crackerjack

Crackerjack
Crackerjack winners receive prizes, 1961
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 in B&W and later 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); 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!", and sometimes with "It's Friday, it's five to five. . . It's Crackerjack!"

Format

The shows were filmed in front of an audience of mainly 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 performed a short comic play, adapting popular songs of the day and incorporating them into the action. One of the highlights of the show was called Don and Pete, being Don Maclean and Peter Glaze in a silent comedy style section lasting maybe five minutes. Shows had them 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 was given a prize to hold for each question answered correctly, but given a cabbage if they answered incorrectly. They were out of the game if they dropped any of the items they were holding or received a third cabbage.

Some memorable moments came in the Ed Stewart era, as the team did a play type thing at the end of the show, in which some current hits were murdered by the characters i.e. Bohemian Rhapsody, High Fly, A Glass Of Champagne, and many others.

In 1982, in a bid to try and boost flagging ratings, Crackerjack introduced gunge into its games and launched a new game called 'Take a Letter' in which the celebrity guests could score extra points for the contestant they had teamed up with. Failure to answer questions correctly led 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 place for the final 2 series with Ed Stewart. The stand-up routine was briefly replaced by that of Little And Large in the early 70s, when there was a minor series that lacked character briefly hosted by Rosko (the Radio One DJ). 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" (alias Geoffrey Durham). During the earlier years (1955-63), both Ronnie Corbett, and Leslie Crowther had separate stand-up routines. Jo Baker & 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.

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.

Prizes

A standard consolation prize to children who appeared on the show was the Crackerjack Pencil (later upgraded to a Crackerjack pen). These were kept in a special locked cabinet and only handed out to people who had won them and when an official asked for one once, he was refused.

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.

Cancellation

Crackerjack was cancelled in 1984 at the same time as many other long running series. In 1987 Stu Francis hosted Crush a Grape on ITV, a remake of his era of Crackerjack in all but name. It lasted a single series.

Transmissions

External links

• Crackerjack at the BBC website
• Crackerjack at Whirligig TV
• Crackerjack at the British Film Institute Screen Online
• Crackerjack at UKgameshows.com