The Saturday Show (1982 TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Saturday Show |
|
|---|---|
| Genre | Children's |
| Presented by | Tommy Boyd Isla St Clair |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 57 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 105 minutes (inc. adverts) |
| Production company(s) | Central Television |
| Distributor | ITV Studios |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Original release | 23 October 1982 – 14 April 1984 |
The Saturday Show was a lively children's TV program. It aired on ITV in the United Kingdom. The show was made by Central Television in Birmingham. It took over from their earlier popular show, Tiswas. The Saturday Show ran for two years. It was on TV from October 23, 1982, to April 14, 1984.
Meet the Presenters
The show was first planned to be called "Big Daddy's Saturday Show." It was going to be hosted by the famous wrestler Big Daddy. A test show was even filmed with him. But just before the show was supposed to start, Big Daddy decided not to be part of it.
So, Isla St Clair became the main host. She was helped by Tommy Boyd, who used to host the show Magpie. Sometimes, Jeremy Beadle would also step in as a host. The actor David Rappaport played a character called "Shades." He had also been in the last season of Tiswas. Famous footballer Jimmy Greaves was also a regular on the show.
Cool Tech on the Show!
The second season of The Saturday Show had a cool new section. It was called "Interface" and focused on technology. This part of the show did some amazing things for TV at the time.
One time, "Interface" broadcast a computer program live. Viewers at home could record it from their TV. Then, they could load it onto their ZX Spectrum computer. The first try had some problems, but it worked perfectly the next week! Many viewers successfully recorded and used the program.
Another first for the show was a game called "Up for Grabs." This game was played live in the studio. But the player was at home! They used a computer and a modem to control a robotic arm. The goal was to pick up prizes from a spinning table. It was quite tricky because it was hard to see how deep the arm was. Also, the robot arm was a bit slow to respond. Even so, this game was way ahead of its time. It came out many years before other interactive TV games.
Where Was The Show Broadcast?
The Saturday Show was shown in almost all parts of the ITV network. However, two regions did not show it. TSW and Channel Television made their own Saturday morning programs. TSW's show was also called The Saturday Show at first. Later, TSW renamed their show Freeze Frame.
Show Seasons
The Saturday Show had two main seasons:
- Series 1: This season had 26 episodes. It ran from October 23, 1982, to April 30, 1983.
- Series 2: This season had 31 episodes. It ran from September 3, 1983, to April 14, 1984.
