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{{Short description|British TV children's series (1965–1996)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox television
| image        = Jackanory-1960s.jpg
| caption      = A title frame from the 1960s (top, the same font continued to be used throughout the 1970s)
| genre        = [[Children's television series|Children's television]]
| creator      = [[Joy Whitby]]
| country      = United Kingdom
| language     = English
| num_episodes = 3640 (2330 missing)
| runtime      = 15 minutes
| channel      = [[BBC One|BBC1]] (1965–96)<br />[[CBBC]] (2006)
| first_aired  = {{Start date|1965|12|13|df=yes}}
| last_aired   = {{End date|1996|03|24|df=yes}}
| related      = Jackanory Playhouse<br />Jackanory Junior
}}

'''''Jackanory''''' is a [[BBC]] [[children's television series]] which was originally broadcast between 1965 and 1996. It was designed to stimulate an interest in [[Reading (activity)|reading]].<ref><!-- Published on a Wednesday. -->{{cite news|last=McKay|first=Sinclair|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/12040247/Why-children-and-actors-loved-Jackanory.html|title=Why children – and actors – loved Jackanory|work=The Telegraph|date=9 December 2015|access-date=10 November 2020}}</ref> The programme was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, and the first story was the fairy-tale "[[Cap-o'-Rushes]]" read by [[Lee Montague]]. ''Jackanory'' was broadcast until 1996, with around 3,500 episodes in its 30-year run.

The final story, ''[[The House at Pooh Corner]]'' by [[A. A. Milne]], was read by [[Alan Bennett]] and broadcast on 24 March 1996. The programme was briefly revived on 27 November 2006 for two one-off stories. The format was revived as '''''Jackanory Junior''''', airing on [[CBeebies]] between 2007 and 2009.

The programme's format, which varied little over the decades, featured an actor reading from children's novels or [[Folklore|folk tale]]s, usually while seated in an armchair.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sheridan |first1=Simon |title=The A-Z of Classic Children's Television: From Alberto Frog to Zebedee |date=2004 |publisher=Reynolds & Hearn Ltd |isbn=1903111277 |pages=139–141}}</ref> From time to time the scene being read would be illustrated by a specially commissioned still drawing, often by [[Quentin Blake]]. In 1983, Malou Bonicos was commissioned to provide illustrations for one ''Jackanory'' story. Usually a single book would occupy five daily fifteen-minute episodes, from Monday to Friday.

A spin-off series was ''Jackanory Playhouse'' (1972–85), which was a series of thirty-minute dramatisations. These included a dramatisation by [[Philip Glassborow]] of the comical A. A. Milne story "The Princess Who Couldn't Laugh".

Coverage of the live broadcast of the Apollo 8 mission in 1968 was interrupted so ''Jackanory'' could be shown.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Times |first=AUTHOR: Radio |title=In place of the advertised programme… |url=https://transdiffusion.org/2017/01/26/in-place-of-the-advertised-programme/ |access-date=2022-11-13 |website=Transdiffusion |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Title==
The programme's title comes from an old English [[nursery rhyme]]:

{{poemquote|I'll tell you a story
About Jack a Nory,
And now my story's begun;
I'll tell you another
Of Jack and his brother,
And now my story is done.<ref name=Opie1997>I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes'' (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd ed., 1997), p. 233.</ref>}}

The rhyme was first recorded in the publication ''The Top Book of All, for little Masters and Misses'', which appeared about 1760.<ref name=Opie1997/>

==Revival==
[[File:Jackanory-2006.png|thumb|Title frame from the opening of ''The Magician of Samarkand'', depicting the 2006 logo]]
In November 2006 ''Jackanory'' briefly returned with the late comedian [[John Sessions]] as the revived programme's first narrator reading the ''[[The Lord of the Rings|Lord of the Rings]]'' parody ''[[Muddle Earth]]'', written by [[Paul Stewart (writer)|Paul Stewart]] (and illustrator [[Chris Riddell]]). The second narrator was [[Sir Ben Kingsley]], reading ''[[The Magician of Samarkand]]'' by [[Alan Temperley]]. They were broadcast in three 15-minute slots on [[CBBC]] and [[BBC One]] and later repeated in their entirety on BBC One on consecutive Sundays.<ref name="bbc.co.uk">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5216650.stm|title=BBC NEWS - Entertainment - Jackanory to return with Kingsley|work=bbc.co.uk|date=26 July 2006}}</ref> The readings of ''Muddle Earth'' were heavily accompanied by animation and featured John Sessions speaking the lines of all the animated characters (and occasionally reading those of Joe whenever he was not on-screen), leading to criticism that the spirit of the original programme, a single voice telling a tale with minimal distractions, had been lost. (The original series had occasionally included dramatised material, in e.g. 1984's ''Starstormers'' by [[Nicholas Fisk (author)|Nicholas Fisk]] and increasingly so towards the end of its run in 1996). ''The Magician of Samarkand'' was a similar production, albeit without the actors speaking additional lines; Ben Kingsley read both the story and the lines of all the characters. Both of these stories were produced and directed by [[Nick Willing]].<ref name="bbc.co.uk"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0932216/|title=Nick Willing|publisher=IMDb}}</ref>

Both stories were released in their entirety on DVD later that year, with added bonus features (galleries with images from the stories and a behind-the-scenes film for ''Muddle Earth'').

While no further stories were made, ''Muddle Earth'' would be adapted for television again a few years later.

==''Jackanory Junior''==
A version of ''Jackanory'' for younger children—called '''''Jackanory Junior'''''—was shown on [[CBeebies]] between 2007 and 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/07_july/26/jackanory.shtml|title=BBC - Press Office - Who's reading the story on Jackanory?|work=bbc.co.uk}}</ref> The ''CBeebies Bedtime Stories'' strand continues the tradition of well-known actors and personalities reading stories directly to camera.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/watch/bedtime-stories-readers|title=CBeebies Bedtime Stories|website=bbc.co.uk|date=2018-01-07}}</ref>

==Stories==

See [[List of Jackanory episodes|List of ''Jackanory'' episodes]] for the stories broadcast from 13 December 1965 to 9 March 1984.

Subsequent stories included:

*''The Lightkeepers'' (1983), read by [[Andrew Burt]]
*''[[The Dangerous Journey]]'' (1983), read by [[Andrew Burt]]
*''[[The Wheel on the School]]'', written by [[Meindert DeJong]], read by [[Peter Settelen]]
*''Arabel's Tree House'', written by [[Joan Aiken]], read by [[Bernard Cribbins]]
*''[[The Hundred and One Dalmatians]]'', written by [[Dodie Smith]], read by [[Sarah Greene]]
*''[[Matilda (novel)|Matilda]]'', written by [[Roald Dahl]], read by [[Victoria Wood]]

==List of readers==
{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}
*[[Joss Ackland]] (5 programmes reading ''[[Danny, the Champion of the World]]'')
*[[Tom Baker]]
*[[Floella Benjamin]]
*[[Alan Bennett]]
*[[George Benson]]
*[[Ed Bishop]]
*[[James Bolam]]
*[[Helena Bonham Carter]] (5 programmes reading [[Philippa Pearce]]'s ''The Way to Sattin Shore'' stories)
*[[Richard Briers]]
*[[Kathy Burke]]
*[[Andrew Burt]]
*[[Earl Cameron (actor)|Earl Cameron]]
*[[Brian Cant]]
*[[Charles III|Prince Charles]] (now King Charles III, reading his own book, ''[[The Old Man of Lochnagar]]'')
*[[Matthew Corbett]]
*[[Bernard Cribbins]] (114 programmes)
*[[Peter Davison]]
*[[Angus Deayton]] 
*[[Judi Dench]]
*[[Denholm Elliott]]
*[[Rupert Everett]]
*[[Harry Fowler]]
*[[Edward Fox (actor)|Edward Fox]]
*[[Jan Francis]]
*[[Clement Freud]]
*[[Ann George]]
*[[John Grant (children's author)|John Grant]] (55 programmes reading his Littlenose stories)
*[[Joyce Grenfell]]
*[[Susan Hampshire]]
*[[Sheila Hancock]]
*[[Susanne Hart]]
*[[Cyd Hayman]]
*[[Lenny Henry]]
*[[John Hurt]]
*[[Wendy Hiller]]
*[[Michael Hordern]]
*[[Jeremy Irons]]
*[[Martin Jarvis (actor)|Martin Jarvis]]
*[[Stratford Johns]]
*[[Freddie Jones]]
*[[James Robertson Justice]]
*[[Penelope Keith]]
*[[Ben Kingsley]] (''[[The Magician of Samarkand]]'')
*[[Roy Kinnear]]
*[[Rosalind Knight]]
*[[Raymond Leppard]]
*[[Arthur Lowe]]
*[[Joanna Lumley]]
*[[Sylvester McCoy]]
*[[Geraldine McEwan]]
*[[Paul McGann]]
*[[Ian McKellen]]
*[[Art Malik]]
*[[Alfred Marks]]
*[[Alex Marshall (actor and director)|Alex Marshall]] (1969–1974)
*[[Trevor Martin]]
*[[Rik Mayall]] (reading ''[[George's Marvellous Medicine]]'')
*[[George Melly]]
*[[Paul Merton]]
*[[Spike Milligan]]
*[[Hayley Mills]]
*[[Lee Montague]]
*[[Patrick Moore]]
*[[Liam Neeson]]
*[[Michael Palin]]
*[[Jon Pertwee]]
*[[Alison Prince]]
*[[Ted Ray (comedian)|Ted Ray]]
*[[Miranda Richardson]]
*[[Alan Rickman]]
*[[Bob Roberts (folksinger)|Bob Roberts]]
*[[Tony Robinson]]
*[[Gordon Rollings]]
*[[Patsy Rowlands]]
*[[Willie Rushton]]
*[[Margaret Rutherford]]
*[[Prunella Scales]]
*[[John Sessions]] (''[[Muddle Earth]]'')
*[[Elaine Smith (actress)|Elaine Smith]]
*[[Maggie Smith]]
*[[Patrick Stewart]]
*[[John Stride]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Stories from Russia: as told in 'Jackanory' by John Stride |isbn=0563102330 |location=London |publisher=BBC Books |year=1970 |id={{ASIN|0563102330|country=uk}}}}</ref>
*[[Elaine Stritch]]
*[[Mollie Sugden]]
*[[H. E. Todd]]
*[[Patrick Troughton]]
*[[Ann Way]]
*[[Mary Webster (British actress)|Mary Webster]]
*[[Billie Whitelaw]]
*[[Kenneth Williams]] (69 programmes)
*[[Victoria Wood]] (reading the ''Ten in a Bed'' story and ''Matilda'' by Roald Dahl)
*[[Wendy Wood (artist)|Wendy Wood]] (''Auntie Gwen'')
*[[Mai Zetterling]]
{{div col end}}

==Cultural influence==

[[Philip Glenister]], in character as [[Gene Hunt]], made an appearance on ''Jackanory'' as the guest reader in the ''[[Ashes to Ashes (British TV series)|Ashes to Ashes]]'' series 2 finale, set in 1982, which [[Alex Drake (Ashes to Ashes)|Alex Drake]] ([[Keeley Hawes]]) imagines being transmitted to her television set.<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOVXUqQn_Q8|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151218141453/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOVXUqQn_Q8|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 December 2015|title=Jackanory With Gene Hunt|date=9 June 2009|work=YouTube}}</ref>

"Jackanory, jackanory" said by someone in the sing-song tones of the theme tune indicates that they think that someone else is making up or "stretching" a story, i.e. lying.<ref>Cassell's Dictionary of Slang. [[Jonathon Green]]. Pub. Cassel & Co. {{ISBN|0-304-35167-9}}</ref>

In 2013 the UK TV Network [[Dave (TV channel)|Dave]] launched ''[[Crackanory]]'' as an adult version of Jackanory.  Each ''Crackanory'' episode features two 15-minute tales narrated by contemporary comedians and actors, containing a mix of live-action and animation as per the original.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chortle.co.uk/gigreview/2013/11/14/19052/crackanory|title=Crackanory|author=Powder Blue Internet Business Solutions|work=chortle.co.uk}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/569183/ British Film Institute Screen Online analysis] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20081207035615/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/series/9264 listings] (incomplete)
* {{IMDb title|id=0177448|title=Jackanory}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060519082822/http://www.stopmessinabout.co.uk/Car-TV-68Jackanory.htm Stop Messin' About: The Kenneth Williams Website] via [[archive.org]]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4648357.stm New Chapter Opening for ''Jackanory:'' BBC News report]
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/classic/titles/jackanory.shtml Jackanory] at [[bbc.co.uk]]
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/jackanory The new Jackanory] at [https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc CBBC]

[[Category:CBeebies]]
[[Category:1965 British television series debuts]]
[[Category:1996 British television series endings]]
[[Category:1960s British children's television series]]
[[Category:1970s British children's television series]]
[[Category:1980s British children's television series]]
[[Category:1990s British children's television series]]
[[Category:1960s British anthology television series]]
[[Category:1970s British anthology television series]]
[[Category:1980s British anthology television series]]
[[Category:1990s British anthology television series]]
[[Category:British children's fantasy television series]]
[[Category:BBC children's television shows]]
[[Category:Television series by BBC Studios]]
[[Category:Lost BBC episodes]]
[[Category:BBC anthology television shows]]
[[Category:British English-language television shows]]
[[Category:2000s British children's television series]]
[[Category:Storytelling television shows]]
[[Category:British television series revived after cancellation]]