CITV 20th Birthday Bash (2003)

Friday, 3rd January, 2003 was the 20th anniversary of Children’s ITV, and the occasion was marked by this excellent retrospective. Plenty of clips, plenty of special guests, a live audience and a live broadcast… definitely a ‘moment’ in televisual history for all of us who care about retro kids’ telly. Not quite as comprehensive as the Old Skool Weekend that would follow a decade later, to be fair, but fabulous fun and a fitting celebration nonetheless.

Joining presenters Leah Charles and Michael Underwood are the likes of Roland Rat, Matthew Kelly, Jeanne Downs and Scally, Gary Terzza, T-Bag (Elizabeth Estensen) and Grotbags (Carol Lee Scott) – who never appeared in character together on any show ever, contrary to popular belief – and that Arthur Darvill bloke off of Doctor Who (I think, unless I’ve been taken in by a Wikipedia Fact™). They take us through from the humble beginnings in 1983, looking at how both presentation styles and programming changed down the years, and there’s plenty to get nostalgic about. Also, watch in amusement as Michael says rude word at 2:12, and horrifies Leah with a Page-3-Girl joke at 45:48. Fabulous fun, as I said.

For all of you playing along at home, see how many things you can think of that *don’t* get a mention but should have. It’s harder than you’d imagine, because you end up assuming you must have missed something, but continuity presenter Mark Granger for one seems to have been unfairly airbrushed out of existence. Also, Mike and Angelo – CITV’s longest-running sitcom, no less – is ignored completely. I don’t think Thomas the Tank Engine was represented either. And did I blink when Rainbow and/or Rod, Jane and Freddie were shown? Dramarama? Perhaps I need to go back and watch it again…

Although it says “full episode” in the title, I’m afraid I’ve had to snip out 30 seconds or so for copyright reasons. Sorry about that. That said, at one hour and nine minutes, this is the most complete version of the Birthday Bash currently on YouTube. Also, check out the trailer right at the end for what was on CITV later that day – what a juxtaposition of eras!

Many thanks to Lee for providing this recording.

(This is a transfer from an old videotape, so please don’t expect full HD quality. To the best of my knowledge, this material is not available commercially anywhere in the world, and has been uploaded for its historic interest. That said, if you are a copyright holder and object, please don’t hesitate to contact me.)

View Original Video Here