Crackerjack (TV series)

This article is about the BBC television series. For crackerjack, see Crackerjack (disambiguation).

Crackerjack
Prizegiving on Crackerjack with Eamonn Andrews c1958
Format	Entertainment
Created by	John Downes
Presented by	Eamonn Andrews (1955-1964) Leslie Crowther (1964-1968) Michael Aspel (1968-1974) Ed Stewart (1975-1979) Stu Francis (1980-1984)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	29
No. of episodes	400+
Production
Location(s)	BBC Television Theatre
Running time	40 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC1
Picture format	4:3
Original run	14 September 1955 – 21 December 1984

Crackerjack was a British children's comedy/variety BBC television series. It started on 14 September 1955 and ran for over 400 shows, first in black and white and later in colour, until 21 December 1984.

Presenters

Through its long run it featured Eamonn Andrews, Max Bygraves, Leslie Crowther, Ed "Stewpot" Stewart, Joe Baker, Jack Douglas, The Balloon Man, Stu Francis, Peter Glaze, Don Maclean, Michael Aspel, Jacqueline Clarke, Rosko, Little and Large, Jan Hunt, The Krankies, Basil Brush, Geoffrey Durham, Bernie Clifton, Rod McLennan and Ronnie Corbett amongst many others. Among the women who appeared as singers/dancers, assisting the host with games, were Julie Dorne-Brown (later MTV VJ "Downtown" Julie Brown); Sally Ann Triplett (who as a member of the duo Bardo represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1982); Leigh Miles (also a popular "Hills Angel" in the Benny Hill show); Jillian Comber and Sara Hollamby (now a television news and travel reporter).

Introduction

The show was introduced with the phrase "It's Friday, it's five o'clock. . . It's Crackerjack!" or sometimes with "It's Friday, it's five to five. . . It's Crackerjack!"

Format

The shows were filmed in front of an audience largely of children, at the BBC Television Theatre (now the Shepherds Bush Empire) and were quite frantic. The format of the programme included competitive games for teams of children, a music spot, a comedy double act, and a finale in which the cast performs a short comic play, adapting popular songs of the day and incorporating them into the action. One of the highlights of the show was a section called Don and Pete, being Don Maclean and Peter Glaze in a silent-comedy-style section which saw the lead actors playing different parts each week, for example fishing, as sweepers, barbers, at a riding school, on a building site, on a farm, at a circus, window cleaners, bellboys, removals, etc.

One of the most memorable games was a quiz called "Double or Drop", where each contestant is given a prize to hold for each question answer correctly, but given a cabbage if they answer incorrectly. They are out of the game if they drop any of the items they are holding or receive a third cabbage.

In 1982, in a bid to boost flagging ratings, Crackerjack introduced gunge into its games and launched a new game called 'Take a Chance' in which the celebrity guests could score extra points for the contestant they teamed up with. Failure to answer questions correctly would lead to Stu Francis and/or the celebrity guest being covered in gunge.

Catchphrases

Crackerjack may also have been the originator of the popular English phrase "Don't get your knickers in a twist". In the Don and Pete sketches, Peter Glaze, who usually played a pompous or upper-class character, would always get exasperated with his comedy partner Don Maclean's wisecracks or apparent stupidity. Maclean would then give an alliterative reply, such as "Don't get your knickers in a knot" or "Don't get your tights in a twist", the combination of which has passed into popular culture. Peter Glaze often uttered "Doh!" to Don's wisecracks. Peter appeared in the show from 1960, in a double act with later presenter Leslie Crowther. In 1978, Bernie Clifton (and his ostrich) took Don McClean's place for the final two series with Ed Stewart. The stand-up routine was briefly replaced by that of Little and Large in 1974, when there was a series briefly hosted by Radio 1 DJ Emperor Rosko.^{[citation needed]} When Stu Francis took over in 1980, The Krankies provided the stand-up wisecracks. Stu Francis also did a stand-up routine on occasion, using such catchphrases as "Ooh I Could Crush A Grape/Jump Off A Doll`s House" etc. Later series had similar stuff with Basil Brush, and magic performed by "The Great Soprendo" (Geoffrey Durham). During the earlier years (1955–63), Ronnie Corbett and Leslie Crowther had separate stand-up routines. Jo Baker and Jack Douglas also had similar roles when the show started, as well as the Balloon Man, making all sorts of things from balloons. Ed Stewart (much used to entertaining the kids on radio's Junior Choice) also used his catchphrase "Byee!" at the end too. Perhaps the most famous catchphrase was "It's Friday, it's five to five and it's Crackerjack" used at the beginning of each show.

It was an accepted unwritten rule that whenever a presenter spoke the word 'Crackerjack', the audience would shout "Crack-er-jack!" loudly. This custom has passed into popular culture.

Talent

In the mid to late seventies (c.1977) a talent-contest element was added to the show. The strand was called "Crackerjack Young Entertainer of The Year" and featured children from throughout the UK who had successfully passed audition stages, get their shot at stardom on the small screen. Also around this time the series embraced the digital era with contestants playing Pong for prizes. One contestant of note was Don Ward who performed a series of magic tricks. Today he anchors the evening newscasts on KKTV in Colorado Springs. Although Ward did not move into the semi-finals it was his first appearance on TV ever.

Cancellation

Crackerjack was cancelled in 1984 at the same time as many other long-running series, in an overhaul of the BBC Children's department. In 1987 Stu Francis hosted Crush a Grape on ITV, a remake of his era of Crackerjack in all but name. It lasted for two series.

Transmissions

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	14 September 1955	??	??
2	??	??	??
3	??	19 March 1958	??
4	??	??	??
5	1 October 1959	31 March 1960	13
6	29 September 1960	27 April 1961	16
7	19 October 1961	3 May 1962	15
8	13 September 1962	25 April 1963	16
9	10 October 1963	7 May 1964	16
10	9 October 1964	26 March 1965	23
11	1 October 1965	25 March 1966	26
12	7 October 1966	31 March 1967	26
13	6 October 1967	16 February 1968	20
14	13 September 1968	14 March 1969	26
15	26 September 1969	13 February 1970	19
16	7 January 1972	31 March 1972	13
17	2 February 1973	20 April 1973	12
18	4 January 1974	29 March 1974	13
19	3 January 1975	31 March 1975	13
20	24 December 1975	26 March 1976	14
21	7 January 1977	1 April 1977	13
22	6 January 1978	7 April 1978	14
23	29 September 1978	15 December 1978	12
24	28 September 1979	14 December 1979	13
25	26 September 1980	19 December 1980	13
26	2 October 1981	18 December 1981	12
27	22 October 1982	24 December 1982	10
28	30 September 1983	23 December 1983	13
29	28 September 1984	21 December 1984	13

External links

• Crackerjack at BBC Online
• Crackerjack at the Internet Movie Database
• Crackerjack at BFI
• Crackerjack at UKGameshows.com