UKTV has announced plans to build on the successes of 2017, which saw record viewing figures across its channels and soaring ratings for Gold’s Murder on the Blackpool Express. The broadcaster intends to increase its total number of commissioned hours from indies by nearly a third, and will push into commissioned drama.

Ranganathan will front ten-part series Judge Romesh on Dave, where the acerbic comedian will hold court over genuine disagreements, laying down his comic judgments in his customary scathing style.

Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier sees the Eight Out Of Ten Cats panellist attempting to analyse each of his many, many worries. The eight-part series sees Richardson tackle a tough range of questions, such as: will his wife replace him with a sex robot? What are we going to do about Morrissey? Which of his worries should he worry about the most?

The broadcaster is also expanding its factual commissions. The latest in its Inside the… franchise takes viewers inside one of the UK’s biggest veterinary clinics giving an insight into the work undertaken by surgeon Clive Munn and his team.

Cop Car Workshop visits one of Britain’s leading police car workshops – where new models are built and tested, and old cars are repaired.

Richard Watsham, UKTV’s director of commissioning, promised that “2018 will see UKTV operate increasingly as a full-service broadcaster with year-on-year growth in the volume of original hours and the breadth of genres we cover.”

The announcement follows a number of new programmes from the broadcaster, including Yianni: Supercar Customiser on Dave which looks into the exotic world of supercars and gameshow The Wave with Rylan Clarke-Neal on W.