''The Gadget Show'' (currently known as ''The Gadget Show: Better Tech, Better Life'') is a 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 ...

series which focuses on consumer

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...

. The show, which is broadcast on Channel 5, is currently presented by

Ortis Deley Ortis Deley ( ) (born 2 June 1973) is a British television presenter, comedian, singer, radio DJ and actor of Ghanaian Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Gu ...

, Georgie Barrat and Jon Bentley. Originally a thirty-minute show, it was extended to forty-five minutes, then later to sixty minutes. Repeats have also aired on the digital channel 5Star, syndicated broadcasts on

Discovery Science Discovery science (also known as discovery-based science) is a scientific methodology which aims to find new patterns, correlations, and form hypotheses through the analysis of large-scale experimental data. The term “discovery science” enco ...

and

Dave Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

(in edited down half-hour versions), and Channel 5's on-demand service

My5 My5 (previously Five Download and later Demand 5) is the brand name of video-on-demand services offered by Channel 5 in the United Kingdom. The service went live on 26 June 2008. It is owned by Paramount Global and operated by their Paramoun ...

. In Australia, it is aired on

The Lifestyle Channel Lifestyle (formerly known as The LifeStyle Channel) is an Australian television channel. The channel launched on 1 September 1997. The channel has an emphasis on contemporary lifestyle interests. Its programming covers topics including food an ...

. ''The Gadget Show'' has received many

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

Format

2004–2006: Beginnings

The show previews and reviews the latest

gadget A gadget is a mechanical device or any ingenious article. Gadgets are sometimes referred to as '' gizmos''. History The etymology of the word is disputed. The word first appears as reference to an 18th-century tool in glassmaking that was develo ...

s, and broadcasts the latest technology news. The show is aimed at giving the mass

consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. T ...

an insight into the gadget world and in addition, it aims to give enough information for the more "

geeky The word ''geek'' is a slang term originally used to describe Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric or non-mainstream people; in current use, the word typically connotes an expert or enthusiast obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. In th ...

" or knowledgeable audience, but still making it accessible to the more casual viewer. The show has featured

Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...

video camera A video camera is an optical instrument that captures videos (as opposed to a movie camera, which records images on film). Video cameras were initially developed for the television industry but have since become widely used for a variety of other ...

MP3 player A portable media player (PMP) (also including the related digital audio player (DAP)) is a portable consumer electronics device capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, and video files. The data is typically stored o ...

s, Internet multi media tablets and other technologies. A segment showing viewers how to get the most out of their technology was also often included along with a competition to win anything from £5,000 to £45,000 worth of new gadgets. Each series usually contained a special episode focusing on a particular technology

conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

expo An expo is a trade exposition. It may also refer to: Events and venues * World's fair, a large international public exposition * Singapore Expo, convention and exposition venue ** Expo Axis, one of the world's largest membrane roofs, constructe ...

. Past conferences include

CeBIT CeBIT was the largest and most internationally representative computer expo. The trade fair was held each year on the Hanover fairground, the world's largest fairground, in Hanover, Germany. In its day, it was considered a barometer of cur ...

and the NextFest.

2007–2010: Studio and time increase

Series 5 saw a slight tweak in the format, with the three presenters hosting from a studio base, although a lot of the show still took place outside of the studio. The studio sections were filmed at

The Custard Factory The Custard Factory is a creative and digital business workspace complex, including independent shops, cafes and bars, on the site of what was the Bird's Custard factory off High Street, Deritend, in the Digbeth area of central Birmingham, Engl ...

on Gibb Street in Digbeth,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England. This was until a new set was introduced and the studio was then moved to inside The Gadget Show's offices located inside

North One Television North One is a production company based in London and Birmingham, England. It was originally known as Chrysalis Television and is now part of All3Media. North One won a tender for a programme to accompany Channel 4 Channel 4 is a Brit ...

in Digbeth. A recurring theme in the updated format was a regular challenge between Jason and Suzi (and occasionally Jon and/or Ortis), typically set around particular gadget(s) and their testing or use based around it. Another addition was that now the week's main featured gadget(s), typically reviewed by Jon, was given a 'G rating' from one to five. The seventh series, which started on 29 October 2007, saw the programme promoted to a 20:00 start time (previously 19:15), and running increased from forty-five minutes to one hour. From series 8, there was also a new "Top 5" feature which consists of the Top 5 gadgets in a certain category. At the start of the eleventh series, a new item was introduced, called the "Wall of Fame" where Ortis or Suzi and Jason picked their favourite gadget from a particular category that they think changed the face of modern gadgetry, and then Jon picked the one to win and go up on the wall. There were also several other recurring features (such as aforementioned "Top 5", and 'The Focus Group' - testing products with various groups of people, who voted for their best one) which were featured in episodes on a semi-regular basis. The show also offers a competition, (answering a multiple choice question, by

phone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into ele ...

SMS Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text ...

or postal entry) that gives the winner on some occasions up to 250 prizes. For 2010, the programme received a rebrand centred on the Museo typeface. This included refreshed titles and break bumpers. Also in 2010, the show saw the release of a supporting magazine called 'The Gadget Show Magazine'. Despite advocating HD content and reviewing high definition television sets, cameras and other devices, the show continued to be produced and broadcast in standard definition, being upscaled on the Channel 5 HD simulcast channel. It would take until the World Tour series for the show to begin broadcasting in native HD. In August 2011, it was announced a new series of ''The Gadget Show'' would be shown on Fridays. However, from 26 September 2011, the show reverted to Mondays, due to strong competition on Friday nights.

2012–2013: World Tour revamp

In February 2012, it was announced that the show would be in a new, revamped format. It was called ''The Gadget Show: World Tour'', and it started airing on 23 April 2012. The new version of the show saw presenters

Jason Bradbury Jason Alan Bradbury (born 10 April 1969) is a British television presenter and children's author, best known for presenting shows such as the Channel 5 technology programme ''The Gadget Show'' and the BBC One game show '' Don't Scare the Har ...

and

Pollyanna Woodward Pollyanna Woodward (born 11 June 1982) is a British television presenter, best known for being a co-presenter on Channel 5's ''The Gadget Show''. Career The youngest of six children, aged 16 she was offered a place at the Carlton Television J ...

travelling the world to test the latest gadgets and partake in a number of challenges. The reception of the show from fans, after the first few broadcasts were generally negative, questioning Jon, Ortis and Suzi's drop from the show. The next series, under the name ''The All New Gadget Show'', began airing on 5 November 2012. It followed the same format as the previous series known as ''The Gadget Show: World Tour''. Guests in this series included musical-comedy group Jonny & The Baptists as well as popular YouTube star

Ali-A Alastair Aiken (born 6 November 1993), better known by his online alias Ali-A (or by his original alias Matroix), is a British YouTuber known for ''Call of Duty'' and ''Fortnite'' commentaries and vlogs. He is one of the highest-paid profess ...

. Two specials aired in Spring 2013, a 'future' special and a 'Bank Holiday' special.

2013–2016: Back to origins, presenter changes

For the 17th series,

and

were joined by ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'' co-presenter

Rachel Riley Rachel Annabelle Riley (born 11 January 1986) is a British television presenter. She co-presents the Channel 4 daytime puzzle show ''Countdown'' and its comedy spin-off '' 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown''. She is a mathematics graduate. Her t ...

and former Gadget Show presenter Jon Bentley who re-joined the show as chief gadget tester. It was announced that ''The Gadget Show'' would return to its more traditional format, with a new studio. On 30 January 2014, it was announced that

would be returning to the show, replacing

. On 25 April 2014, it was announced that Riley would be leaving the show and would be replaced by Olympic skeleton gold medallist,

Amy Williams Amy Joy Williams, (born 29 September 1982) is a British former skeleton racer and Olympic gold medallist. Originally a runner, she began training in skeleton in 2002 after trying the sport on a push-start track at the University of Bath. Altho ...

. From the 22nd series, in-studio presenter links were scrapped; so, the filmed inserts were linked by graphics and countdown clips with

voiceover Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non-diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations. ...

from Bradbury, Deley, Williams and Bentley. A new logo and graphics were also introduced. New features included profiles of

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

creators and vloggers and a section called Gadget Help where viewers of the show can get tech help to solve their problems. For the 23rd series, the show returned to a Friday night slot for the first time since 2011.

2017–present: Presenter changes, Gadget Show Live axed, and revamp

At the end of the 24th series of ''The Gadget Show'', it was announced that Bradbury had decided to quit the show after 12 years. A day later, it was confirmed that Amy Williams would also leave. Furthermore, it was also announced that ''The Gadget Show Live'' had been axed in 2017 in favour of a new technology show taking place at

Westfield London Westfield London is a large shopping centre in White City, west London, England, developed by the Westfield Group at a cost of £1.6bn, on a brownfield site formerly the home of the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition. The site is bounded by the We ...

. The 25th series saw the show have a revamp. Channel 5 were keeping quiet as to what would happen in the new series. On 17 February 2017, it was announced that

Craig Charles Craig Joseph Charles (born 11 July 1964) is an English actor, comedian, television and radio presenter. He is best known for his roles as Dave Lister in the science fiction sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' and Lloyd Mullaney in the soap opera ''Coronation ...

and Georgie Barrat would replace Amy Williams and Jason Bradbury for the 25th series and would host alongside Ortis Deley and Jon Bentley. It was also announced that the show would return to a studio base in Birmingham and would air from 10 March 2017 for 12 episodes. The new Gadget Show logo teaser was released on the official Facebook page on 14 February 2017. The show in its 26th and 27th series continued with the hosts from the 25th series with all studio filming taking place to the south of Birmingham in the 'Studio 212' complex operated by the privately owned company drp. After series 35, Charles confirmed that he would not be returning to the show. For series 36, the format was changed so that the studio was replaced by on location filming at Gadget HQ, a residential property used by the show, and the focus of the show altered to concentrate on assisting families and households with technological solutions to help their lives including money saving with Wallop and sustainability with new experts Charlotte Williams and Bianca Foley. As part of this, Charles' role was discontinued and a replacement was not put in place. For the new format, the name was changed to ''The Gadget Show: Better Tech, Better Life''.

Guinness World Records

During the challenge section of ''The Gadget Show'', the team is sometimes asked to set new

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

s. So far, they have set records for: * The fastest speed reached by a slot car racer achieved by Dallas Campbell while filming for ''The Gadget Show''. * The fastest speed reached by an internal combustion powered radio-controlled model car is 137.86 km/h (85.66 mph), controlled by Jason Bradbury (UK) on the set of The Gadget Show in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK, on 29 October 2008. * The fastest speed in a water jet–powered car is 26.8 km/h (16.65 mph) and was achieved by Jason Bradbury (UK) on the set of The Gadget Show at Wattisham Airfield, Ipswich, UK, on 15 March 2010. * The longest ramp jump performed by a remote controlled model car is 26.18 m achieved by an HPI Vorza, controlled by Jason Bradbury (UK) on the set of ''The Gadget Show'' in Birmingham, UK, on 25 March 2010. (Since been beaten by Thomas Strobel, Germany on 30 July 2011. Setting a distance of 36.9 m.) * The largest game of Tetris measured at 105.79 m² and was played on ''The Gadget Show'' in Birmingham, UK on 15 September 2010. * The heaviest machine moved using a brain control interface weighs 56.2 tonnes (61.95 tons), as demonstrated on the set of ''The Gadget Show'', Studley (UK) on 17 March 2011. * The fastest speed attained on a jet-powered street luge is 115.83 mph (186.41 km/h), achieved by Jason Bradbury (UK) on the set of The Gadget Show's 200th episode in Bentwaters Parks, Suffolk, UK, on 9 August 2011. * The longest loop-de-loop performed by a radio-controlled car at a diameter of 2.3 m.

Failed campaigns

The show launched a campaign for free

WiFi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves ...

access across the country. Viewers were urged to register their support on the show's website;

promised to take the issue to

10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along wi ...

if the need arose, which it did, but got a reply rejecting his petition after over 30,000 names were sent in. In 2015, the show (and Worth Capital) also launched a "Future Gadget" competition which gave all budding entrepreneurial tech' inventors a chance to bring their new gadgets to market, with financial backing and advert space on Channel 5 for the overall tech winner. This competition was also to run alongside The Gadget Show Live 2015 in parallel as part of the selection process. This competition itself was terminated early on as the show and Worth Capital felt that the initial entries were not to the highest of standards. Another major online media source suggested that a severe lack of investors, the enduring lengthy format processes as well as some of the terms and conditions (such as the equity stakes the entrants would have to give up when signing strict contracts) was the real reasons for the demise of this competition. The trust between the most loyal of fans and the show itself was heavily damaged as a conclusive result of this early cancellation.

Series overview

Notes * Series numbers were later changed to exclude the World Tour and All New Gadget Show from current series listing. The series which started airing on 9 March 2018 is listed as Series 27.

Presenters

Current presenters

* Jon Bentley (2004–12, 2013–present) *

(2009–12, 2014–present) * Georgie Barrat (2017–present) Experts * Harry Wallop: technology money saving expert (2017–present) * Charlotte Williams: sustainability expert (2022–present) * Bianca Foley: sustainability expert (2022–present) ''Note: Jon Bentley is the only original presenter left and is the longest running current presenter.''

Former presenters

(2004–2016) - 327 episodes * Suzi Perry (2004–2012) - 208 episodes * Tom Dunmore (2004-2006, 2010) - 30 episodes (plus 2 as guest) *

Adrian Simpson Adrian James Simpson, (born 24 April 1971) is an English television presenter, currently presenting on Sky News on the overnight programme. Simpson was born Carshalton, Surrey, he started his television career as a presenter on the BBC's ''T ...

(2004) - 4 episodes *

Aleks Krotoski Aleksandra Krystyna Theresa Krotoski (born October 22, 1974) is a broadcaster, journalist and social psychologist based in the United States who writes and broadcasts about technology and interactivity. She currently presents the BBC Radio 4 ser ...

(2004) - 2 episodes *

Spencer Kelly Spencer Kelly is the presenter of the BBC's technology programme '' Click'', broadcast on the BBC World News and the BBC News Channel in the United Kingdom. Early life Kelly, then known as Spencer Bignell, grew up in Bishopstoke, near Eastlei ...

(2005-2006) - 12 episodes *

Dallas Campbell Robert Dallas Campbell (born 17 September 1970) is a British television presenter and television and stage actor, best known as a presenter on the factual Channel 5 series ''The Gadget Show'' in 2008 and BBC One science series '' Bang Goes t ...

(2008) - 23 episodes *

Gail Porter Gail Porter (born 23 March 1971) is a Scottish television personality, former model and actress. She started her television career in children's TV, before branching out into modelling and presenting mainstream TV. In the 1990s, she famously po ...

(2009) - 7 episodes *

(2010–2014) - 62 episodes *

(2013–2014) - 31 episodes *

(2014–2016) * Yue Xu (2016) *

(2017–2022) - 131 episodes *

Maddie Moate Madeleine Moate (born 26 July 1988) is a British television presenter, podcaster, YouTuber and children's author best known for presenting the CBeebies series '' Maddie's Do You Know?'' for which she was awarded the Best Presenter BAFTA at th ...

(2022) - 1 episode *

Libby Clegg Elizabeth Clegg, (born 24 March 1990) is a Scottish Paralympic sprinter who has represented both Scotland and Great Britain at international events. She represented Great Britain in the T12 100m and 200m at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, winning ...

(2022) - 1 episode * Pien Meulensteen (2022) - 1 episode * Jordan Erica Webber (2022) - 1 episode * Nicola Hume (2022) - 1 episode * Grace Webb (2022) - 1 episode Experts * Jordan Erica Webber: gaming expert (2017–2022) - 73 episodes (plus 1 as guest presenter) Notes * Stand-in for Suzi Perry who was suffering

ectopic pregnancy Ectopic pregnancy is a complication of pregnancy in which the embryo attaches outside the uterus. Signs and symptoms classically include abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding, but fewer than 50 percent of affected women have both of these symptoms. ...

* Stand-in for Georgie Barrat who was on maternity leave

Gadget Show Web TV

* Dionne South (2008–2011) - 101 episodes * Jon Bentley (2008-2011) - 109 episodes *

(2009-2010) - 51 episodes *

(2010) - 11 episodes * Amy Roff (2009) - 1 episode

Theme tune

The original theme tune used from 2004 to 2011 was composed by Barrie Gledden and was entitled "In the Machine". In Episode 4 of Series 16, Perry and Bradbury were challenged to create a new theme tune for ''The Gadget Show'' which would replace the current one used since the show's first broadcast using only consumer tech. Jason decided that he would use DJing software and equipment to compose his theme, whereas Suzi opted for using apps available on the

iPad 2 The iPad 2 is a tablet designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. Compared to the first iPad, as the second model in the iPad line, it gained a faster dual core A5 processor, a lighter build structure, and was the first iPad to feature ...

to compose her version. After the show, viewers were encouraged to vote for their favourite of the two on The Gadget Show's website, with the version receiving the most votes being chosen as the new theme. At the start of the next episode, it was revealed that Suzi's version was chosen by viewers and was first used in the opening titles of that episode. A revised version of the theme, including 'drumbeat' elements, accompanied the World Tour series. Between series 17 and 24, a theme credited to Andy Duggan was used. It was similar sonically to the first and third themes, melodically following on from the immediately prior (World Tour) theme but with electronic overtones akin to those of the original music. Between series 25 to 35, Full Funk Force by Steven Ryder was used as the theme. From series 36, a new theme has been used.

Website and YouTube channel

''The Gadget Show'' website, which now is part of Channel 5's 5FWD website, contains information on topics and products discussed and featured on the show. In addition, the site contains product reviews, how-tos, news, and free 'web episodes', containing extra material not featured on the TV programme. ''The Gadget Show'' also has a

channel which features special behind the scenes videos and Web TV episodes.

''Gadget Show'' Live

The Gadget Show Live was an exhibition that showcased the latest in technology from different sectors. It took place annually at the

National Exhibition Centre The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, Solihull, West Midlands, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International railway stati ...

, and allowed visitors the chance to test and buy the latest technology in the market. The show encompassed a variety of different features which in the past have included Battlefield Live, Robo Challenge Arena, Toy Arena, Game Zone, Future Tech Zone, Photographic Stage and The HUB. The show's most infamous feature is the Super Theatre, an exclusive hour-long interactive theatre show hosted by the presenters. In 2013, the show took place 3–7 April, in 2014 it took place 9–13 April, in 2015 it took place 7–12 April and in 2016 it took place between 31 March and 3 April. In 2017, the show was dropped by organisers Upper Street Events in favour of a new event at Westfield London.

Books

* ''The Gadget Show: Big Book of Cool Stuff'' ( Black Dog Press, 14 October 2021)

References

External links

*
The Gadget Show Live

The Gadget Show YouTube Channel
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gadget Show, The British non-fiction television series Channel 5 (British TV channel) original programming 2004 British television series debuts 2010s British television series 2020s British television series English-language television shows Television series by All3Media