Crackerjack

(Jan Michelle credited and introduced as co-host. Copyedits elsewhere - is this article too heavy on the gunge?)
(Re-write from the ground up, and trim the Stu Francis-era gunge down to manageable levels.)
Line 1: Line 1:
 +
[[File:Crackerjack 1982 title.jpg|300px]]
 +
<div class="box">
<div class="box">
== Host ==
== Host ==
Line 74: Line 76:
== Synopsis ==
== Synopsis ==
-
A behemoth of children's programming, for nearly three decades ''Crackerjack'' pretty much marked the start of the weekend with its mixture of sketches, pop performances and of course its games. Countless different games were played down the years - there were any number of straightforward on-the-buzzer quizzes, alongside other games like the jigsaw-based ''Jig-Jak'' and prototype computer game "Crackerball", but the show's signature game was ''Double Or Drop'', devised by original host Eamonn Andrews, in which kids had to answer questions while holding on to an ever-increasing pile of prizes (with cabbages added to the heap for wrong answers and for dropping things - 3 cabbages inevitably meant elimination from the game). The game was dropped after Andrews' departure from the show, but was later briefly revived during the Ed Stewart years. Win or lose, everyone went home with the coveted "Crackerjack pencil" (later replaced by the "Crackerjack pen").
+
A behemoth of children's programming, ''Crackerjack'' marked the start of the weekend for generations of kids with its mixture of sketches, pop performances, and its games.  
-
<div class="image">[[Image:Crackerjack_doubleordrop_logo.jpg|400px]]''It's the moment you've been waiting for...''</div>
+
<div class="image">[[Image:Crackerjack_doubleordrop_logo.jpg|300px]]''It's the moment you've been waiting for...''</div>
-
In the Stu Francis era, the final two contestants would both be teamed up with a celebrity, one male and one female, to play first 'Take A Letter', a game of questions and stunts. Then they'd play a gunge-based game, 'Take A Chance'. (The celebs were mostly kids' presenters, sports stars and, from 1983 onwards, ''Breakfast Time'' personalities, breakfast television being a new concept at the time). Each celebrity would compete against Francis to answer a question correctly, and whoever failed to do so would be gunged - although Francis and the male celebrity were always gunged anyway - the ladies usually (but not always) got away scot-free. The celebrities brave enough to put themselves through this included Geoff Capes, [[Floella Benjamin]], [[Emlyn Hughes]], [[Russell Grant]], [[Fern Britton]], [[Sarah Greene]], [[Les Dawson]] and Suzanne Dando, among many others.
+
The show's signature game was Double Or Drop, devised by original host [[Eamonn Andrews]]. Kids had to answer questions while holding on to an ever-increasing pile of prizes. Cabbages were added to the heap for wrong answers and for dropping things - and 3 cabbages inevitably meant elimination from the game.
-
The gunge was always given some name relevant either to some random theme or to the celebrities themselves (such as 'Johnny's Junk' for [[Johnny Ball]] and 'Black Belt Bilge' for judo-star Neil Adams). Rather bizarrely, the 1982 series quite often featured fairly innocuous 'gunge', such as 'Bath Water', 'Pond Water' and 'Sugar Puffs' for the rounds involving the female celebs, but the 2 subsequent series always used 'deal's gunge. Probably the worst gunge for the celebrities to be threatened with was 'Cement', but luckily for Diana Moran (aka ''Breakfast Time''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s 'Green Goddess'), she managed to answer the question correctly and thus avoid said gunge. However, Francis and the boxer Charlie Magri were covered in 'Pigswill' and 'Tractor Oil' respectively on another occasion - both pretty gruesome styles of gunge, it's probably fair to say - and yes, you've guessed it, the gunge that week had a farmyard theme.
+
<div class="image">[[Image:Crackerjack double or drop played.jpg|300px]]''Ed Stewart asks a question of one contestant.''</div>
-
<div class="image">[[Image:Crackerjack doubleordrop getprizes.jpg|400px]]
+
Countless different games were played down the years - there were any number of straightforward shout-out-the-answer quizzes, physical challenges, the jigsaw-based "Jig-Jak", and early computer game "Crackerball". "Young Entertainers" was a showcase for the rising stars of the future, finding a winner each year; it would later find a home on Saturday morning telly alongside Posh Paws and Gordon the Gopher.
-
''A game of'' Double Or Drop ''in progress.''</div>
+
-
''Crackerjack'' finished in 1984; there was a general freshening of children's television, an old-fashioned variety show was less attractive to the new generation. The Television Theatre, where ''Crackerjack'' was filmed, was required for the new ''Wogan'' chat show. Stu Francis hosted the suspiciously similar [[Crush a Grape]] on ITV, and "Double or Drop" was briefly revived on [[Blue Peter]].
+
<div class="image">[[Image:Crackerjack eddie large after stunt.jpg|300px]]''Another fine mess for Eddie Large.''</div>
-
To our surprise, we heard in 2019 that ''Crackerjack'' was to be revived, hosted by CBBC's top stars [[Sam Nixon|Sam]] and [[Mark Rhodes|Mark]]. The new series appeared on CBBC's in early 2020, to almost universal acclaim.
+
Custard pies had been a comedy staple of ''Crackerjack'' since it began, but gunge and slime and muck didn't arrive in the games until the early 1980s. "Take a Letter" was a game of questions and stunts for the children; "Take a Chance" was a game to gunge [[Stu Francis]] and star guests. "What's in the Box?" had children ferreting around in boxes of muck for tokens. Win or lose, everyone went home with the coveted ''Crackerjack'' pencil (later replaced by the ''Crackerjack'' pen).
 +
 
 +
<div class="image">[[Image:Crackerjack pirates.jpg|300px]]''The late 70s comedy crew of Jan Hunt, Bernie Clifton, and Peter Glaze.''</div>
 +
 
 +
The bulk of ''Crackerjack'' was its comedy performances, a mixture of bad puns, physical slapstick, silly catchphrases, song and dance. Peter Glaze was the master of the art, the stooge who served twenty years, having his pomposity burst each week by [[Leslie Crowther]] and Don MacLean and Bernie Clifton. The weekly pop performance attracted some of the biggest names of the era, whether Adam Faith, The Dave Clark Five, Mud, the Bay City Rollers, or Toyah Willcox.
 +
 
 +
<div class="image">[[Image:Crackerjack 1961 doubleordrop.jpg|300px]]''Eamonn Andrews presides over a pairs game.''</div>
 +
 
 +
''Crackerjack'' began as a fortnightly programme in the Children's Hour, Eamonn Andrews introduced a variety show for young people. ''Crackerjack'' was similar to other variety shows of the era, but while ''Sunday Night at the London Palladium'' had [[Beat the Clock]] and the biggest names in showbiz, ''Crackerjack'' had Double or Drop and the smaller talent [[Ronnie Corbett]]. Other famous names to pass through ''Crackerjack'' include host [[Michael Aspel]], comedians Lenny Henry and the duo Little and Large, ventriloquist Keith Harris, and singer Elaine Paige.
 +
 
 +
<div class="image">[[Image:Crackerjack aspel jetsaway.jpg|300px]]''Michael Aspel (right) and two winners of the "Jets Away" contest.''</div>
 +
 
 +
''Crackerjack'' finished in 1984; there was a general freshening of children's television, an old-fashioned variety show was less attractive to the new generation. New producer Paul Ciani's attempts to freshen up the show (throw more pop music and gunge at it) hadn't worked. The Television Theatre, where ''Crackerjack'' was filmed, was required for the new ''Wogan'' chat show. Stu Francis went on to host the suspiciously similar [[Crush a Grape]] on ITV.
 +
 
 +
<div class="image">[[Image:Crackerjack 2020 cabbages.jpg|400px]]''Sam, Mark, and some cabbages.''</div>
 +
 
 +
To our surprise, we heard in 2019 that ''Crackerjack'' was to be revived, hosted by CBBC's top stars [[Sam Nixon|Sam]] and [[Mark Rhodes|Mark]]. The new series appeared on CBBC's in early 2020, to almost universal acclaim. The mixture of comedy, stunts, and games was similar to Johnny Downes' original recipe, and had far less pop music than the last shows in the 1980s. Amongst the games, "Take a Letter" returned, joined by a simple observation quiz "Watch It!", and "Splatterjack" to bring a celebrity or relative up so they'd be gunged by a bursting balloon. "Snap and Whack" is fun with animal heads and a buzzer, and "Stickly Come Dancing" asks players to shake coloured sticky notes off their body.
 +
 
 +
<div class="image">[[Image:Crackerjack 2020 stickly come dancing.jpg|400px]]''Two contenders, and 100 small sticky bits of paper.''</div>
 +
 
 +
"Double or Drop" also came back, and returned to Eamonn Andrews' original idea by increasing the prize with every right answer. The more things change, the more they stay the same, as our great-grandpa would say...
== Catchphrases ==
== Catchphrases ==
Line 100: Line 121:
== Inventor ==
== Inventor ==
-
BBC producer John Downes
+
BBC producer John Downes, who would remain with the show until 1979.
== Trivia ==
== Trivia ==
Line 108: Line 129:
Eamonn Andrews originally hosted ''Double or Drop'' as a touring show for adults in Ireland, first in cinemas (which in those days got tax breaks if they featured live entertainment as well as films) and then as a warm-up act for Joe Loss and his band, before adapting it for children. In the original version, prize money doubled at each question up to a maximum of one pound, hence the name.
Eamonn Andrews originally hosted ''Double or Drop'' as a touring show for adults in Ireland, first in cinemas (which in those days got tax breaks if they featured live entertainment as well as films) and then as a warm-up act for Joe Loss and his band, before adapting it for children. In the original version, prize money doubled at each question up to a maximum of one pound, hence the name.
-
''Double Or Drop'' eventually followed Andrews to ITV, and was played on ''The Sooty Show'' in the early 1970s. The game was revived by [[Blue Peter]] in 2002. They even played it on Fridays at about 5.15, just like the original.
+
When first commissioned, ''Crackerjack'' went out every second Wednesday. It shifted to Thursdays in autumn 1959, and only moved to Fridays in 1964 - at the same time as it went out every week.
-
[http://www.lostshows.com/default.aspx?programme=c844399c-0710-4069-9bbe-107dd1981b74 Lostshows.com tells us] that almost every single episode from the Eamonn Andrews, Leslie Crowther and Michael Aspel eras have been wiped from the archives; only 8 sample episodes survived. All of the episodes from the Ed "Stewpot" Stewart and Stu Francis eras still exist in the archives. A rather sad footnote to all this is that Aspel and Francis are the only surviving hosts.
+
''Double Or Drop'' eventually followed Andrews to ITV, and was played on ''The Sooty Show'' in the early 1970s. The game was revived by [[Blue Peter]] in 2002. They even played it on Fridays at about 5.15, just like the original. Even the 2020 revival of ''Crackerjack!'' carried a credit to Eamonn Andrews, a third of a century after his death.
 +
 
 +
<div class="image">[[Image:Crackerjack stu francis gunged.jpg|300px]]''Stu Francis gets covered in cold baked beans.''</div>
 +
 
 +
In the Stu Francis years, the climax of the show was a game. The final two contestants would be teamed up with a celebrity, one male and one female, to play first "Take A Letter", a game of questions and stunts. Then they'd play a gunge-based game, "Take A Chance". (The celebs were mostly kids' presenters, sports stars and, once breakfast telly had been invented, ''Breakfast Time'' personalities.) Each celebrity would compete against Stu Francis to answer a question correctly, and whoever failed to do so would be gunged - although Stu and the male celebrity were always gunged anyway - the ladies usually (but not always) got away scot-free. The celebrities brave enough to put themselves through this included Geoff Capes, [[Floella Benjamin]], [[Emlyn Hughes]], [[Russell Grant]], [[Fern Britton]], [[Sarah Greene]], [[Les Dawson]] and Suzanne Dando, among many others.
 +
 
 +
The original series, from 1955 to 1984, was always billed as ''Crackerjack'' in the ''Radio Times'' and (to the best of our knowledge) on screen. The 2020 revival gained an exclamation mark, and was billed as ''Crackerjack!''.
 +
 
 +
[https://www.tvbrain.info/tv-archive?showname=crackerjack&type=lostshow Lostshows.com tells us] that almost every single episode from the Eamonn Andrews, Leslie Crowther and Michael Aspel eras have been wiped from the archives; only 8 sample episodes survived. All of the episodes from the Ed "Stewpot" Stewart and Stu Francis eras still exist in the archives.
== Web links ==
== Web links ==
Line 121: Line 150:
''Leslie Crowther (right) & Peter Glaze''</div>
''Leslie Crowther (right) & Peter Glaze''</div>
 +
 +
== See also ==
 +
 +
Weaver's Week looked at [[Weaver's Week 2020-02-09|some 1970s and 1980s editions]] and [[Weaver's Week 2020-02-16|Sam and Mark's 2020s revival]].
[[Category:Childrens]]
[[Category:Childrens]]

Revision as of 19:39, 26 February 2020

Contents

Host

Eamonn Andrews (1955-64)

Leslie Crowther (1964-8)

Michael Aspel (1968-74)

Ed Stewart (1975-9)

Jan Michelle (1980)

Stu Francis (1980-4)

Sam and Mark (2020-)

Co-hosts

Hostesses:

Vivienne Martin (1960-1961)
Pip Hinton (1961-1964)
Jillian Comber (1961-1970)
Valerie Walsh (1965-1966)
Christine Holmes (1966-1969)
Frances Barlow (1969-1970)
Elaine Paige (1972)
Heather Barbour (1972)
Jacqueline Clarke (1973-1974)
Jan Hunt (1975-1979)
Jillianne Foot (1976-1977)
Valerie Mitchell (1978-1979)
Sally-Ann Triplett (1981)
Leigh Miles (1981-1982)
Julie Dorne Brown (1982-1983)
Sara Hollamby (1983-1984)
Ling Tai (1984)

Regular Performers:

Jack Douglas (1955-1957)
Joe Baker (1955-1957)
Eddie Mendoza (1956-1957)
Michael Derbyshire (1957-1958)
Ronnie Corbett (1957-1960)
Eddie Leslie (1958-1959)
Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson (1958-1960)
Raymond Rollett (1959-1960)
Peter Glaze (1960-1979)
Leslie Crowther (1961-1968)
Harold Taylor (1964-1965)
Rod McLennan (1968-1970)
Little & Large (1972)
Elaine Paige (1972)
Stuart Sherwin (1972)
Don Maclean (1973-1976)
Bernie Clifton (1977-1979)
Ian & Janette Tough (The Krankies; 1980-1981)
Lenny Henry (1980)
Bob Carolgees (1982)
Geoffrey Durham (The Great Soprendo; 1982-1984)
Keith Harris (1983-1984)
Basil Brush (1983-1984)

Broadcast

BBC Television Service, 14 September 1955 to 21 December 1984 (451 episodes in 29 series)

CBBC, 17 January 2020 to present

Synopsis

A behemoth of children's programming, Crackerjack marked the start of the weekend for generations of kids with its mixture of sketches, pop performances, and its games.

It's the moment you've been waiting for...

The show's signature game was Double Or Drop, devised by original host Eamonn Andrews. Kids had to answer questions while holding on to an ever-increasing pile of prizes. Cabbages were added to the heap for wrong answers and for dropping things - and 3 cabbages inevitably meant elimination from the game.

Ed Stewart asks a question of one contestant.

Countless different games were played down the years - there were any number of straightforward shout-out-the-answer quizzes, physical challenges, the jigsaw-based "Jig-Jak", and early computer game "Crackerball". "Young Entertainers" was a showcase for the rising stars of the future, finding a winner each year; it would later find a home on Saturday morning telly alongside Posh Paws and Gordon the Gopher.

Another fine mess for Eddie Large.

Custard pies had been a comedy staple of Crackerjack since it began, but gunge and slime and muck didn't arrive in the games until the early 1980s. "Take a Letter" was a game of questions and stunts for the children; "Take a Chance" was a game to gunge Stu Francis and star guests. "What's in the Box?" had children ferreting around in boxes of muck for tokens. Win or lose, everyone went home with the coveted Crackerjack pencil (later replaced by the Crackerjack pen).

The late 70s comedy crew of Jan Hunt, Bernie Clifton, and Peter Glaze.

The bulk of Crackerjack was its comedy performances, a mixture of bad puns, physical slapstick, silly catchphrases, song and dance. Peter Glaze was the master of the art, the stooge who served twenty years, having his pomposity burst each week by Leslie Crowther and Don MacLean and Bernie Clifton. The weekly pop performance attracted some of the biggest names of the era, whether Adam Faith, The Dave Clark Five, Mud, the Bay City Rollers, or Toyah Willcox.

Eamonn Andrews presides over a pairs game.

Crackerjack began as a fortnightly programme in the Children's Hour, Eamonn Andrews introduced a variety show for young people. Crackerjack was similar to other variety shows of the era, but while Sunday Night at the London Palladium had Beat the Clock and the biggest names in showbiz, Crackerjack had Double or Drop and the smaller talent Ronnie Corbett. Other famous names to pass through Crackerjack include host Michael Aspel, comedians Lenny Henry and the duo Little and Large, ventriloquist Keith Harris, and singer Elaine Paige.

Michael Aspel (right) and two winners of the "Jets Away" contest.

Crackerjack finished in 1984; there was a general freshening of children's television, an old-fashioned variety show was less attractive to the new generation. New producer Paul Ciani's attempts to freshen up the show (throw more pop music and gunge at it) hadn't worked. The Television Theatre, where Crackerjack was filmed, was required for the new Wogan chat show. Stu Francis went on to host the suspiciously similar Crush a Grape on ITV.

Sam, Mark, and some cabbages.

To our surprise, we heard in 2019 that Crackerjack was to be revived, hosted by CBBC's top stars Sam and Mark. The new series appeared on CBBC's in early 2020, to almost universal acclaim. The mixture of comedy, stunts, and games was similar to Johnny Downes' original recipe, and had far less pop music than the last shows in the 1980s. Amongst the games, "Take a Letter" returned, joined by a simple observation quiz "Watch It!", and "Splatterjack" to bring a celebrity or relative up so they'd be gunged by a bursting balloon. "Snap and Whack" is fun with animal heads and a buzzer, and "Stickly Come Dancing" asks players to shake coloured sticky notes off their body.

Two contenders, and 100 small sticky bits of paper.

"Double or Drop" also came back, and returned to Eamonn Andrews' original idea by increasing the prize with every right answer. The more things change, the more they stay the same, as our great-grandpa would say...

Catchphrases

Host: It's Friday, it's five to five, and it's Crackerjack.
Studio audience, at the top of their voices: CRACK-KER-JAAAACK!!!

(Stu Francis, before the 'Take A Chance' game): "Let's have a look at the points to be won - or the penalties to pay!"

Francis's main catchphrase (not just on this show) was: "Ooh, I could crush a grape", along with others such as: "Ooh, I could test-drive a Tonka!" "Ooh, I could wrestle an Action Man!" "Ooh, I could duff a daffodil!" "Ooh, I could jump off a doll's house!" and "Ooh, I could rip a tissue!"

Inventor

BBC producer John Downes, who would remain with the show until 1979.

Trivia

The famed Crackerjack pencils were only given to children who actually took part in the games, and they were kept under lock and key so nobody else - even the presenters and crew - could have one. One exception was made in 1961 when the Queen visited the set and was given pencils for Prince Charles and Princess Anne. The pencils were abandoned for a short time in the early 1970s but were subsequently reintroduced, and later on there were Crackerjack pens as well. Leslie Crowther once stated in an interview that he was never given a "Crackerjack" pencil, yet people would constantly ask him for one many years after he stopped hosting the show.

Eamonn Andrews originally hosted Double or Drop as a touring show for adults in Ireland, first in cinemas (which in those days got tax breaks if they featured live entertainment as well as films) and then as a warm-up act for Joe Loss and his band, before adapting it for children. In the original version, prize money doubled at each question up to a maximum of one pound, hence the name.

When first commissioned, Crackerjack went out every second Wednesday. It shifted to Thursdays in autumn 1959, and only moved to Fridays in 1964 - at the same time as it went out every week.

Double Or Drop eventually followed Andrews to ITV, and was played on The Sooty Show in the early 1970s. The game was revived by Blue Peter in 2002. They even played it on Fridays at about 5.15, just like the original. Even the 2020 revival of Crackerjack! carried a credit to Eamonn Andrews, a third of a century after his death.

Stu Francis gets covered in cold baked beans.

In the Stu Francis years, the climax of the show was a game. The final two contestants would be teamed up with a celebrity, one male and one female, to play first "Take A Letter", a game of questions and stunts. Then they'd play a gunge-based game, "Take A Chance". (The celebs were mostly kids' presenters, sports stars and, once breakfast telly had been invented, Breakfast Time personalities.) Each celebrity would compete against Stu Francis to answer a question correctly, and whoever failed to do so would be gunged - although Stu and the male celebrity were always gunged anyway - the ladies usually (but not always) got away scot-free. The celebrities brave enough to put themselves through this included Geoff Capes, Floella Benjamin, Emlyn Hughes, Russell Grant, Fern Britton, Sarah Greene, Les Dawson and Suzanne Dando, among many others.

The original series, from 1955 to 1984, was always billed as Crackerjack in the Radio Times and (to the best of our knowledge) on screen. The 2020 revival gained an exclamation mark, and was billed as Crackerjack!.

Lostshows.com tells us that almost every single episode from the Eamonn Andrews, Leslie Crowther and Michael Aspel eras have been wiped from the archives; only 8 sample episodes survived. All of the episodes from the Ed "Stewpot" Stewart and Stu Francis eras still exist in the archives.

Web links

Wikipedia entry

Pictures


Leslie Crowther (right) & Peter Glaze

See also

Weaver's Week looked at some 1970s and 1980s editions and Sam and Mark's 2020s revival.

Feedback

To correct something on this page or post an addition, please complete this form and press "Send":
If you are asking us a question, please read our contact us page and FAQ first.

Name: E-mail:   
A Labyrinth Games site.
Design by Thomas.
Printable version
Editors: Log in