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''SMTV Live'' (an
abbreviation
An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...
of ''Saturday Morning
Television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
Live'', and also stylised as ''SM: LIVE'') was a British Saturday morning
children's television
Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television show, television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during ...
programme, produced by
Blaze Television
Zenith Productions (later Zenith Entertainment) was a British independent film and television production company. Zenith created content for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky and UKTV, including a number of series such as ''Inspector Morse'' for ...
for
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 ...
. Operating on a similar format to other Saturday morning
programmes for
children
A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...
, such as
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's ''
Live & Kicking
''Live & Kicking'' is a British children's television series that originally aired on BBC1 from 2 October 1993 to 15 September 2001. It was the replacement for ''Going Live!'', and took many of its features from it, such as phone-ins, games, c ...
'', the
programme premiered on 29 August 1998 and ran for over 270
episode
An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption.
The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning t ...
s across five years, before its conclusion on 27 December 2003.
The programme's format focused on a collection of
sketches, competitions and challenges, alongside a compilation of children's programmes and
cartoon
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...
s. The programme proved a major success, contributing to furthering the careers of
Ant McPartlin
Anthony David McPartlin (born 18 November 1975) is an English television presenter, singer, rapper, comedian and actor. He is best known for working alongside Dec Donnelly as part of the presenting duo Ant & Dec.
McPartlin came to prominence ...
and
Declan Donnelly
Declan Joseph Oliver Donnelly (born 25 September 1975) is a British television presenter, television producer, former singer, rapper, comedian and actor from Newcastle upon Tyne, England. He is best known for working alongside Ant McPartlin a ...
under the partnership of
Ant & Dec
Ant & Dec are a British television presenter, television presenting duo, consisting of Anthony McPartlin (born 18 November 1975) and Declan Donnelly (born 25 September 1975), from Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Formed after their meeting as chil ...
, as well as promoting the
broadcast
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...
of
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
series
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used in ...
''
Pokémon
(an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise.
In terms of ...
'' on British
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
. ''SMTV Live'' became notable for various elements including a sketch based on ''Pokémon'', the phone competition of "Wonkey Donkey", and the late morning edition of ''
CD:UK'' that the presenters of the programme were involved in towards the end of the morning schedule. The programme was regularly popular with its
audience
An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...
s, attracting around 2.5 million viewers.
Following its conclusion, Ant & Dec's former
company
A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...
Gallowgate Holdings Limited retained the rights to the
show. In April 2017, the duo made a proposal for a 20th
anniversary
An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints ...
special to reunite them with co-presenter
Cat Deeley
Catherine Elizabeth Deeley (born 23 October 1976) is an English television presenter and actress. From 1998 to 2002, she hosted the ITV children's show '' SMTV Live,'' for which she won a BAFTA Children's Award, and its spin-off chart show '' ...
, but despite an
announcement of it being revived during the
2017 British Academy Television Awards, ITV later stated that the proposal had been dropped.
On 26 December 2020, a one-off reunion
documentary aired on ITV under the title ''The Story of SM:TV Live'', featuring Ant, Dec and Cat reminiscing on their time on the show.
The series' iconic sketch "Chums" was recreated for the fifth episode of Series 17 of ''
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'' (referred to simply as ''Saturday Night Takeaway'' or ''SNT'') is a British television variety show, created and presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially known as Ant & Dec), an ...
'' on 20 March 2021 which reenacts and picks up the
cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...
from the
wedding
A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...
episode 20 years ago which signaled the duo's
retirement
Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload.
Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
from SMTV Live on 1 December 2001.
Format
''SMTV Live'' operated on a live-television format for its timeslot on Saturday. Alongside the involvement of audience of children and celebrity guests - including bands - the programme mostly consisted of studio segments that were interwoven around regular children programming used during the show's over 2-hour timeslot. Studio segments frequently featured sketches by the presenters, competitions (including phone-ins), and other features.
Programming
Children's programming featured on ''SMTV Live'' consisted of two categories - cartoons and live-action programmes:
Sketches
Presenters often conducted a variety of sketches on the programme during ''SMTV Live''s broadcast. Most were performed by McPartlin and Donnelly, with assistance from Deeley, with many often being parodies of programmes being aired between 1998 - 2003. The most prominent sketches used on the programme included:
* "Dec Says" - The sketch revolved around Donnelly answering a letter from a fictional viewer about a personal problem in which he would recount how he handled a similar issue in the past. However, the scene would often be depicted in a flashback recalled differently by McPartlin. The "real story" featured Donnelly portrayed as an inconsiderate, cheeky schoolboy referred to as "Downright Dirty Donnelly" who often got into trouble with the relevant problem, often with a character portrayed by the celebrity guest(s) for that week's episode. Deeley often appeared, portraying herself as a schoolgirl with very messy hair, huge teeth, and a strong Birmingham accent (an example of the accent being the line "it's ever so different from Bir-ming-ham!") who was referred to as "Cat the Dog", while McPartlin occasionally appeared, portrayed as an overweight boy who ate huge amounts of food and referred to as "Gi-ant".
: The sketch later was renamed as "The Secret of My Success", though always opening around a badly selling book that Dec had written. After McPartlin and Donnelly left the programme, the sketch was revised under a new title of "The Further Adventures of Cat the Dog" in which the flashback scenes were often opened and ended with Cat writing in her diary about the events of the day.
* "Chums" - A parody of the American sitcom ''
Friends
''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...
'', the sketch involved Donnelly and Deeley involved in a romance, dealing with McPartlin and a serious problem, often joined by the celebrity guest(s) for that week's episode either as themselves or a character. The sketch was noted for opening on a parody version of the line ''"... is filmed in front of a live studio audience"'', and ending on a "freeze-frame" moment (a homage to the closing sequences of ''
Police Squad!
''Police Squad!'' is an American television crime comedy series that was broadcast on the ABC network in 1982. It was created by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, starring Leslie Nielsen as Frank Drebin. A spoof of police procedu ...
''). Although the sketch acted a serial, plotlines were stand-alone and never interconnected, with the exception of the fictional romance between Donnelly and Deeley. The sketch later spawned a VHS compilation and weekday repeats as part of
CITV
CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...
. Chums continued for a few weeks after the departure of Ant & Dec, but finished quickly. However, during SM:TV Gold, no mention was made of this period and they treated Ant & Dec's departure episode as the last.
:In March 2021, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its final episode, "Chums" was revived for a one-off live episode as part of the "End-of-the-Show Show" on ''
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'' (referred to simply as ''Saturday Night Takeaway'' or ''SNT'') is a British television variety show, created and presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially known as Ant & Dec), an ...
''.
* "PokéRap" and "Pokéfight" - These sketches were based upon the programme's regularly featured broadcasts of ''Pokémon'', and were conducted primarily by McPartlin and Donnelly between 1998 and 2001. The rap sketches mainly involved the pair acting as rappers and conducting raps that featured the names of various Pokémon, while each wearing a knitted Pokémon jumper that featured both
Pikachu
is a fictional species in the ''Pokémon'' media franchise. Designed by Atsuko Nishida and Ken Sugimori, Pikachu first appeared in the 1996 Japanese video games ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Green'' created by Game Freak and Nintendo, which w ...
and their own name upon it. The feature later developed with the addition of a weekly letters' segment with viewers sending in their own raps (mostly via home video), and the eventual participation of the celebrity guest(s) for that week's episode.
: The fight sketch also mainly involved McPartlin and Donnelly, and was the creation of the show's writers after being inspired by the cartoon series. The presenters portrayed different parody version of the anime's main characters, in which they fought using "Pokémon" named after the moves they performed on each other - an example of this was "Embarrassmon" which involved one dueller telling a secret about the other, which damaged their health as a result. The sketch often involved a graphic overlay, that was reminiscent of the video game of ''Pokémon''.
* "Eminemmerdale" - A parody of the American rapper
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
and the Yorkshire Television soap opera ''
Emmerdale
''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...
''
Main features
Alongside sketches, the programme also featured a mixture of competitions - both phone-ins and studio-based - and other segments. Competition prizes differed from those offered by other Saturday morning children's programmes, by including more valuable items on offer including holidays. Amongst these segments that were used, the most notable included:
* "Postbag" - A segment for reading out viewer fan mail, which often began with the presenters, guests and audience dancing to the song "
Please Mr. Postman" by
The Carpenters
The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct ...
. The segment featured three notable events during the tenure of McPartlin and Donnelly:
** During the episode broadcast on 1 April 2000, Donnelly pulled off an April Fool's joke by pretending to be slightly ill when opening the Mailbag segment and passing out unconscious. A few seconds after this, the programme moved towards airing the second half of a cartoon, before later returning after a commercial break to Donnelly revealing the truth. A later interview with both himself and McPartlin later revealed the joke had been devised to coincide with the date but had been unplanned and frowned upon by ITV.
** McPartlin once had to read out a rather crude anecdote, that caused him to fall into uncontrollable laughing alongside his co-presenter. The incident later was retained as a clip on the consideration that it appeared to be in the similar format of an "outtake".
** One letter sent to the presenters concerned the pronunciation of the word "''Pokémon''" and asked that it be pronounced as "Po-KAY-mon". However, when the second half of the ''Pokémon'' episode "Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village" and included the pronunciation the presenters had used, Donnelly paused the broadcast to review the moment before making a small rant to camera about the letter and then ripping it up before allowing the episode to resume. It was not made clear if the incident had been a stunt and intended to make a point on the subject.
* Magic - Many episodes featured the guest appearance of various magicians, who conducted small and large-scale illusions on the programme. These illusions often involved the participation of Deeley as an assistant, in which she commonly was involved in the "
Sawing a woman in half
Sawing a woman in half is a generic name for a number of stage magic tricks in which a person (traditionally a female assistant) is apparently cut or divided into two or more pieces.
History
There remains a debate about the origin of sawing ill ...
" illusion. After Deeley left in 2002, her replacement
Tess Daly
Helen Elizabeth "Tess" Daly (born 29 March 1969) is an English model and television presenter who co-presented the BBC One celebrity dancing show ''Strictly Come Dancing'' from 2004 to 2013; she has been the show's main presenter since 2014.
...
took over to act as assistant on later illusions performed on ''SMTV Live''.
* "Wonkey Donkey" - A phone-in competition for viewers to partake in, which operated in a similar manner to that of ''
Catchphrase
A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
'', but required contestants to answer with two words that rhymed together to match the object they showed - a golden rule of the competition. For example, the game's name itself of "Wonkey Donkey" pertained to describe the state of a small toy
donkey
The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...
which had one leg missing. Before contestants began, the presenters would showcase something similar, before taking calls from up to five viewers. Donnelly frequently often ranted in "anger" to camera when a young contestant couldn't get the answer, with the game often notable for featuring presenters using the catchphrase of "It's gotta rhyme!" As a rule, if none of the callers answered correctly, the competition would roll over to the next week - if after three weeks, no one had answered correctly, the object involved would be abandoned for a new one.
: The competition itself remained notable in ITV, receiving a mock version on ''
Britain's Got More Talent
''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...
'' and ''
Celebrity Juice
''Celebrity Juice'' is a British television comedy panel game on ITV2, broadcast since 24 September 2008. The show is written and presented by Leigh Francis in the role of his alter ego Keith Lemon, and its current team captains Laura Whitmore ...
''.
* "Challenge Ant" - A studio competition in which one of the young audience members would be challenged by Donnelly to give McPartlin ten questions they had prepared, usually based on that week's showbiz news. Each question he failed to answer correctly within a time-limit of ten seconds would result in the child winning a prize. After the ten questions had been given, Donnelly would offer the contestant a chance to gamble their prizes on a star prize, in which they asked McPartlin a further question - if answered incorrectly, the contestant would win all their prizes, but if answered correctly, the prizes and star prize would be put up for offer in a viewers' competition. Later episodes later gave the child contestant a consolation prize of a handkerchief reading "I lost on Challenge Ant", along with celebrity editions of the contest.
: After McPartlin and Donnelly left the programme, Deeley took over the contest under the title of Brian's Brain", challenging children to defeat Brian Dowling under the same format, with Daly taking over in 2002.
* "Eat My Goal" - A phone-in competition in which viewers chose a celebrity, who would proceed to take
penalties
Penalty or The Penalty may refer to:
Sports
* Penalty (golf)
* Penalty (gridiron football)
* Penalty (ice hockey)
* Penalty (rugby)
* Penalty (rugby union)
* Penalty kick (association football)
* Penalty shoot-out (association football)
* Penalty ...
against McPartlin in goal while Donnelly hosted the contest. The format was amended with Dowling as the goalkeeper in 2001, with Daly and later
Stephen Mulhern
Stephen Daniel Mulhern is an English television presenter, magician, and comedian. He began his television career on CITV, presenting the children's shows ''Finger Tips'' (2001–2004) and ''Tricky TV'' (2005–2010). Mulhern has presented vario ...
hosting the competition. In 2003, the format was changed to a different celebrity each week representing two teams taking it in turns to be goalkeeper.
''CD:UK''
After the broadcast of an episode of ''SMTV Live'', the episode was followed by the broadcast of ''
CD:UK'' (an abbreviation of ''CountDown United Kingdom''). The programme took place within the same studio and with the same presenters, and operated on its own live-television format, featuring bands in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, music videos, and interviews with famous music stars. The programme continued long after ''SMTV Live'' concluded, finally ending in April 2006.
Production
Presenters
''SMTV Live'' was originally hosted by ''
Byker Grove
Byker is a district in the east of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. Home to the Byker Wall estate, made famous by TV series '' Byker Grove'', Byker’s population was recorded at 12,206 in the 2011 census. Byker is borde ...
'' stars
Ant & Dec
Ant & Dec are a British television presenter, television presenting duo, consisting of Anthony McPartlin (born 18 November 1975) and Declan Donnelly (born 25 September 1975), from Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Formed after their meeting as chil ...
alongside former fashion model
Cat Deeley
Catherine Elizabeth Deeley (born 23 October 1976) is an English television presenter and actress. From 1998 to 2002, she hosted the ITV children's show '' SMTV Live,'' for which she won a BAFTA Children's Award, and its spin-off chart show '' ...
. In 2001, Ant & Dec left the show to present Saturday night talent show ''
Pop Idol
''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and par ...
'' and were replaced by ''
Hollyoaks
''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...
'' star
James Redmond. Redmond's stint at ''SMTV Live'' lasted just three months however, after show bosses decided he had not settled into the role. Deeley left the show in 2002 to focus on presenting
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
talent show ''