''Chock-A-Block'' is a

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children's television programme, created by Michael Cole and Nick Wilson. It was first shown in 1981 and repeated through to 1989 and shown as part of the children's programme cycle '' See-Saw'' (the "new" name for the cycle originally known as '' Watch with Mother''). "Chock-A-Block" was an extremely large yellow

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

, modelled to resemble a

mainframe A mainframe computer, informally called a mainframe or big iron, is a computer used primarily by large organizations for critical applications like bulk data processing for tasks such as censuses, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise ...

of the time; it filled the entire studio and provided the entire backdrop for the show. The presenter of the show played the part of a technician maintaining the computer. There were two presenters, Fred Harris ("Chock-A-

Bloke ''Bloke'' is a slang term for a common man in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The earliest known usage is from the early 19th century, when it was recorded as a London slang term. The word's origin is un ...

") and

Carol Leader Carol Leader (born 10 November 1950 in Colchester, Essex) is a former English theatrical and television actress, and senior psychoanalytic psychotherapist. She played Barbara Charlton in '' Young at Heart'' from 1980 to 1981, and Sadie Tomkins i ...

("Chock-A-Girl"), but only one appeared in each episode. At the start of the show, the presenter would drive around the studio towards the machine in a small yellow

electric car An electric car, battery electric car, or all-electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using only energy stored in batteries. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quie ...

, the chock a truck, before saying the catchphrase "Chock-A-Bloke (or Girl), checking in!"). The presenter would then use the machine to find out about a particular topic. The name "chock-a-block" was derived from the machine's ability to read data from "blocks" – which were just that, physical blocks painted different colours. A typical show would include dialogue from the presenter, a brief clip played on Chock-a-block's video screen, and the presenter recording a song on Chock-a-block's audio recorder (which resembled the reel-to-reel tape drives used on actual mainframes, but with a design below to cause the reels to resemble the eyes of a smiling face). The presenter Fred Harris went on to present the serious computing programme ''

Micro Live ''Micro Live'' is a BBC2 TV series that was produced by David Allen as part of the BBC's Computer Literacy Project, and followed on from earlier series such as ''The Computer Programme'', '' Computers In Control'', and '' Making the Most of the ...

'' and to become a personality strongly associated with computers in the public eye. According to the Kaleidoscope 'Lost Shows' database, eight out of thirteen episodes are no longer in the BBC archives, however the whole of one of these and parts of a second survive only as domestic video recordings.TV Archive – Chock-A-Block
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Episodes

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0236895, Chock-A-Block 1981 British television series debuts 1981 British television series endings BBC children's television shows Lost BBC episodes Television series by BBC Studios 1980s British children's television series British children's education television series British television shows featuring puppetry