''Short Change'' was a
consumer affairs programme for children, broadcast on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
and later also the
CBBC
CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...
Channel. It is essentially a version of the prime-time show ''
Watchdog
Watchdog or watch dog may refer to:
Animals
*Guard dog, a dog that barks to alert its owners of an intruder's presence
* Portuguese Watch Dog, Cão de Castro Laboreiro, a dog breed
* Moscow Watchdog, a breed of dog that was bred in the Soviet ...
'' except that it is aimed at children. The show was first aired on 20 February 1994. It had 13 series; the last episode was broadcast on 12 July 2005.
Transmission guide
Specials
*Series 3 compilation: 5 January 1997
*Fan Clubs Special: 9 November 1997
*The Fat Nation Challenge: 18 editions from 9 September 2004 – 7 November 2004
PriceBusters Competition
On each programme, viewers were challenged to find the cheapest and most expensive prices for a given product throughout the country. Two winners each week (one finding each extreme price) would win a boom-box stereo. Bill Bennett won the competition two weeks running, by finding the most expensive prices for the given products, and including
Tesco
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
.com's grocery delivery charge of £5. This made the cost of a
Mullerice around £5.40, much more expensive than prices found by any other entrant. After his two consecutive wins, the rules were changed to specifically exclude delivery charges.
See also
*''
Street Cents'', a
CBC program influenced by ''Short Change''
References
*Source: BFI/BBC Motion Gallery
{{Consumer protection
BBC children's television shows
Consumer protection television series
Consumer protection in the United Kingdom
1994 British television series debuts
2005 British television series endings
1990s British children's television series
2000s British children's television series
English-language television shows