Tiswas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tiswas |
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The 'classic' version of the Tiswas logo as designed by Stuart Kettle, revised by Chris Wroe
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| Genre | Children's entertainment |
| Created by | Peter Tomlinson |
| Presented by | Chris Tarrant Sally James Lenny Henry Bob Carolgees John Gorman |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 302 |
| Production | |
| Production location(s) | ATV Centre |
| Production company(s) | ATV (1974–1981) Central (1982) |
| Distributor | ITV Studios |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Original release | 5 January 1974 – 3 April 1982 |
Tiswas was a super fun British TV show for kids! Its name is a short way of saying "Today Is Saturday: Watch And Smile." It aired on Saturday mornings from January 5, 1974, to April 3, 1982. The show was made by a company called ATV for the ITV network.
A TV announcer named Peter Tomlinson came up with the idea for Tiswas. He started by trying out some games and silly things between other shows in 1973. People liked it so much that it became its own show!
What Was Tiswas About?
Tiswas started as short bits of fun between cartoons and old films. But soon, the presenters and their funny parts became more popular than the movies!
The real meaning of TISWAS was "Today Is Saturday: Watch And Smile." This was confirmed by presenter Chris Tarrant later on.
The show first aired live on January 5, 1974. It started as a local show in the Midlands area of the UK. Over time, more and more TV stations across the UK started showing Tiswas. By 1979, most of the country could watch it.
Meet the Presenters
The most famous host was Chris Tarrant, who was on the show from 1974 to 1981. Later, Sally James also became a main host. Other popular presenters included a young Lenny Henry, Bob Carolgees with his puppet Spit the Dog, and John Gorman.
The show was broadcast from Studio 3 at ATV Centre in Birmingham. This was the same studio used for the local news show, ATV Today.
Crazy Fun and Games
Tiswas was a mix of games, funny videos, and music clips. The presenters would link everything together with sketches and jokes. They even made fun of other kids' TV shows!
One of the most famous parts of Tiswas was "The Cage." Kids, and sometimes even their parents, would sit in a cage. Then, they would get soaked with water! This became so popular that a song called "The Bucket of Water Song" was a big hit. For the 100th show, a fire engine even sprayed hundreds of fans with water at a racetrack!
Another funny part was Compost Corner. In this segment, Lenny Henry would dress up like a gardener with a fake beard. He would tell gardening jokes and puns.
Lenny Henry also did "Newsflashes" as Trevor McDoughnut, making fun of a real newsreader. He would tell news jokes, and then buckets of water would be thrown at him! He also did funny magic tricks as Tommy Cooper. Sometimes, the Phantom Flan Flinger would even throw cream pies at him!
The Phantom Flan Flinger
The Phantom Flan Flinger was a mysterious character who loved to throw custard pies (called "flans") at everyone in the studio. Chris Tarrant and the Flan Flinger would try to hit the cameramen, who would try their best to dodge the pies!
The Tiswas Logo
The show had a few different logos over the years. The most famous one, designed by Stuart Kettle, appeared in 1977. It had a cool "zig-zag" look. Later, a drawing of the Phantom Flan Flinger was added to the logo.
Tiswas Through the Years
Tiswas had eight series (seasons) in total. Each series brought new fun and changes!
Series 1: The Beginning
The first series started in 1974. It was only meant to be short bits between other shows. Chris Tarrant and John Asher were the presenters, just sitting at a desk. They made up jokes and read viewers' letters. Soon, the show moved to a bigger studio because it was so popular!
Series 2: More Presenters
This series started in late 1974 and ran through 1975. The team grew to four presenters. Trevor East and Peter Tomlinson joined Chris Tarrant.
Series 3: Growing Popularity
Running from late 1976 to early 1977, this series continued with Chris Tarrant, Peter Tomlinson, and Trevor East. Parts of the show started to be shown outside the Midlands for the first time.
Series 4: Big Changes!
This series, from 1977 to 1978, brought big changes. Sally James joined as the first regular female presenter! The show's producers also created the 'Phantom Flan Flinger' character. This helped keep the messy fun that viewers loved. John Gorman also started making appearances. More TV regions began showing Tiswas across the country.
Series 5: New Faces
This series ran from 1978 to 1979. John Gorman became a regular. Bob Carolgees and his puppet Spit the Dog made their first appearances and became regular stars! Lenny Henry also started appearing more often.
Series 6: National Hit!
Tiswas returned in November 1979 after a TV strike. Many more TV regions started showing the program, making it a national hit! The show started including performances from viewers, especially children. One famous child, Matthew Butler, sang "Bright Eyes" in a rabbit costume, which Chris Tarrant found hilarious.
This series also saw the "Bucket of Water Song" become a huge hit. The Tiswas team even went on tour to universities, showing how popular the show was with older kids and teens too!
Series 7: The Classic Years
By this series, which aired from 1980 to 1981, Tiswas had a bigger budget. It got its own theme song and a new studio set. Many of the most famous clips of Tiswas come from this time.
However, after this series, Chris Tarrant decided to leave. Bob Carolgees, Lenny Henry, and John Gorman also left. They went on to create a late-night version of Tiswas for adults called O.T.T.. Only Sally James stayed for the final series.
Series 8: The Final Series
The last series of Tiswas ran from September 1981 to April 1982. The TV company wanted the show to focus more on its child audience. New presenters joined, including Gordon Astley, Den Hegarty, and Fogwell Flax. Sally James stayed on as the Music Editor.
At the end of 1981, the TV company ATV changed its name to Central Television. So, the last part of the series was made by Central. The show ended in April 1982.
Missing Episodes
Most Tiswas shows were broadcast live and not kept forever. Back then, they didn't think people would want to watch them again later. So, many of the old tapes were erased to be used for new shows. This means that very few full episodes of Tiswas still exist today.
However, some people recorded the shows at home, and these recordings are now very important! In 2006, ITV started looking for missing old shows, including Tiswas. They found some more footage.
Today, only 22 full episodes are officially known to exist. But fans have found more clips and parts of shows over the years.
Tiswas Merchandise
Tiswas was one of the first children's TV shows to have lots of merchandise! You could find Tiswas books, T-shirts, a magazine, music albums, and even a ceramic money box.
Magazines and Books
There was a Tiswas Family Fun Book and later a Tiswas Magazine with interviews, quizzes, and letters from fans. Four yearly hardback books (called annuals) were also made.
Video Collections
In the 1990s, three VHS video collections were released. These videos mostly showed the funny sketches and messy parts of the show. They didn't include music videos or cartoons.
- Best of the Best Bits had funny sketches, including Lenny Henry as Trevor McDoughnut. It also had the music video for "The Bucket of Water Song."
- More of the Best Bits continued the fun, with more soaking and a song called "Water Is Wonderful."
- Comedy Capers focused on comedy sketches by the Tiswas team.
DVDs
In 2005, a DVD called The Best of Tiswas was released. It included all three of the old VHS collections. The picture quality was better, but some parts still looked a bit rough because they came from old home recordings. There are plans for more DVDs if the first one sells well!
