An often divisive yet perennially popular programme in its choice of topics and handling of sensitive debates, detractors and loyalists alike tuned in en masse to the weekly Friday appointment with Xarabank that stretched nearly a quarter of a century.

Xarabank wielded both social and political influence and at the height of its popularity always had the politician or personality at the heart of a news item booked, sometimes with just hours to spare on a Friday morning. 

During general elections, Xarabank was the no-man’s land of discourse, with candidates fighting tooth and nail to get on top of the debate while an audience of split partisanship booed or cheered in the background. 

Former prime minister Alfred Sant famously refused to participate in debates on the program, only accepting the debate former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi on other programs on the state broadcaster. 

The Friday after winning the 2008 general election, Lawrence Gonzi made a full appearance on Xarabank, analysing election results and surveys putting more of the PN’s electoral manifesto to the public. 

Similarly, former prime minister Joseph Muscat’s rising start was well documented by Xarabank in the early days. 

In the moments after being elected leader of the Labour Party, a Xarabank journalist asked Muscat whether he would be on Xarabank next Friday, to which he promptly replied, “yes, of course”.

Ahead of the 2013 general election, Muscat was also the subject of a popular day-in-the-life video which aired on Xarabank, introducing his wife Michelle and then infant twin daughters to the public at large.

Gonzi and Muscat frequently tousled on the program and in the run-up to the 2013 election, Xarabank dedicated a full episode to a leadership debate between the two.

On the former prime minister’s own suggestion, in 2002 the Xarabank team interviewed Dom Mintoff in an outside broadcast in his hometown of Cospicua. The program proved to be an outlier from its usual format in a studio and remains one of it’s most popular to date, with 65,000 views on Youtube

That same year, an episode of Xarabank discussing security issues in Paceville had to be cut short after a bomb threat was made to the studio. 

While the follow-up program was pre-recorded under tight security measures, it never made it to air when employees discovered the tape had been erased minutes before the show was to go on air.

The show also regularly tackled social issues, perhaps most prominently in the debate leading up to the referendum on divorce. The “yes or no” question was put to members of parliament, leading to loud and hot arguments between the camps.

Despite often facing criticism for its lack of nuance, Xarabank was also one of the first television programmes to feature the experiences of Maltese gay couples in 2008 and how some resorted to living overseas in order to get married. 

Another highly viewed episode is Xarabank’s interview with Simon Bugeja, the only survivor of the Simshar shipwreck tragedy which claimed the lives of four people, including Bugeja’s father Karmenu and his 11-year-old son Theo. 

Bugeja captured the public’s sympathy on Xarabank as he tearfully recounted his son’s final moments reciting the rosary and the act of contrition as they became increasingly desperate and fearful that no rescue would come. 

Tragedy was Xarabank’s bread and butter. 

In 2012, one of Xarabank’s most highly viewed episodes was one dedicated to Carmen Camilleri, the sister of seven-year-old Valletta murder victim Twannie Camilleri. 

Twanny and Carmen’s parents, Ġiġa and Leli were convicted for the boy’s murder on the strength of then seven-year-old Carmen’s testimony.

However, on her Xarabank appearance revisiting the scene of the crime, Carmen recanted her testimony and declared her parents innocent, a fact that served to incense the public as well as its insinuation that the killer was still at large. 

Xarabank also famously entertained its own version of the satanic panic, dedicating a number of episodes to the discussion of satanism, giving airtime to exorcists and people who claimed to have had a close brush with the occult.

The programme also found ways to stroke controversy in unconventional ways, with its interviews on sex and relationships often going viral, such as the time a counsellor explained that research indicated Maltese people watched more pornography during general elections.

Xarabank was always in touch with its philanthropic side, helping bring to prominence the story of Bjorn Formosa, who spearheaded activism for sufferers of ALS in Malta and helped raise hundreds of thousands of euros for care homes dedicated to people suffering from ALS.

Which Xarabank episode will you remember most fondly? Let us know at newsroom@timesofmalta.com