Take Hart facts for kids

Take Hart was a popular British children's television show all about art. It was presented by the famous artist Tony Hart. The show started in 1977, taking over from an earlier art show called Vision On, and it ran until 1983.

The programme featured Tony Hart and his animated Plasticine friend, Morph. Morph was a small, clay-like character who often helped Tony with his art projects or got into funny situations. Other characters included 'Smoulder the Moulder', a lump of mould that could "spray" out props. The only other regular human on the show was Mr Bennett, the friendly caretaker, played by Colin Bennett. Take Hart even won a BAFTA award for Tony Hart in 1984, which is a big award for TV shows!

Creative Art Projects

Tony Hart loved to show viewers how to create art. He demonstrated many small art projects that kids at home could easily try.

Big Artworks

Tony also created amazing large-scale artworks. Sometimes he used the entire TV studio floor as his canvas! He even used huge outdoor spaces like beaches. He would draw giant pictures that could only be seen properly from a camera high above. This cool idea was later used by another popular art show called Art Attack, which started in 1990.

The Gallery

A very popular part of Take Hart was 'The Gallery'. This section showed off artworks sent in by young viewers from all over the country. It was a chance for kids to see their own drawings and paintings on TV!

Gallery Music

The music played during 'The Gallery' was very famous. It was a calm, easy-listening tune called "Left Bank Two", played on a vibraphone. Many people still remember this music today! In later series, other songs were sometimes used, like "Cavatina" by John Williams. In the final three series, the main theme music changed to a reggae-style tune called "Passion Punch", and 'The Gallery' music became "Marguerite".

Why the Show Ended

By the end of 1983, after eight series, Tony Hart felt that Take Hart was starting to feel a bit old-fashioned. Even though he won a BAFTA award in 1984, fewer people were watching the show compared to its most popular years in the late 1970s. So, in December 1983, Take Hart was replaced by a new, more modern art show called Hartbeat, which also starred Tony Hart.

Series Guide

Here is a list of all the series and special episodes of Take Hart:

• Series 1: 13 episodes, shown from February 15, 1977, to May 17, 1977
• Series 2: 6 episodes, shown from March 14, 1978, to April 18, 1978
• Series 3: 13 episodes, shown from January 3, 1979, to March 28, 1979
• Series 4: 13 episodes, shown from January 2, 1980, to March 26, 1980
• Series 5: 15 episodes, shown from January 14, 1981, to April 22, 1981
• Special: Take Hart on Holiday By the Sea, shown on June 12, 1981
• Series 6: 15 episodes, shown from January 6, 1982, to April 14, 1982
• Series 7: 15 episodes, shown from January 5, 1983, to April 13, 1983
• Series 8: 10 episodes, shown from October 28, 1983, to December 30, 1983