Crackerjack! (TV programme) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Crackerjack |
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|---|---|
| Genre | Children's television |
| Created by | Johnny Haddon Downes |
| Presented by | Eamonn Andrews (1955–64) Leslie Crowther (1964–68) Michael Aspel (1968–74) Ed Stewart (1975–79) Stu Francis (1980–84) Sam & Mark (2020–) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 29 (original) 2 (revival) |
| No. of episodes | 451 (original) 20 (revival) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 40 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC Television Service (1955-64) BBC One (1964-84) CBBC (2020–) |
| Picture format | 4:3 (1955-84) (2020–) |
| Original release | Original series: 14 September 1955 – 21 December 1984 Revived series: 17 January 2020 – present |
Crackerjack is a famous British children's TV show. It first aired a long time ago, from 1955 to 1984. It was a fun variety show with comedy, music, and games. The show was broadcast live with a studio audience, mostly made up of kids!
In 2019, it was announced that Crackerjack would return. It came back in 2020, 35 years after its original run ended. The new version is hosted by Sam & Mark. It now airs on CBBC and has an exclamation mark in its name: Crackerjack!.
Many famous people appeared on the show over the years. These included hosts like Eamonn Andrews, Leslie Crowther, Michael Aspel, Ed "Stewpot" Stewart, and Stu Francis. Other stars like Basil Brush, The Krankies, and Ronnie Corbett also made appearances. Singers and dancers helped with the games. Some of them later became famous in other ways, like Sally Ann Triplett and Downtown Julie Brown.
Contents
How the Show Worked
Crackerjack shows were very lively and exciting. They were broadcast live in front of a big audience of children. The show took place in different BBC studios in London.
Each episode had a mix of fun activities. There were competitive games for teams of children to play. A music spot featured popular singers or bands. A comedy duo would perform funny sketches. The show always ended with a short, funny play. This play often used popular songs of the day in a silly way.
Fun Games and Prizes
One of the most famous games was called Double or Drop. Three children would compete. For each correct answer, they got a prize to hold. But if they answered incorrectly, they got a cabbage! If they dropped any items or got a third cabbage, they were out. The winner got to choose a toy from a big basket. Everyone else, even the runners-up, won a special marbled propelling pencil. This pencil became very famous! In fact, in 1961, Queen Elizabeth even received Crackerjack pencils for her children, Anne and Charles.
In 1982, the show added a new element: gunge! This was a thick, messy liquid. A new game called Take a Chance was introduced. In this game, celebrity guests teamed up with contestants. They would answer quick questions against host Stu Francis. If someone gave a wrong answer or was too slow, they would get covered in gunge! This made the show even more exciting and messy.
Why Crackerjack Ended
The original Crackerjack series was cancelled in 1984. This happened as part of a big change in the BBC Children's department. Many other long-running shows also ended at that time.
A few years later, in 1987, Stu Francis hosted a show called Crush a Grape on ITV. It was quite similar to his time on Crackerjack. That show lasted for two series.
Original Series Episodes
The original Crackerjack ran for 29 series. In total, there were 451 episodes. However, not all of these episodes still exist today. Only 148 episodes are kept in the BBC archives. For example, none of the episodes hosted by Leslie Crowther are known to exist. But all the episodes from the Ed Stewart and Stu Francis eras are still available.
Revived Series Episodes
The new Crackerjack! series started in 2020. So far, there have been two revived series. Each of these series had 10 episodes.
