''Mad for It'' is a British

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

for children which was produced by

Carlton Television Carlton Television (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties from 9.25am every Monday to 5.15pm every Friday. The company is now managed with London Weekend Televi ...

broadcast on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

from 2 September 1998 to 31 March 2000. Series 1 was hosted by former Nickelodeon presenters

Mike McClean Mike McClean is a British stand up comedian, television presenter and actor. He was a roving reporter on ''Richard & Judy'' and ''The Big Breakfast'' and appeared in ''The Office:'' "Christmas Special", Shameless, ''My Mad Fat Diary'' and ''Richar ...

and Yiolanda Tokkallos. Series 2 was hosted by Mike McClean,

Danielle Nicholls Danielle Audrey Nicholls is an English television presenter, radio host, model and singer best known for her presenting of CITV from 1998 to 2001, and Night Fever on Channel 5. She hosts and games on a Twitch channel, BiigNoobs, with her younge ...

, and

Nigel Mitchell Nigel Mitchell is a British television and radio presenter and voice-over artist. Early life and education Nigel was born in Kingston Upon Thames. He attended Shrewsbury House School in Surbiton, from where he gained a scholarship to Reed's Sch ...

. There was also a regular character called Pie Boy, played by Alex Verrey, who would go around

hitting A strike is a directed physical attack with either a part of the human body or with an inanimate object (such as a weapon) intended to cause blunt trauma or penetrating trauma upon an opponent. There are many different varieties of strikes. A ...

random people in the studio with flans in a manner like The Phantom Flan Flinger from Tiswas.

Games in the show

Games included were. *Stars Up Their Noses: Contestants are given 30 seconds to show their talent. The name of the game is derived from impersonation talent show '' Stars in Their Eyes''. This competition was won at the end of the second series, by the then fifteen-year-old

Katie Melua Ketevan Katie Melua (; ka, ქეთევან "ქეთი" მელუა, ; born 16 September 1984) is a Georgian and British singer and songwriter. She was born in Kutaisi and raised in Belfast and London. Under the management of comp ...

. *Box Clever: Contestants answer questions and pick a prize from a box if correct. *That's My Pet: Contestants need to guess which is their pet amongst several similar looking animals. Much beloved of children's television, a frequent feature of ''Mad For It'' was "

gunge Gunge as it is known in the United Kingdom, or slime as it is known in the United States and most English-speaking areas of the world, is a thick, gooey, yet runny substance with a consistency somewhere between that of paint and custard. It has ...

", a green slimy goo which was regularly poured onto losing contestants and occasionally on the hosts themselves. Those who lost the games were sent to a "Dungeon of Gunge" – an enclosure directly beneath a large nose, which expelled gunge onto the hapless prisoners. In the last episode, the tables were turned and the pie boy ended up getting shoved in the dungeon. The most notable contestant on "Mad For It" was

, who appeared on the show when she was fifteen. She won the "Stars Up Their Noses" game after singing " Without You" by Badfinger. If she had lost the challenge, she would have been

gunged Gunge as it is known in the United Kingdom, or slime as it is known in the United States and most English-speaking areas of the world, is a thick, gooey, yet runny substance with a consistency somewhere between that of paint and custard. It has ...

Transmissions

References

External links

* * * {{Use British English, date=October 2016 1998 British television series debuts 2000 British television series endings 1990s British children's television series 2000s British children's television series 1990s British game shows 2000s British game shows British children's game shows Carlton Television English-language television shows ITV children's television shows ITV game shows Television series by ITV Studios Television series featuring gunge