Pat Sajak and Vanna White airs.
Gary Coleman, former star of Diff'rent Strokes, is one of many candidates for Governor of California in the gubernatorial recall election. He comes in 8th place. Another Hollywood star comes in first: Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Coronation Street shows its first gay kiss.
EastEnders brings Dirty Den back from the supposed dead after a decade.
The much vaunted TV3 rival to RT�'s The Late Late Show, Eamon Dunphy's The Dunphy Show bombs, pulling in less than half the Late Late's viewership. The show is axed in December after only 15 shows.
Longtime broadcaster on the BBC and ITN, and latterly news anchor on Sky News, Bob Friend retires.

January 12 - Maurice Gibb, 53, actor/songwriter of the Bee-Gees
January 23 - Nell Carter, actress, singer, of Gimme a Break
February 27 - Fred Rogers, TV's "Mister Rogers" of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
April 2 - Pat Leavy, Hannah Finnegan in Fair City after being taken ill on set.
August 3 - Neil Gormet
September 11 - John Ritter, known mostly as Jack Tripper from Three's Company, but at the time was involved in the sitcom 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter and the cartoon Clifford the Big Red Dog
October 4 - James Forlong, dismissed Sky News journalist accused of faking Iraq War report, commits suicide.
October 27 - Rod Roddy, announcer on Press Your Luck, Soap and (most famously) The Price Is Right
November 9 - Art Carney