Crackerjack featured a host of presenter stars over the years. The programme also featured the quiz game "Double or Drop", devised by presenter Eamonn Andrews. Crackerjack survived until , with some changes to its basic formula: 'gunge' was introduced, and the Crackerjack pencil became a pen.
The show was the forerunner to many Saturday morning children's programmes, and still inspires a reflex "Crackerjack" from many viewers who hear the name. Crackerjack 14 September September anniversaries. Close down of Television service for the duration of the War 1 September The Morecambe and Wise Show 2 September Chamberlain announces Britain is at war with Germany 3 September Start of first series of Porridge 5 September The News Quiz 6 September During the era of Glam, the musical acts on the show reflected this.
Win or lose everyone went home with a Crackerjack pencil, which became probably the most coveted and adored prize in Britain at the time along with the Blue Peter badge.
When Eamonn Andrews left the show he took the rights to the game with him in case he needed to play it on any of his subsequent TV shows. Leslie Crowther was involved with the show for eight years from — first as resident comic, then as compere. Don McLean and Jan Hunt hosted along with comedian Peter Glaze an old favourite since the very early days following the departure of Crowther.
It was the end of a golden innocent age of television. Eamonn Andrews originally hosted Double or Drop as a touring show for adults in Ireland, first in cinemas which in those days got tax breaks if they featured live entertainment as well as films and then as a warm-up act for Joe Loss and his band, before adapting it for children.
In the original version, prize money doubled at each question up to a maximum of one pound, hence the name. When first commissioned, Crackerjack went out every second Wednesday.
It shifted to Thursdays in autumn , and only moved to Fridays in - at the same time as it went out every week. The game was revived by Blue Peter in They even played it on Fridays at about 5.
Even the revival of Crackerjack! In the Stu Francis years, the climax of the show was a game. The final two contestants would be teamed up with a celebrity, one male and one female, to play first "Take A Letter", a game of questions and stunts. Then they'd play a gunge-based game, "Take A Chance". The celebs were mostly kids' presenters, sports stars and, once breakfast telly had been invented, Breakfast Time personalities. Each celebrity would compete against Stu Francis to answer a question correctly, and whoever failed to do so would be gunged - although Stu and the male celebrity were always gunged anyway - the ladies usually but not always got away scot-free.
Several gunged celebs deliberately blocked Francis's escape from the gunge tank, and there was nothing he could do about it, especially when strongmen Geoff Capes and Brian Jacks did so. The original series, from to , was always billed as Crackerjack in the Radio Times and to the best of our knowledge on screen.
The revival gained an exclamation mark, and was billed as Crackerjack! TV Brain tells us that almost every single episode from the Eamonn Andrews, Leslie Crowther and Michael Aspel eras have been wiped from the archives; only 8 sample episodes survived.
Wikipedia entry. Weaver's Week looked at some s and s editions and Sam and Mark's s revival. Ed Stewart asks a question of one contestant.
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