Chock-A-Block facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Chock-A-Block |
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| Genre | Children's |
| Created by | Michael Cole |
| Presented by | Carol Leader Fred Harris |
| Theme music composer | Peter Gosling |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Cynthia Felgate |
| Producer(s) | Michael Cole |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC1 |
| Original release | 1981-05-21 – 1981-08-13 |
Chock-A-Block was a fun BBC children's television show. It was created by Michael Cole and Nick Wilson. The show first aired in 1981 and was repeated until 1989. It was part of the "See-Saw" programme block, which was a popular group of shows for young children.
Contents
About Chock-A-Block
What Was the Show About?
The main star of Chock-A-Block was a giant yellow computer. It looked like the big computers from the 1980s. This computer filled the whole TV studio! It was the main background for the show.
The show's presenter acted like a technician who took care of the computer. There were two presenters: Fred Harris (known as "Chock-A-Bloke") and Carol Leader (known as "Chock-A-Girl"). Only one presenter appeared in each episode.
How Did an Episode Work?
At the start of each show, the presenter would drive a small yellow electric car called the "Chock-A-Truck". They would drive it towards the big computer. Then, they would say their special catchphrase: "Chock-A-Bloke (or Girl), checking in!"
The presenter would then use the giant computer to learn about a specific topic. The show's name, "Chock-A-Block," came from how the computer read information. It got data from "blocks." These were actual physical blocks painted in different colors.
A typical episode included:
- The presenter talking and explaining things.
- A short video clip shown on the computer's screen.
- The presenter recording a song using the computer's audio recorder. This recorder looked like the reel-to-reel tape drives used on real computers back then. It even had a design that made the reels look like smiling eyes!
Who Were the Presenters?
Fred Harris, one of the presenters, became very well-known for his connection to computers. He later presented a serious computer programme called Micro Live.
Missing Episodes
Chock-A-Block had 13 episodes in total. Sadly, many old TV shows from that time are now missing from the BBC archives. For Chock-A-Block, eight out of the thirteen episodes are no longer in the BBC's collection. However, one of these missing episodes and parts of another still exist because people recorded them at home.
