Allsorts (TV series) facts for kids

Allsorts (later renamed Gigglish Allsorts in 1994) is a British pre-school children's television series that was produced for ITV by Granada Television. The programmes aired from 7 January 1987 to 12 December 1995 and covered a range of children's learning activities.

Cast

• Jiffy – Wayne Jackman (Series 1–9)
• Bonzo – Andrew Wightman (Series 1–9)
• Natty – Vivienne Mckone (Series 1–3)
• Spike The Dog – Virginia Radcliffe (Series 1–3)
• Virginia – Virginia Radcliffe (Series 4)
• JJ – Jane Cox (Series 5–9)
• Box – Julie Westwood (Series 5–9)
• Mouldy – Robert Skidmore (series 7–9)

Format

The show's format changed every series. The titles and the set changed, the characters' clothing changed, and the storylines became a little more complex. In the Gigglish Allsorts era of the series, the characters even ventured out of the house on outings, such as a visit to Gulliver's World in the episode "The Big Day Out" in 1994.

Opening titles

The opening credits from series one to five are fully animated in a cartoonish style. They feature a toy which starts off as a spinning top, then turns into ball, then a jug of water, then a train, then a house which flies into a kite which reads "Allsorts". The music consists of several pieces of instrumentation in sequence, coming in one after the other as the toy changes form.

Series six has the cartoon pictures of series one in three square boxes at the right hand side of the screen, with the opening titles on the left side. The background music is sung by the stars of the show, with each singing a different verse. The lyrics of the song are "Hey, it's an Allsorts day, anything can happen / It's an Allsorts day / Today!"

The opening credits from series seven to nine begins with a close-up of a box made of numerous light-up squares as an unknown voice starts singing. As the lyrics "one – two – three" are sung, the camera pans back, and a box opens which contains objects including toy aeroplanes, cars, teddy bears. Afterwards, JJ, Jiffy, Box and Bonzo appear, pulling faces. The lyrics of the background song are "Hey! Are you ready – steady – one – two – three / Gigglish Allsorts – what's happening today? / Gigglish Allsorts – they're coming out to play."

Transmission guide

Series 1 (1987)

1. Water (1) - 7 January 1987
2. Up and Down (1) - 14 January 1987
3. Collections - 21 January 1987
4. Big and Little - 28 January 1987
5. Shoes - 4 February 1987
6. Hats - 11 February 1987
7. Hands - 18 February 1987
8. Sticky Things - 25 February 1987
9. Same/Different - 4 March 1987
10. Fruit and Veg - 11 March 1987
11. Houses and Homes - 18 March 1987
12. Noises (1) - 25 March 1987
13. Paper - 1 April 1987
14. Plants (1) - 8 April 1987
15. Boxes - 15 April 1987
16. String and Things - 22 April 1987
17. Journeys (1) - 29 April 1987
18. Air (1) - 6 May 1987
19. Colour - 13 May 1987
20. Lost and Found - 20 May 1987
21. Faces - 27 May 1987
22. Wheels - 3 June 1987
23. Hot and Cold - 10 June 1987
24. Pets - 17 June 1987
25. Dragons - 24 June 1987
26. Birthdays - 1 July 1987

Series 2 (1988)

1. On My Own - 20 January 1988
2. Circus - 27 January 1988
3. Allsorts Book - 3 February 1988
4. Time - 10 February 1988
5. Journeys (2) - 17 February 1988
6. Lost Property - 24 February 1988
7. Broken and Fixed - 2 March 1988
8. Greed - 9 March 1988
9. All Change (1) - 23 March 1988
10. Naughty Tricks - 30 March 1988
11. Spring - 6 April 1988
12. Clean and Dirty - 13 April 1988
13. Magic Orchestra (1) - 20 April 1988
14. Fair's Fair - 27 April 1988
15. Games - 4 May 1988
16. Pictures - 11 May 1988
17. New Beginnings - 18 May 1988
18. Going Away Today - 25 May 1988
19. Jealousy - 1 June 1988
20. Cafe Allsorts - 8 June 1988
21. Robots - 15 June 1988
22. Theatre - 22 June 1988
23. Appearances - 29 June 1988
24. Holes - 6 July 1988
25. Secrets - 13 July 1988
26. Silliness - 20 July 1988
27. Magic Orchestra (2) - 27 July 1988
28. Friends - 3 August 1988
29. Illness - 10 August 1988
30. Gallery - 17 August 1988
31. Happy and Sad - 24 August 1988
32. Night - 31 August 1988
33. Favourites - 7 September 1988
34. Mystery and Magic - 14 September 1988
35. Promises - 21 September 1988
36. Treasure - 5 October 1988
37. Clothes (1) - 12 October 1988
38. For Sale - 19 October 1988

Series 3 (1989)

1. Cottoning On - 9 August 1989
2. Floating and Sinking - 16 August 1989
3. Ten Green Bottles - 23 August 1989
4. Accidents - 30 August 1989
5. Hello - 6 September 1989
6. The Hot Day - 13 September 1989
7. Collecting - 20 September 1989
8. Camping (1) - 27 September 1989
9. Sharing - 4 October 1989
10. Allsorts TV - 11 October 1989
11. Flying - 18 October 1989
12. Plants (2) - 25 October 1989
13. The Face - 1 November 1989
14. Magnets - 8 November 1989
15. Jumble Sale - 15 November 1989
16. Colours - 22 November 1989
17. Memory - 29 November 1989
18. Water (2) - 6 December 1989
19. Puppets - 13 December 1989
20. Round and Round - 20 December 1989
21. Picture Show - 10 January 1990
22. Noises (2) - 17 January 1990
23. Measuring - 24 January 1990
24. Air (2) - 31 January 1990
25. Balancing - 7 February 1990
26. Alone Again – Naturally - 14 February 1990
27. Teatime - 21 February 1990
28. The Dark - 28 February 1990
29. The Box - 7 March 1990
30. Up and Down (2) - 14 March 1990

Series 4 (1990)

1. The Arrival of Jane - 19 September 1990
2. All Change (2) - 26 September 1990
3. Friendship - 3 October 1990
4. Shopping - 10 October 1990
5. A Change in the Weather - 17 October 1990
6. Bicycles - 24 October 1990
7. Waiting for Aunt Jemima - 31 October 1990
8. Patterns - 7 November 1990
9. The Little Red Car - 14 November 1990
10. Passing the Time - 21 November 1990
11. Once Upon a Time - 28 November 1990
12. The Locked Door - 5 December 1990
13. Cooking - 12 December 1990
14. It's Magic - 19 December 1990
15. A Bad Monday - 9 January 1991
16. Noises (3) - 16 January 1991
17. The First Day - 23 January 1991
18. Fun with Language - 30 January 1991
19. Weight - 6 February 1991
20. Dressing Up - 13 February 1991
21. Jane's Birthday - 20 February 1991
22. Bricks - 27 February 1991
23. Going to Bed - 6 March 1991
24. Clearing Up - 13 March 1991
25. The Garden - 20 March 1991
26. The Canvas Bag - 27 March 1991

Series 5 (1991)

Names - 2 October 1991
Bonzo's Olympics - 16 October 1991
Money - 23 October 1991
Noises (4) - 30 October 1991
Inventions - 6 November 1991
City Farm - 20 November 1991
Rainy Day - 27 November 1991
Moods - 4 December 1991
Home and Away - 11 December 1991
Clothes (2) - 18 December 1991
Shapes - 8 January 1992
Holiday - 29 January 1992
Camping (2) - 5 February 1992
Panic - 12 February 1992
Monsters - 4 March 1992
Playing Tricks - 11 March 1992
Being Ill - 18 March 1992
Food - 23 March 1992

Series 6(1993)

Series 7(1994)

Series 8(1994)

1. Episode 801 - 6 September 1994
2. Episode 802 - 13 September 1994
3. Episode 803 - 20 September 1994
4. Episode 804 - 27 September 1994
5. Episode 805 - 4 October 1994
6. Episode 806 - 11 October 1994
7. Episode 807 - 18 October 1994
8. Episode 808 - 1 October 1994
9. Episode 809 - 8 November 1994
10. Three Billy Goats Gruff - 15 November 1994
11. Episode 811 - 22 November 1994
12. Episode 812 - 29 November 1994
13. Episode 813 - 6 December 1994
14. Episode 814 - 13 December 1994
15. Bath time Blues - 20 December 1994

Series 9(1995)

The Visitor