If 2025 has taught us anything, it is that we should no longer be surprised when a Bafta-nominated actor licks yoghurt off the shoe of another man.
From an incestuous relationship on this year’s The White Lotus to a comedian flying a real-life plane, the last 12 months have certainly been… interesting.
Following a testing few years of writer’s strikes and production delays, it’s clear to see that TV is heading in an extremely promising direction.
So far this year, we have been given the finales of Handmaid’s Tale, Squid Game, Andor and You. Meanwhile, the likes of Severance, Black Mirror, The Last of Us and most recently Stranger Things offered their latest seasons.
And who could forget the emergence of shows such as The Pitt, The Studio, Last One Laughing, Virgin Island, The Inheritance, and, of course, Celebrity Traitors, which has well and truly cemented Alan Carr’s national treasure status.
So, whether you were screaming at the screen, crying on your sofa or frantically checking your group chat to make sure everyone else saw it too, these are the TV moments that truly owned this year.
Adolescence grips a nation
No list about TV in 2025 could be complete without Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham’s spellbindingly magnificent Adolescence.
To say that Netflix’s four-part series was the most talked-about show of the year would be a gross understatement.
But because this series has been talked about so much, even to the point where the Prime Minister weighed in on whether its portrayal of toxic masculinity could lead to genuine political change, it’s easy to forget how much of an impact it had when it was first released.
The electricity that hung in the air after that first cliffhanger episode gripped not just the UK, but the entire world, as we pondered whether a teenage boy could really be responsible for murder has to be a standout moment from this year.
Alan Carr becomes a Traitor
Much has been made of Alan Carr’s gobsmacking performance in the final of Celebrity Traitors, which saw him take home the entirety of the prize fund for his chosen choice of charity.
But I want to cast your mind back to that pulsating moment when he was first selected to be a Traitor by Claudia Winkelman.
Sitting amongst his fellow contestants, sweating profusely, with rosy red cheeks and a glass of wine in one hand, Alan’s inability to play it cool was one of the funniest things I have seen on TV, not just this year, but ever.
Going to bed the night he was made Traitor was like the night before Christmas. Absolute TV gold.
Sam Rockwell’s The White Lotus monologue
Much like Adolescence, The White Lotus seemed to worm its way into every workplace conversation as viewers schemed and theorised who was responsible for the first episode’s murder.
From Jason Isaac’s masterful performance as a North Carolina businessman to one of the most disturbing incestuous relationships ever put on the silver screen, the series rightly went viral as a result of Mike White’s genius.
But the gold medal has to go to that monologue by Sam Rockwell’s character.
Metro’s Asyia Iftikhar rightly described it as the ‘best piece of TV acting this year’ as his character professed his desire to be an Asian girl.
Joel’s death in The Last of Us
Like Ned Stark’s beheading in Game of Thrones and Hank’s demise in Breaking Bad, everybody remembers where they were at the exact moment they saw Joel die in the second season of The Last of Us.
For those of us who hadn’t played the video game (me included), Pedro Pascal’s on-screen death was made all the more tragic at the hands of Abby.
I’m still not over it, and I know you aren’t either.
Mon Mothma’s speech in Andor
As a testament to how Tony Gilroy builds narrative tension in his TV series and films, Andor can feel like a slow burner at times.
But in the second season of his Star Wars prequel series, Mon Mothma’s powerful Senate speech, where she exposes the Empire’s lies and condemns the Gorman Massacre, was one of the more spine-chilling experiences I have ever had watching a TV series.
The senator’s equally haunting and mesmerising dance scene at the lavish wedding for her young daughter deserves special mention, but Genevieve O’Reilly’s monologue takes the biscuit.
Nathan Fielder flying a plane
When it comes to Nathan Fielder, it’s near impossible to predict what the US comedian’s next move is.
This is a man who opened a fully functioning fake Starbucks coffee shop that added the word ‘dumb’ to everything and performed an escape act where if he didn’t get out of his handcuffs, a robotic claw would pull down his pants in front of children, making him a registered sex offender.
In his second season of The Rehearsal, the 42-year-old spent over two years training to become a licensed Boeing 737 pilot to fly over the Mojave Desert. Bonkers.
Bob Mortimer and Richard Ayoade in Last One Laughing
Amazon Prime Video’s genius Last One Laughing, which saw ten comedians competing to make each other laugh without laughing themselves, provided complete and utter joy for TV viewers at home.
After countless side-splittingly funny moments, Bob Mortimer and Richard Ayoade’s final showdown as they came head-to-head was the stuff of dreams.
Now, let’s pray that Mortimer signs up to do Celebrity Traitors next.
Belly chooses Conrad
The season three finale of The Summer I Turned Pretty did not leave many dry eyes in sight.
The Amazon Prime Video series saw Belly finally choose Conrad at a Paris train station, declaring: ‘Conrad, I choose you, of my own free will, if there are infinite worlds, every version of me chooses you in every one of them.’
If you were Team Jeremiah, however, this scene was likely on your ‘worst TV moments of 2025’ list.
Billie Piper’s Doctor Who Return
In a year that said goodbye to a Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa’s regeneration into Billie Piper certainly could not be left off this list.
The BBC has yet to confirm what exactly her role is after Piper previously played the Doctor’s assistant, Rose Tyler.
But whatever happens next, the 43-year-old’s unexpected return was monumental.
Matthew Baynton licks Alex’s shoes in Taskmaster
Last, but certainly not least, how could we forget Matthew Baynton licking yoghurt off of Alex Horne’s shoe?
The Horrible Histories Bafta-nominated star created one of the show’s weirdest ever moments with his strange act.
Baynton could even be heard saying: ‘Please forgive me, daddy, I got your shoes all mucky’.
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