The end of CITV

[Arran]

Today (27 August 2023) the very last children's TV programmes were broadcast on ITV1. On 1 September CITV will close its channel.

CITV first broadcast on ITV1 on 3 January 1983. It wasn't even called ITV1 because ITV at the time was a network of regional companies. The only place you would possibly find ITV1 in 1983 was next to a channel selector button on a TV.

The reason for creating CITV was to unify children's programmes broadcast on weekday afternoons after school, so that every ITV company showed the same programme at the same time. Before CITV the different regional ITV companies would show different children's programmes on weekday afternoon because they had control of that timeslot.

CITV got its own TV channel in March 2006 but children's programmes continued on ITV1 because of Ofcom legislation.

[beccabear67]

Yes. I think things were loads more interesting before there was so unified an ITV and the various regions were making shows with their facilities. Southern and HTV had a number of memorable children's series, and nothing wrong with something being popular locally in one region but perhaps not even seen at all in another. I think Tiswas was originally in one region only.

[George 1978]

I was thinking about starting a thread similar to this, and so kudos to Arran. The ITV of today think more about populism and soap operas instead of the "variety is the spice of life" appeal - pity that it was not including "our younger viewers", to quoth Central continuity announcers at 12.00 noon in the 1980s.

Anyone remember the monthly guest continuity presenter who linked to the Children's ITV programmes? Matthew Kelly (not someone who I would directly associate with kids' TV) was the first one; followed by Isla St Clair, who presented Tiswas replacement The Saturday Show, on, Saturdays, natch. The best ones were Rod Hull and Emu followed by Marmalade Atkins, but Tommy Boyd seemed to get the gig by 1991. Emu's Pink Windmill Show; Rainbow (repeated on Fridays); Hold Tight! and others meant that we never had it so good. CITV never had an equivalent of Newsround (although What's Happening was a news quiz which even had ITN's Leonard Parkin doing voiceovers on it); or even Grange Hill (although they did to a Primary School, Three, Seven Eleven, in the mid 1990s).

When CITV of 3.30 pm to 5.00 pm disappeared from ITV1 at the start of 2007, it was the beginning of the end as far as I was concerned, and now the CITV channel has gone for a Burton. Danielle Nicholls made the continuity parts more exciting than the programmes that she introduced, but then again, she was the same age as myself.

It is a sad day - ITV probably think that all the children of the past have now grown up and that none have taken their place.

[beccabear67]

That Emu would probably get taken to court for assault today; used to love watching him as a kid though! And as much as I once enjoyed Emmerdale I've felt for awhile they should end that soap, or just rename it The Dingle Family and be done with all connections to the original show involving farming and more mundane rural concerns which I liked.

[George 1978]

I believe you have seen the Rod Hull and his odd Glove thread which I started a few months ago?

I did read on Wikipedia that two women did complain about sexual harassment or assault against Hull because of the use of the glove puppet on them. One cannot be surprised, and I am certain that the late Sir Michael Parkinson wasn't Hull's first "victim" either - that probably went to the Queen Mother's bouquet at the 1972 Royal Variety Performance instead.

[darren]

great post a lot of this i never knew.

I thought it wad always called citv.

So many incredible tv shows rainbow emus world rentaghost dangermouse and the fantastic knightmare which im sure was last on a friday.

So what will happen nowthat it has closed its channel.
Will there be anywhere to watch kids shows.

I tell u we had it so good with so many great shows.

today (27 august 2023) the very last children's tv programmes were broadcast on itv1. On 1 september citv will close its channel.

Citv first broadcast on itv1 on 3 january 1983. It wasn't even called itv1 because itv at the time was a network of regional companies. The only place you would possibly find itv1 in 1983 was next to a channel selector button on a tv.

The reason for creating citv was to unify children's programmes broadcast on weekday afternoons after school, so that every itv company showed the same programme at the same time. Before citv the different regional itv companies would show different children's programmes on weekday afternoon because they had control of that timeslot.

Citv got its own tv channel in march 2006 but children's programmes continued on itv1 because of ofcom legislation.

[George 1978]

great post a lot of this i never knew.

I thought it wad always called citv.

ITV has always shown children's TV since the 1950s, but 1983 was the start of the "official branding" of Children's ITV as a network strand, and a lot of people regards that year as the start of that era. In fact, it wasn't until the mid to late 1990s that Saturday morning children's TV programmes were "adopted" under that brand as well. A 1977 off-air from ATV which was on MHP and later YT showed an advert break during a 4.30 pm kid's HTV programme with adverts not really aimed at youngsters, and after that programme and before the next programme which was Magpie, ATV even mentioned some horse racing results for that afternoon - something which would never happened during the Children's ITV years of the 1980s and 1990s.

I like the 1980s branding - pre-1983 for example, ATV or Central viewers would get Mike Prince saying: "now on ATV/Central - Rainbow" where as of 1983 onwards, it was Matthew Kelly saying: "now on Children's ITV - Rainbow", which was a programme that had a 4.00 pm repeat on Fridays and later on Tuesdays from 1983 to 1989. I am certain that youngsters would prefer the Children's ITV branding rather than the regional version, even if it wasn't region if you know what I mean. If you were a child, would you rather see the regular continuity announcer for that ITV station introducing the programmes, or would you rather see a famous presenter of a well-known Children's ITV programme announcing it? (even though I don't recall any of them announcing any of their own programmes, although I might be wrong there).

And of course, series like Rainbow, the original How? and Clapperboard were around over a decade before that.

[Arran]

A 1977 off-air from ATV which was on MHP and later YT showed an advert break during a 4.30 pm kid's HTV programme with adverts not really aimed at youngsters, and after that programme and before the next programme which was Magpie, ATV even mentioned some horse racing results for that afternoon - something which would never happened during the Children's ITV years of the 1980s and 1990s.

It was commonplace in the 1970s before Watch It! for ITV companies to show programmes for adults in the 4 to 5pm weekday timeslot.

I like the 1980s branding - pre-1983 for example, ATV or Central viewers would get Mike Prince saying: "now on ATV/Central - Rainbow" where as of 1983 onwards, it was Matthew Kelly saying: "now on Children's ITV - Rainbow", which was a programme that had a 4.00 pm repeat on Fridays and later on Tuesdays from 1983 to 1989. I am certain that youngsters would prefer the Children's ITV branding rather than the regional version, even if it wasn't region if you know what I mean. If you were a child, would you rather see the regular continuity announcer for that ITV station introducing the programmes, or would you rather see a famous presenter of a well-known Children's ITV programme announcing it? (even though I don't recall any of them announcing any of their own programmes, although I might be wrong there).

Watch It! used the regional continuity announcers. Only the programmes were unified across the ITV network.

CITV originally played out its programmes from different regional ITV companies that produced / acquired the programme. The continuity was played out by Central. There were some issues with synchronisation when switching playout from one ITV company to another ITV company.

[George 1978]

It was commonplace in the 1970s before Watch It! for ITV companies to show programmes for adults in the 4 to 5pm weekday timeslot.

I believe that the slot was very similar to Saturday mornings, pre-Tiswas. Looking at old schedules, Granada used to show Crossroads at around 4.30 pm (when they first decided to show the series in 1972), but then again, up until that same year, children's programmes were mostly on between 4.45 pm and 5.50 pm.

[darren]

regarding emu and rod hull im not sure that show would be allowed now especially the parky interviews.

Im not sure emu could get taken to court even tho he did the attacks.

that emu would probably get taken to court for assault today; used to love watching him as a kid though! And as much as i once enjoyed emmerdale i've felt for awhile they should end that soap, or just rename it the dingle family and be done with all connections to the original show involving farming and more mundane rural concerns which i liked.

[George 1978]

Rod Hull always seemed to "control" Emu for his Pink Windmill shows on Children's ITV at least - I think that Emu only "misbehaved" on chat shows such as Parkinson and mainstream shows not aimed at children.

I mentioned this on the "Rod Hull's odd glove" thread I started a few months ago where I saw on Wikipedia that two females did indeed complain about Hull using Emu as a tool for doing things, shall we say, inappropriately?

[Richard1978]

I remember Timmy Mallet getting mobbed by Emu on The Wide Awake Club, but I don't think my people minded!

[George 1978]

Rod Hull definitely appeared on Good Morning Britain just before Christmas in 1983 as Emu "attacked" Nick Owen on the sofa when Hull was promoting his book on poetry: "signing his book at Alders in Croydon", he said before he launched his attack - is on YouTube.

As far as I know, that was his only TV-am appearance although one could imagine him as a children's TV act that he could have appeared on the Wide Awake Club, and Mallet seems like one of those people who would take Emu on the chin. Any evidence of him on there, I wonder? Does the TV-am archive (aka Moving Images or something) have that? I don't think that even the BFI would have it.

[Arran]

great post a lot of this i never knew.

I thought it wad always called citv.

So many incredible tv shows rainbow emus world rentaghost dangermouse and the fantastic knightmare which im sure was last on a friday.

So what will happen nowthat it has closed its channel.
Will there be anywhere to watch kids shows.

I tell u we had it so good with so many great shows.

Any idea what Ulster TV used to show on weekday afternoons in the 1970s before Watch It! started?

It will be interesting to compare the programmes of a far flung outpost of ITV with that from the larger ITV companies.

Did Ulster TV ever produce any of its own children's programmes?

Westward and TSW had Gus Honeybun that continued to be shown in the south west ITV region after Watch It! / CITV ended.

[George 1978]

I have seen from old TV listings that Ulster used to have its own version of The Romper Room (in which Anglia and Grampian also had their own versions of) - a "kindergarten on the TV" programme. I only associate it with the American or Canadian "is this thing purple?" outtake seen on IBAOTN, while one young one lad looks at something which probably was indeed purple. Esther Rantzen originally auditioned to be one of the presenters. School Around the Corner was another Ulster series - still going in the mid 2000s when I saw it courtesy of getting the ITV regions on my Sky Digibox.

I just assume that they shown imported series just like the other regions did.