Junior Showtime facts for kids

Junior Showtime was a fun British TV show made for children. It was a type of variety show, which means it featured different kinds of acts like singing, dancing, and comedy. The show was created by Yorkshire Television and was shown on ITV between 1969 and 1974. The main person in charge of the show was Jess Yates.

About Junior Showtime

The show was presented by Bobby Bennett. It was filmed at the famous Leeds City Varieties theatre. The acts often included song and dance routines. These were performed in a style similar to old-fashioned music hall shows.

Famous Faces from the Show

Many young performers who appeared on Junior Showtime later became very successful. They grew up to be famous adults in Britain. Some of these well-known people include Joe Longthorne, Pauline Quirke, Kathryn Apanowicz, Bonnie Langford, Janet Kay, Mark Curry, Lisa Stansfield, Perry Cree, and Malandra Burrows.

One of the regular performers was Glynn Poole. He was part of the Poole Family, who won another TV talent show called Opportunity Knocks. The show also brought back a character from the 1930s called Old Mother Riley. This character was played by Roy Rolland.

What Happened to the Show?

In 2001, a TV channel called Channel 4 held a poll. They asked people to vote for the "100 Greatest Kids' TV shows." Junior Showtime was voted number 99 on that list.

Sadly, most of the 190 episodes that were shown have been lost. This is sometimes called "wiping" in TV history. It means the recordings were erased or thrown away. Only three episodes of the show are believed to still exist today.