U&Dave

About U&Dave

U&Dave is one of the most distinctive brands in British television: the free-to-air comedy and entertainment channel owned by UKTV, a subsidiary of BBC Studios. Known for modern comedy, factual entertainment and a celebrated line-up of original commissions, the channel has been on air since October 1998 — though for most of its life it was known simply as Dave. Adopting the U&Dave name in July 2024 as part of UKTV's network-wide rebrand, it remains the home of "witty banter", the slogan under which it relaunched to great acclaim in 2007.

Broadcasting from London, U&Dave is available free-to-air across the UK and Ireland on all major platforms, alongside its timeshift companion U&Dave JaVu — the timeshift channel with a name borrowed from déjà vu. Its schedule blends original commissions such as Hypothetical and Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable with repeats of beloved British comedy, and it famously revived the sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf, bringing the show back to television after a decade away.

History and Launch

The channel now known as U&Dave launched on 2 October 1998 as UK Gold Classics, a spin-off from UK Gold showing classic programmes from the BBC and Thames archives. It was one of the early channels of UKTV, the multichannel broadcaster that had been established in the 1990s. The service went through a rapid series of identities: it became UK Gold 2 in 1999, then UK G² in 2003, then UKTV G2 in 2004, gradually shifting from archive repeats toward a younger, more contemporary audience.

The decisive moment came on 15 October 2007, when UKTV G2 was relaunched as Dave — "the home of witty banter" — with a bold new identity built around a man's name. The rebrand was an immediate cultural phenomenon: the idea of naming a television channel "Dave" captured the public imagination, generated enormous press coverage and gave the channel an irreverent, blokey personality that stood out in the multichannel market. The launch also saw the channel arrive on Freeview, dramatically expanding its audience: UKTV Bright Ideas closed to free capacity, with UKTV History moving into its slot so that Dave could take a full 24-hour Freeview position.

In November 2023, UKTV announced that all of its free-to-air channels would be rebranded under the "U" masterbrand in 2024, coinciding with the renaming of its UKTV Play streaming service as U. Dave became U&Dave in July 2024, with the new identity rolling out across the network. The channel's timeshift service, formerly Dave ja vu, became U&Dave JaVu.

Ownership and Funding

U&Dave is owned by UKTV, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of BBC Studios, the BBC's commercial production and distribution arm. UKTV is one of the largest multichannel broadcasters in Britain, operating a portfolio of free-to-air channels alongside the U streaming service. Its headquarters are at 160 Great Portland Street in London.

UKTV's ownership history reflects the consolidation of the British media market. The company was originally a joint venture, and in 2019 the BBC took full control of UKTV's entertainment channels — including Dave — while Discovery took over the lifestyle channels Good Food, Home and Really. As a commercial broadcaster, UKTV's channels are funded by advertising revenue, with U&Dave's strong appeal to young male viewers making it particularly valuable to advertisers.

Programming and Flagship Shows

U&Dave's schedule is built around modern comedy and factual entertainment, mixing original commissions with repeats of classic and contemporary British comedy. Its most celebrated commissioning coup was the revival of Red Dwarf: in 2009, Dave brought back the beloved sci-fi sitcom with the three-part special Back to Earth, followed by full new series — Series X, XI and XII — that continued the adventures of Lister, Rimmer, Kryten and the Cat for a new generation. The revival was a landmark moment for multichannel television, proving that a digital channel could resurrect a cherished BBC institution.

The channel was also the original home of Taskmaster, the BAFTA-winning comedy gameshow created by Alex Horne and hosted by Greg Davies, which aired its first five series on Dave from 2015 to 2019 before moving to Channel 4. Other original commissions include Hypothetical, the comedy panel show hosted by Josh Widdicombe; Dave Gorman: Modern Life Is Goodish, the stand-up and observational comedy series; Zapped, the fantasy sitcom; Hoff the Record, starring David Hasselhoff; Crackanory, the storytelling comedy; and Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable, the panel show about celebrity confessions.

Repeats form the other pillar of the schedule: long-running favourites include QI, Mock the Week, Have I Got News for You, Would I Lie to You?, 8 Out of 10 Cats and Top Gear, giving the channel a deep bench of proven British comedy. The channel has also shown live sport at various points in its history, including highlights of the RBS Six Nations rugby championship and, through a sub-licensing of the BBC's rights, extensive coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup during its UKTV G2 era.

News and Current Affairs

U&Dave carries no news or current-affairs programming. As a comedy and entertainment channel, its schedule is devoted to humour, factual entertainment and repeats, and news provision is left to other broadcasters. The channel's parent company, BBC Studios, is the commercial arm of the BBC rather than its news operation, and UKTV operates no news services.

The channel's comedy output occasionally touches on topical themes — panel shows such as Mock the Week and Have I Got News for You are built around the week's events — but it does so through satire and entertainment rather than journalism. Viewers seeking news coverage turn to the BBC's news services or other news providers.

Audience and Ratings

U&Dave targets a young adult audience, skewing male, with its mix of comedy, entertainment and factual programming. The Dave brand was conceived to appeal to the "witty banter" demographic — young men who had been underserved by existing multichannel offerings — and it succeeded emphatically: the channel quickly became one of the most-watched digital channels among its target audience after its 2007 Freeview launch.

The channel's original commissions have delivered some of the biggest audiences in multichannel television. The Red Dwarf revival drew millions of viewers to Dave, demonstrating the drawing power of beloved brands on digital channels, while Taskmaster's Dave-era series built the loyal audience that made it one of Britain's most popular comedy formats. The channel's repeats of panel shows and Top Gear provide a reliable bedrock of viewing, and its content performs strongly on the U streaming service.

Broadcast and Streaming Availability

U&Dave broadcasts free-to-air across the United Kingdom and Ireland on all major platforms. On Freeview it occupies channel 19 in standard definition, with the U&Dave JaVu timeshift service on channel 74. The channel is also available on Sky, Virgin Media and Freesat, in both standard and high definition.

The channel streams live through U, UKTV's free streaming service (formerly UKTV Play), available to viewers in the UK and Ireland on smart TVs, mobile devices and the web, where box sets of the channel's original commissions are also available on demand. It is additionally available through Sky Go and Virgin TV Go. The Freeview launch in 2007 was transformative for the channel's reach, taking it from a pay-TV niche to a mainstream free-to-air brand.

Cultural Impact

The Dave rebrand of 2007 was one of the most talked-about moments in British television marketing. Naming a channel after an ordinary man's name was seen as either inspired or absurd, but it worked: "Dave" became shorthand for a particular kind of laddish, good-humoured television, and the channel's idents and continuity — dry, self-deprecating, proudly unpretentious — set a tone that influenced the whole multichannel market. The slogan "the home of witty banter" entered the language as a knowing description of a certain British masculine conviviality.

Editorially, the channel's impact has been substantial. Reviving Red Dwarf proved that dormant television institutions could be successfully resurrected by digital channels, a lesson the industry has applied repeatedly since. Giving Taskmaster its first home allowed one of the great comedy formats of the modern era to develop away from the pressures of terrestrial television. And the channel's deep library of panel-show repeats has made it the default background viewing for a generation of comedy fans — the place where QI, Mock the Week and Would I Lie to You? live forever.

Sister Channels

U&Dave is part of UKTV's portfolio of channels, all rebranded under the "U" masterbrand in 2024. Its sister services include U&Alibi, the home of crime drama; U&Drama, showing classic and contemporary drama; U&Eden, the natural-history channel; U&Gold, the home of classic British comedy; U&W, the lifestyle and entertainment channel; and U&Yesterday, dedicated to history programming. Each channel is supported by timeshift variants, and all stream through the U service.

The portfolio allows UKTV to segment audiences precisely: U&Gold serves lovers of classic comedy while U&Dave targets contemporary tastes; U&Alibi and U&Drama split crime and general drama; U&Eden and U&Yesterday serve factual passions. Together they form one of the most successful commercial channel families in British television.

Recent Developments

The channel's rename to U&Dave in July 2024 was the most significant recent development in its history, part of UKTV's biggest brand overhaul since the Dave launch itself. The "U" masterbrand unites the company's free-to-air channels and its streaming service — renamed from UKTV Play to U — under a single identity, designed to work across broadcast and on-demand viewing. The rebrand was supported by new idents and presentation, while retaining the channel's comedic personality.

U&Dave continues to commission original comedy and entertainment, including new series of Hypothetical and Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable, and its library of Red Dwarf and Taskmaster episodes remains among the most-watched content on the U streaming service. More than a quarter of a century after its launch as UK Gold Classics, and nearly two decades after a man named Dave changed British television, the channel remains what it has always aspired to be: the home of witty banter.