Motormouth

Last updated

Motormouth
Genre Children's entertainment
Presented by
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series4
No. of episodes150
Production
Production location The Maidstone Studios [1]
Production company TVS
Original release
Network ITV
Release3 September 1988 (1988-09-03) 
4 April 1992 (1992-04-04)

Motormouth was a Saturday morning children's entertainment series that was produced by TVS and broadcast across the ITV network for four series, running between 3 September 1988 and 4 April 1992. [2] [3] Each series generally ran from the autumn of one year to the spring of the next, as was common among many 'main' Saturday morning series.

Contents

The programme was launched following the decision to axe No. 73 , which had run in the same slot until early 1988. No. 73 had been revamped during its final series as 7T3, with a partially exterior set. [4] However, the new 7T3 set-up was expensive and difficult to produce, and so it was decided to switch to a fully studio-based set-up. The new show was produced at the same studio complex (The Maidstone Studios) as its predecessor, and many of the production team (and several presenters) transferred to the new show. Whereas No. 73 had included an inherent narrative storyline, the decision was taken that Motormouth would have a straightforward magazine presentation format.

The studio set for the first series was dominated by several giant inflatable elements, including a giant motorised mouth, from which the show took its name. In the second series, billed in some cases as Motormouth II or Motormouth 2, there were changes, including the introduction of new graphics and set elements based on cogs and sprockets. The use of the giant mouth declined following this alteration.

The show's third series - which boasted new graphics and remixed theme music, and was for a brief time billed as All New Motormouth - also had a new, predominantly white set; the giant mouth was removed altogether at this point, along with all other remaining inflatables. This series saw the introduction of a diner-style set (sometimes referred to as 'The Motormouth Cafe') which saw guests and audience members sitting at tables. This format and styling was left largely intact for the fourth series.

Presenters

Cast of the first series: Tony Gregory, Caroline Hanson, Neil Buchanan, Julian Ballantyne and Andrea Arnold Motormouth2.jpg
Cast of the first series: Tony Gregory, Caroline Hanson, Neil Buchanan, Julian Ballantyne and Andrea Arnold

The first series was presented by a five-strong lineup of hosts, two of whom had previously appeared on No. 73 . Neil Buchanan and Andrea Arnold were joined by new recruits Caroline Hanson, Tony Gregory and Julian Ballantyne.

For the second series, Andrea Arnold ceased to be a main presenter and instead filed location reports from sites around the world which were broadcast into the programme. Hanson and Ballantyne departed the programme, replaced by Gaby Roslin and Steve Johnson. Buchanan and Gregory remained. Generally Buchanan, Gregory and Roslin would present the studio elements with Johnson hosting the gameshow inserts It's Torture, Gunge 'em in the Dungeon and Mouse Trap (based upon the board game of the same name). [5]

By the third series, Andrea Arnold had left the programme entirely, with Tony Gregory also departing, replaced by former Children's BBC presenter Andy Crane. Crane, Buchanan, Roslin and Johnson remained as presenters until the end of the show's run.

Fictional elements

The first series' episodes included Spin-off, a soap opera parody set behind the scenes of the programme. The cast of Spin-off included Richard Waites, who had previously appeared in the final series of No. 73/7T3. Spin-off was dropped after the first series. [6]

A similar fictional production storyline was reintroduced in the programme's fourth series (though the Spin-off title was not revived). Instead of being separated from the main programme, the comedy-drama element was woven into the main programme, with characters from the fictional production team mingling with hosts and guests to create a more flowing storyline. The cast of this element was completely different from that of Spin-off and included Carla Mendonça, who played Juliet Nichols, and Cal McCrystal, who played Max Church. The wedding between Juliet and Max formed the backbone storyline in the final edition of the series.

The programme also included imported cartoons as inserted content; cartoons which were featured during the programme's run included She-Ra: Princess of Power , [2] Samurai Pizza Cats , The Real Ghostbusters and Scooby-Doo .

Cancellation and replacement

During the 1991/1992 series', TVS, the company that made the programme, was notified they had lost their ITV franchise and would cease broadcasting at the end of 1992. At the time, the future of TVS was unclear; it was decided to end Motormouth altogether, and the final show closed with a sign-off from the presenters, including Neil Buchanan who had fronted all four series.

Scottish Television (STV) took over arrangements for winter Saturday mornings when J. Nigel Pickard transferred to STV from TVS. TVS entered into an agreement with STV and Warner Bros. to create a new show, What's Up Doc? , like Motormouth, also broadcast from the Maidstone Studios. STV took over the broadcast responsibilities of the series from TVS to ITV from January 1993. [7] Andy Crane transferred from Motormouth to the new show and Cal McCrystal was kept as a regular guest. They were joined by Yvette Fielding and Pat Sharp.

Post-Motormouth

Steve Johnson went on to host a CITV gameshow, Terror Towers from 1994 to 1996.

Gaby Roslin's next role after Motormouth came in September 1992 when she and Chris Evans launched The Big Breakfast on Channel 4. She's since presented City Hospital, Children in Need and The Terry & Gaby Show amongst others.

Andy Crane remained with What's Up Doc? for its three-year run. He also co-presented the CITV computer game review programme Bad Influence! from 1992 to 1995. He presented news programming for Manchester-based Channel M until the axe on 19 March 2010.

Andrea Arnold moved into film-making, winning an Oscar in 2004 and a BAFTA in 2007.

Cal McCrystal is a comedy director whose credits include One Man, Two Guvnors.

Tony Gregory is a TV director whose credits include Big Brother. [8]

Neil Buchanan remained with CITV until 2007, producing shows through his company The Media Merchants and hosting Finders Keepers and Art Attack .

Caroline Hanson left to present a film show for Super Channel and then the first series of 'Rough Guide to Careers' for BBC2, before becoming a producer/director on the daily 'Movie Show' for BSB. After BSB was merged with Sky, she left to work in special events, before forming her own PR company (Caroline Collett PR) in the early 90s.

The Maidstone Studios have since been used as a production base for other Saturday morning programmes including Ministry of Mayhem and Basil's Swap Shop .

Motormouth was repeated on The Family Channel in 1994 and 1995 as "The Best of Motormouth" presented by Andy Crane and incorporated highlights from the fourth and final series. When Challenge TV launched in February 1997, it was shown on the overnight programming strand Family Late airing at 4:00am at the weekends for a brief period in the Summer of 1998.

According to the Kaleidoscope TV Brain website, most of the series has been wiped from the archives; some editions from series 3 and 4 (again in edited form) have appeared on YouTube, but even in these cases off-air recordings are regarded as the only existing copies. [9]

Series guide

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Television</span> ITV franchisee for South & South-East England (1958–81)

Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as 'Southern Television Limited' and the title 'Southern Television' was consistently used on-air throughout its life. However, in 1966, during the application process for contracts running from 1968, the company renamed itself 'Southern Independent Television Limited', a title which was used until 1980 when the company reverted to its original corporate name. Southern Television ceased broadcasting on the morning of 1 January 1982 at 12:43am, after a review during the 1980 franchise round gave the contract to Television South.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Television South</span> ITV franchise holder for the South and South East of England (1982–92)

Television South (TVS) was the ITV franchise holder in the South and South East of England between 1 January 1982 at 9.25 am and 31 December 1992 at 11.59 pm. The company operated under various names, initially as 'Television South plc' and then following reorganisation in 1989 as 'TVS Entertainment plc', with UK broadcasting activities undertaken by subsidiary 'TVS Television Ltd'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Television</span> Television studio and ITV franchisee in Scotland, United Kingdom

Scottish Television is the ITV network franchisee for Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation since 31 August 1957 and is the second-oldest franchise holder in the UK that is still active.

Gaby Roslin is an English television and radio presenter who rose to fame co-presenting The Big Breakfast on Channel 4 between 1992 and 1996. Roslin also presented the Children in Need charity telethons on the BBC between 1995 and 2004.

<i>Holly & Stephens Saturday Showdown</i> British childrens programme

Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown was a British children's entertainment programme, which was broadcast on ITV from 10 January 2004 to 1 July 2006.

Paul Ross is an English television and radio presenter, journalist and media personality.

How 2 is an informative educational programme produced by TVS between 1990 and 1991, and STV Studios from 1992 to 2006.

<i>Art Attack</i> British childrens television series

Art Attack is a British children's television programme revolving around art, originally hosted by Neil Buchanan on CITV from 1990 to 2007, and subsequently hosted by Lloyd Warbey on Disney Junior from 2012 to 2015.

Neil Buchanan is an English artist, photographer, and musician, best known for his work on British children's television. During his tenure as a children's television presenter, he hosted the CITV programme Art Attack, a television program that he co-created, during its original run from 1990 to 2007, as well as Finders Keepers and It's a Mystery, while he also produced and starred in CITV's ZZZap!.

Howard Andrew Crane is an English television and radio presenter, best known for presenting Children's BBC between 1987 and 1990 and for his current work as a presenter on the Greatest Hits Radio network.

<i>ITV News Meridian</i> TV series or program

ITV News Meridian is a British television news service broadcast and produced by ITV Meridian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Maidstone Studios</span> Television studio complex in Kent, England

The Maidstone Studios, formerly called TVS Television Centre, is the largest independent television studio complex in the United Kingdom, and is based at Vinters Park in Maidstone, Kent, England. It has been home to a varied selection of independent British television programming including Later... with Jools Holland, Jools' Annual Hootenanny, Take Me Out, Catchphrase, as well as popular children's shows such as Mister Maker and Let's Play for CBeebies, or Art Attack for TVS and later for ITV and Disney Channel.

<i>Wolf It</i> British TV series or programme

Wolf It is a British television series produced by Scottish Television and broadcast on CITV for 4 series between 1993 and 1996. The show is a spin off from the Saturday morning television series What's Up Doc? and features Bro and Bro, two English wolves who featured regularly in the aforementioned show. The programme was filmed in and around the Maidstone television studios, where it was also set, with Bro & Bro having set up home in a film vault.

<i>No. 73</i> British childrens television series (1982–1988)

No 73, later retitled 7T3, is a British 1980s children's TV show produced by TVS for the ITV network. It was broadcast live on Saturday mornings and ran from 2 January 1982 to 27 March 1988. The show had an ensemble cast amongst others, Sandi Toksvig, Neil Buchanan, Patrick Doyle, Andrea Arnold, Kim Goody and Kate Copstick.

<i>Whats Up Doc?</i> (British TV series) British TV series or programme

What's Up Doc? is a British children's entertainment show that aired on ITV on Saturday mornings from 5 September 1992 to 29 April 1995. It was hosted by Andy Crane, Yvette Fielding, and Pat Sharp. Jenny Powell replaced Fielding for the final part of the series.

<i>Coast to Coast</i> (British TV programme) English TV series or programme

Coast to Coast was the flagship regional news programme produced by TVS, covering the south and southeast of England with separate news services for both parts of the dual-region between January 1982 and December 1992.

WOW! is a children's entertainment magazine programme, broadcast in 1996 on the UK's ITV television network. It aired for 16 weeks from 31 August to 14 December 1996, preceded by the Summer 1996 run of Scratchy & Co. and followed by the spring 1997 run of the same show.

Scene South East is a regional television news magazine programme produced by Southern Television, that covered the south east of England. The weekly sub-regional programme was broadcast from October 1964 to December 1981.

This is a timeline of children's programming on the British ITV network and ITV Digital Channels. The timeline starts in 1980 when ITV launched its first branding for children's programming, although programmes for children had been broadcast on ITV from the earliest years of the network.

References

  1. "Ex-ITV Regional Studios". TV Studio History. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Sat Kids". Paulmorris.co.uk. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
  3. "Saturday Morning TV". screenonline. 26 August 1996. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
  4. "TV AND RADIO | Saturday morning's wake-up call". BBC News. 20 March 2001. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  5. "Motormouth". UKGameshows. 26 December 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  6. "BBC - Comedy Guide - Spin off". Archived from the original on 16 December 2004.
  7. "What's Up Doc?: TVS: TXN 1992". YouTube. 29 July 2011. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  8. "Hello Charlie details work on last-ever Big Brother graphics" . Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  9. TV Brain website