Multi-Coloured Swap Shop: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:24, 4 June 2023

Latest revision as of 15:16, 29 November 2024

(9 intermediate revisions by 8 users not shown)

Line 1:

{{Short description|BBC children's televisionTV series (1976–1982)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}

{{Infobox television

| image = Multi-Coloured Swap Shop Titles.jpg

| genre = [[Children's television series|Children's]]

| presenter = {{Unbulleted list|[[Noel Edmonds]]|[[Keith Chegwin]]|[[John Craven]]|[[Maggie Philbin]] (series 3–6)}}

| theme_music_composer = {{Unbulleted list|[[Mike Batt]] (series 1–5)|[[BA Robertson]] (series 6)}}

| country = United Kingdom

| language = English

| num_series = 6

| num_episodes = 146

| ___location = [[Television Centre, London|BBC Television Centre]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tvstudiohistory.co.uk/tv%20centre%20history.htm|title=BBC TV Centre|access-date=1 August 2021}}</ref>

| runtime = 150–180 minutes

| channel = [[BBC One]]

| first_aired = {{Start date|1976|10|2|df=y}}

| picture_format = [[Fullscreen (aspect ratio)|4:3]]

| first_airedlast_aired = {{StartEnd date|19761982|103|227|df=y}}

| last_aired = {{End date|1982|3|27|df=y}}

}}

'''''Multi-Coloured Swap Shop''''', more commonly known simply as '''''Swap Shop''''', is a British [[children's television series]] that aired on [[BBC One|BBC1]] from 2 October 1976 to 27 March 1982. It was ground-breakinggroundbreaking in many ways: by broadcasting on Saturday mornings, being live, being three hours in length, and using the phone-in format extensively for the first time on TV.

The show rivalled the growing success of rival broadcaster [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]'s ''[[Tiswas]]'', though the latter was initially only broadcast in the [[Associated TeleVision|ATV]] region in the [[English Midlands|Midlands]] and, at the time of ''Multi-Coloured Swap Shop''{{'}}s inception, had yet to be taken up by other ITV franchises around the country.

Line 38 ⟶ 37:

===Telephone number===

The telephone number for the show from the second series onward was 01 811 8055.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saturdaymornings.co.uk/page.sm?ref=plradiotimes1977feature&s=Y|title=Calling Up Swap Shop|publisher=Saturday Mornings – A celebration of BBC Saturday Morning television since 1976|access-date=24 August 2012|archive-date=6 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106095543/http://www.saturdaymornings.co.uk/page.sm?ref=plradiotimes1977feature&s=Y|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saturdaymornings.co.uk/page.sm?ref=plgiveusacall&s=Y|title=Give Us A Call On...|publisher=Saturday Mornings|access-date=24 August 2012|archive-date=6 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106095545/http://www.saturdaymornings.co.uk/page.sm?ref=plgiveusacall&s=Y|url-status=dead}}</ref> The first series had a different number, 01 288 8055, before being changed to the number retained throughout the rest of the show's run, and retained for its successor, ''[[Saturday Superstore]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2561459.stm|title=118: Who you gonna call?|work=BBC News|date=10 December 2002|access-date=4 November 2016}}</ref>

The number was well known and remembered by children<ref>{{cite book|title=Wiffle Lever to Full!|first=Bob|last=Fischer|publisher=Hachette UK|page=69|year=2009|isbn=978-1-848-94329-2}}</ref> and was groundbreaking for the BBC, who previously had received viewer feedback mainly by letter.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2010/12/interacting_with_listeners_at_bbc_audio_and_music.html|title=Interacting with listeners at BBC Audio & Music|publisher=BBC|first=Jem|last=Stone|access-date=4 November 2016}}</ref>

Line 54 ⟶ 53:

* ''The Multi Coloured Music Show'' was shown on BBC1 on 26 May 1979, a programme similar to ''Swap of the Pops'' where Edmonds introduced some of the most popular music from the previous series of ''Swap Shop''.

''Swap Shop'' is poorly represented in the BBC archive. For some time it was believed that either the programmes were never routinely recorded in the first place, or they [[Lost television broadcast#Wiping|had been wiped]] on the orders of the BBC's Archive Selector Adam Lee in 1993. The truth, as related by ex-''[[Blue Peter]]'' editor [[Richard Marson]] on the archive television forum ''The Mausoleum Club'' in 2006, is that almost every edition of ''Swap Shop'' was recorded in full every week onto two 90-minute [[2-inch Quadruplex videotape|Quad tapes]]. These tapes were held by the BBC until the late 1980s, at which time the Deputy Head of Children's Television, Roy Thompson, allowed many of them to be wiped and sold to Australia as recycled stock. Although Quad tape was considered obsolete in the UK, Australia was still using it extensively at that time, and as the ''Swap Shop'' tapes had no physical splices in them, they were considered ideal for reuse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mausoleumclubforum.org.uk/xmb/viewthread.php?tid=13855&page=1|title=Junked BBC {{as written|Chil|drens [sic]}} Shows|publisher=The Mausoleum Club Forum|dateyear=2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112103231if_/http://www.mausoleumclubforum.org.uk/xmb/viewthread.php?tid=13855&page=1 |archive-date=12 January 2016}}</ref>

As a consequence of this action, many of the clips used in the retrospective ''It Started With Swap Shop'' and as extras on some DVD releases of other BBC shows had to be taken from domestic video recordings that had survived in private hands. Amongst the editions wiped were those featuring appearances by [[Blondie (band)|Blondie]], [[XTC]], ''[[Trumpton]]'' creator [[Gordon Murray (puppeteer)|Gordon Murray]], and numerous cast and crew members of ''[[Doctor Who]]''.

Line 73 ⟶ 72:

The 130-minute programme was recorded in front of a studio audience at [[BBC Television Centre]] on 15 December 2006 and was broadcast on [[BBC Two]] on Thursday 28 December 2006 at 9.00pm with a shortened repeat (110 minutes) on Sunday 31 December 2006 at 6.10pm, again on [[BBC Two]]. The shortened version of the programme was broadcast on [[BBC Four]] on 28 May 2007 at 7.00pm as part of the channel's ''Children's Television on Trial'' season.

Other than the original ''Swap Shop'' team of [[Noel Edmonds]], [[John Craven]], [[Keith Chegwin]], [[Maggie Philbin]], live appearances were made by [[Mike Read]], [[Andi Peters]], [[Emma Forbes]], [[Trevor Neal]] and [[Simon Hickson]]. A recorded contribution was made by [[Phillip Schofield]] and [[Sarah Greene]]. Telephone calls (some prerecorded) were taken from [[Delia Smith]], [[Dame Edna Everage]] and [[Cliff Richard|Sir Cliff Richard]]. Other guests included [[Johnny Ball]], [[Nicki Chapman]], [[Fearne Cotton]], [[Lenny Henry]], [[Arlene Phillips]], [[Chris Moyles]] and [[Michael Crawford]] who appeared on a video link from Australia. A surprise appearance came from [[Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen]] as part of Trev and Simon's Draper Brothers sketch.

==Annuals==

''Swap Shop'' was so popular that during its run 4four annuals were published.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saturdaymornings.co.uk/archive/archiveshow.shtml?cat=Books |title=Archive – Books |publisher=Saturday Mornings |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070116013947/http://www.saturdaymornings.co.uk/archive/archiveshow.shtml?cat=Books |archive-date=16 January 2007 }}</ref>

The publishing dates for the books were as follows:

Line 108 ⟶ 105:

|}

Out of the 146 episodes that were made in total, 41 survive. These are Episodeepisode 21 of Seriesseries 1, Episodesepisodes 4–54, &5 and 21 of Seriesseries 2, Episodeepisode 24 of Seriesseries 3, Episodesepisodes 1–21, 2, 7, 12, 15, 17, 21 &and 25 of Seriesseries 4, Episodesepisodes 1–21, 2, 12, 14–1814 to 18, 21, 23, 25 &and 27 of Seriesseries 5 and Episodesepisodes 1, 3, 5–75 to 7, 11, 13, 15–1715 to 17, 19–2219 to 22, &24 24–25and 25 of Seriesseries 6.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvbrain.info/tv-archive?showname=Swap+Shop&type=lostshow|title=TVBrain – Kaleidoscope – Lost shows – TV Archive – TV History|website=Lostshows.com|access-date=7 June 2018}}</ref>

Due to industrial action by the ABS union at the BBC over Thursday 21 and Friday 22 December 1978, the edition which should have aired on Saturday 23 December 1978 was not transmitted. The reason being that the strike was only settled between the union and the BBC at 10.00pm on Friday 22 December 1978, and it was impossible for the live Swap Shop to be up and running in time for the 9.30am start thatthe nextfollowing daymorning. Instead BBC One returned to the air after being blacked out for two full days, at 3.00pm on Saturday 23 December 1978. Swap Shop finally returned on Saturday 30 December 1978.

==References==

Line 119 ⟶ 116:

*{{IMDb title|0236914}}

*{{Screenonline TV title|442768}}

*[https://www.saturdaymornings.co.uk/show/sw ''Swap Shop''] at Saturday Mornings

*[http://www.paulmorris.co.uk/satkids/swapshop.htm ''Swap Shop''] on Paul Morris' SatKids

Line 130 ⟶ 127:

[[Category:1982 British television series endings]]

[[Category:Lost BBC episodes]]

[[Category:British English-language television shows]]