BBC prime-time schedule ban: Strictly and Doctor Who among shows that could be moved 'as part of rule-change'

Culture Secretary John Whittingdale said to be planning crackdown on ‘competitive scheduling’

The BBC could face having to move Strictly Come Dancing from its Saturday night slot (Getty Images)

The BBC could be forced to move programmes such as Doctor Who and Sherlock from prime-time slots to avoid clashes with rival shows, it has been reported.

Culture Secretary John Whittingdale is reportedly planning tough new rules to crack down on "competitive scheduling", which could see the corporation having to stop screening its most popular shows at the same time as other big programmes on rival ITV.

Shows that could be affected include Poldark, The Night Manager and Strictly Come Dancing, which goes up against ITV’s X Factor each year on Saturday nights – the weekend’s most coveted slot.

The BBC's Poldark with Demelza and Ross Poldark (BBC)

Labour said it would oppose any such moves.

Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Minister, Maria Eagle told Sky News: “John Whittingdale is behaving as if he were running the BBC - he is not.

"This kind of meddling in day to day scheduling decisions would be a completely unacceptable interference in the independence of the BBC. Labour will fight it all the way.”

Critics say the BBC should not be using licence-payers’ money to aggressively pursue ratings at the expense of commercial rivals, according to the Mail on Sunday.

ITV has complained about licence fee payers’ money being used to fund a ratings battle with it and other commercially funded channels.

But a BBC source told Sky News: "The BBC doesn't aggressively schedule, but we do show programmes at the times people want to watch them.

"Research has shown that an element of competition drives up quality across the industry and the public would be deeply concerned if the BBC's ability to show programmes such as Strictly, Doctor Who, and Sherlock, at the times convenient to them were taken away.”

Mr Whittingdale, who has been in the headlines for admitting he dated a woman who later turned out to be a sex worker, is also expected to tell the BBC to be more transparent about what it pays its presenters, with the income of stars likely to be published in earning ‘bands’ next year.

It comes after Mr Whittingdale made it clear he wishes to close the loophole that allows people to avoid paying the licence fee by watching television on catch-up online services like BBC iPlayer.