Jungle Run facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jungle Run
Title card
Genre	Children's Game show
Created by	Lesley Oakden
Presented by	Dominic Wood (1999–2000) Chris Jarvis (2001–02) Michael Underwood (2003–06)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	8
No. of episodes	99
Production
Running time	25 minutes
Production company(s)	Yorkshire Television
Distributor	ITV Studios
Release
Original network	ITV Network (CITV)
Picture format	4:3: SDTV (1999–2000) : HDTV (2001–06)
Original release	10 September 1999 (1999-09-10) – 29 November 2006 (2006-11-29)
Chronology
Related shows	Fort Boyard The Crystal Maze Naked Jungle

Jungle Run was a super fun British children's television adventure show! It aired on CITV (part of the ITV network) from September 10, 1999, to November 29, 2006. It was a game show where teams of kids faced exciting challenges, a bit like Fort Boyard or The Crystal Maze.

Three different presenters, called the "Jungle Guide," led the way: Dominic Wood (1999-2000), Chris Jarvis (2001-2002), and Michael Underwood (2003-2006). The show was filmed at a disused air base called RAF Newton, near Nottingham.

How to Play Jungle Run

In Jungle Run, a team of children entered a mysterious jungle ruled by the Jungle King. Their main goal was to win treasure from the Temple of the Jungle King. To do this, they had to complete five tricky challenges. (In special celebrity episodes, there were only three or four challenges.)

Winning these challenges earned them time inside the temple. The more time they earned, the better their chance of grabbing the top prize!

Earning Time for the Temple

In the first two series of the show, teams collected bananas to earn time for the final challenge. But from series three onwards, silver monkey statues replaced the bananas. Each silver monkey statue gave the team 10 extra seconds inside the temple.

There was also one special golden banana in each episode, worth 50 regular bananas. Later, this became a Ruby monkey, which was worth 20 seconds. The most time a team could earn for the temple was 3 minutes and 20 seconds!

Jungle Challenges and Games

The challenges in Jungle Run took place in many different parts of the jungle. Some were set in swamps or near waterfalls. Others were obstacle courses or mazes. Some games were even played out in the open. The same location might be used for different challenges, but each specific task was only played in one spot.

Usually, there were 100 bananas or four to five statues available in each challenge. Sometimes, a team member could get trapped if they ran out of time in an obstacle course or failed a game with cages. If this happened, the rest of the team had to decide. They could give up 50 bananas (or one, later two, statues) to free their teammate. Or, they could leave them behind and not lose any time. If more than one person got trapped in the same game, one person could be freed for free. But any other trapped teammates had to be "bought out" with bananas or statues.

In some games, two mischievous monkeys named Sid and Elvis, who were loyal to the Jungle King, would try to distract the contestants. They would throw coconuts or other objects to make the challenges harder!

Types of Challenges

Each game usually lasted about two to three minutes. Here are some examples of the exciting challenges teams faced:

• Zipwire Statues: Grabbing statues while zooming down a zipwire.
• Maze Explorers: Finding bananas or statues in a maze or obstacle course. Often, one team member would go through the course while others helped by using tools or giving directions from above.
• Swamp Collection: Collecting bananas or statues hanging above a swamp, by carefully moving across lilypads or a bridge.
• Wall Climb: Climbing up a wall and finding bananas or statues hidden in small ledges.
• Underwater Dive: Diving underwater to find statues hidden inside treasure chests.
• Water Shrines: Filling shrines with water until statues floated within reach.
• Bamboo Hook: Using long bamboo poles to hook baskets that held statues.
• Key Hunt: Finding and using a series of keys to unlock cages where contestants were trapped. (The same keys were also used in a machine to release statues.)
• Symbol Match: Remembering pairs of symbols on a board and matching them to win bananas or statues.

The Temple of the Jungle King

The final and most exciting challenge was making it through the Temple of the Jungle King. The time a team had inside the temple depended on how many bananas or statues they had collected earlier.

Inside the temple, there were several rooms. Each room had a large monkey statue. Once a team completed the challenge in one room, the door to the next room would open. In the first two series, teams won only one prize based on how far they got. But from series three onwards, teams won a prize for each room they completed! There were four challenges and one statue for each chamber: the Stone, Metal/Bronze, Silver, and the Golden Monkey.

When a team had only 10 or 20 seconds left, a warning sound would play. This could be a gong, a drum, or a chimp screaming! This sound told them it was time to get out of the temple quickly. If some or all team members didn't make it out in time, they were locked in the temple and didn't get any prizes. In the first two series, if anyone got trapped, even those who made it out with a statue didn't get prizes. But from series three onwards, anyone who made it out with a statue would win their prize! Everyone who took part in the show also received a smaller prize, like a t-shirt, backpack, or a monkey toy. When famous people played, their prizes were given to charity.

Temple Challenges

The challenges inside the temple were also very clever. They could involve:

• Ball Maze: Getting a ball into a hole by lifting and rotating a maze.
• Jigsaw Puzzle: Completing a jigsaw puzzle.
• Symbol Match: Each contestant matching their hands and feet to the correct symbols on the floor.
• Abacus Puzzle: Solving a puzzle using an abacus.
• Cog Turning: Turning a series of cogs to make something happen.
• Pit Crossing: Getting across a pit without touching the sand.
• Riddle Solver: Spelling out the answer to a riddle by standing on the correct floor tiles.

Show Seasons

Here's a look at the different seasons (series) of Jungle Run and who hosted them: