As the nights drew in, TV picked up pace with October bringing us the return of Homeland and The Apprentice, plus our weekly instalments of Downton Abbey, The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing.

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The latter saw Gregg Wallace take the first exit while Judy Murray soldiered through the competition, despite owning the bottom of the leader board, as Brendan Cole split his trousers and guest judge Donny Osmond committed a Strictly no-no.

Over in Cowell-land, the final twelve took to the stage, but not before Sinitta appeared in her annual bizarre leafy outfit... Our dedicated X Factor correspondent Emma Daly brought you all the gossip from the contestants' house – and Louis Walsh's Bermuda hangout, lucky thing – before debriefing with each singer as they made their exit.

Tom Hardy helped drama lovers find autumn solace in series two of Peaky Blinders as Tommy Shelby graduated to the streets of London, while Downton fans saw Lady Mary hotfoot between her two suitors, and Grantchester viewers drooled over the "hot vicar" James Norton.

Homeland diehards got all excited by a glimpse of Damian Lewis on the set of series four, while Twin Peaks fans finally got the news they'd been waiting 25 years for, Jack Whitehall's Bad Education bid farewell after three series and Miranda Hart called time on her eponymous sitcom – the worst news ever.

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As Jeremy Clarkson and the Top Gear team found themselves in hot water in Argentina, Oscar Pistorius was sentenced to five years in prison, Robbie Williams live-tweeted his wife's labour, and Renee Zellweger hit back at speculation over her appearance.

Toes curled as Richard Ayoade clashed with Krishnan Guru Murthy, but Tinchy Stryder and The Chuckle Brothers proved opposites attract and S Club 7 announced they would bring it all back for Children in Need.

TV viewers were glued to their screens as Nancy was crowned Bake Off winner, James Nesbitt reeled us in with kidnapping whodunit The Missing, and theories abounded as Doctor Who stepped up its Missy mystery.

Cinema-goers also had plenty to get excited about, with a star-studded cast announced for Dad's Army, a first glimpse of Matt Smith and Emilia Clarke in Terminator, jam-packed upcoming slates for Warner Bros. and Marvel, and plans unveiled for a return of the Twilight Saga.

The RadioTimes.com team spent a week at Cheltenham Literature Festival, delivering all the latest from the likes of Judi Dench, John Cleese, Andrew Marr, Hilary Mantel and Kevin Pietersen, plus one-to-ones with Henry Winkler, Brian Blessed and Jacqueline Wilson.

And – speaking of interviews – we've been busy bringing you exclusive quotes from the biggest names in entertainment, including Daniel Radcliffe, Hugh Grant, Billie Piper, Steve Carrell, Dakota Fanning, and, er, Benedict Cumberbatch's waxwork. And we even caught a moment with the man himself on the Imitation Game red carpet (where he had an adorable fanboy freakout).

BBC Genome saw Radio Times and the BBC team up to offer 86 years of TV and radio history, while here at .com you voted in your thousands to name Knightmare your favourite children's TV show.

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And, as we neared November, the Queen sent her first tweet, Neighbours fought zombies, JK Rowling released new material to mark Halloween – and we rounded up our favourite costumes that are so bad they're good.


How much of this year's television can you remember? Take our Big TV Quiz 2014 and find out!

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