Toonattik

''Toonattik'' was the flagship children's strand of the British breakfast television station, GMTV (known on-air as CITV at weekends), which ran from 5 February 2005 to 26 December 2010. The strand aired on weekend mornings from 07:25 (sometimes at 07:20) until GMTV's closedown at 09:25, featuring a selection of both British and imported cartoons, mainly from brands such as Disney, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. It was presented by Jamie Rickers and Anna Williamson before being out-vision from 15 May to 26 December 2010.

History

''Toonattik'' launched on 5 February 2005 as the new children's weekend morning slot on GMTV, featuring a mix of imported cartoons for ages 4–12. The slot was originally split into two, with the first half featuring pre-school programming with out-of-vision continuity, and the second half featuring shows for older children, which featured in-vision continuity links provided by Jamie Rickers and Anna Williamson. Initially the show relied heavily on phone-in competitions. After a few months on-air the slot was split into two, each adopting their own individual branding to separate the age categories. The pre-school slot for ages 0–6 became known as ''Wakey! Wakey!'' (later replaced by '' The Fluffy Club'' in 2008), with the 7-12 slot using the ''Toonattik'' name. The relaunch focused more on audience participation, with the presenters showcasing drawings and letters sent in by the viewers.

Four months later, when ''Toonattik'' was revamped, each week Rickers and Williamson would lead teams of boys and girls in a battle of the sexes, playing various games to earn as much points as they could, a format later adopted by '' Holly and Stephen's Saturday Showdown'' in 2006. Viewers had the chance to send in suggestions for games, these were pulled from a special chest named the "Challenge Chest". Then the final game would be randomly chosen by the "Golden Wheel of Twizzle", and a spin of the "Toonattik Twizzler" would determine which of the two presenters would be playing that game. At the end of each show the losing team would receive a 'pie in the face' from the winners.

A new ''Toonattik'' website was created by 4T2 and launched in late January 2006, allowing viewers to play virtual versions of their favourite "Toonattik Twizzler" games, as well as send emails to Rickers and Williamson, read about their favourite cartoons and unlock bonus content by entering a secret code word revealed at the end of each show.

On 12 March 2006, ITV began simulcasting ''Toonattik'' on the CITV Channel, allowing younger Sky Digital, Virgin Media and Freeview viewers to access the show through the children's section of the EPG for the first time. Also, the EPG showed details for the programmes broadcast during the ''Toonattik'' time slot, instead of merely saying ''Toonattik''.

A ''Toonattik'' board game was produced by Character Options Ltd in 2007.

On 6 March 2010 it was reported that ''Toonattik'' presenters Rickers and Williamson would be made redundant, as part of ITV plc's buyout of Disney's 25% share in GMTV (since renamed to ITV Breakfast). They presented ''Toonattik'' together for the last time on 9 May 2010, which featured a big song finale at the end. Soon after their departure, Jamie & Anna were hired to work for Nickelodeon. From the following weekend, the slot relaunched with out-of-vision presentation, and this remained until its eventual axing at the end of 2010. From 15 May to 26 December 2010, the programme was hosted by the animated characters named the "Toonteam" (Bizzle, Hobson, Cocker3, Donk, Pat, Ni-No, Brian and Poop Dog), in place of Rickers and Williamson. On 18 January 2014 children's in-vision presentation during the ''ITV Breakfast'' slot at weekends returned in the form of ''Scrambled!''.

Programmes

*''Aaron Stone''
*'' All Grown Up!''
*''The Amazing Spiez!''
*'' American Dragon: Jake Long''
*''The Angry Beavers''
*''Avatar: The Last Airbender''
*'' A.T.O.M.''
*'' Back at the Barnyard''
*''Barney & Friends''
*'' Batman: The Brave and the Bold''
*''Ben 10''
*'' Ben 10: Alien Force''
*''Biker Mice from Mars''
*''Boohbah'' (until the launch of ''Wakey! Wakey!'')
*''The Buzz on Maggie''
*'' Camp Lazlo''
*''Captain Flamingo''
*''Chop Socky Chooks''
*''Code Lyoko''
*'' Combo Niños''
*'' Danny Phantom''
*'' Dave the Barbarian''
*''Dora the Explorer'' (until the launch of ''Wakey! Wakey!'')
* ''The Emperor's New School''
*'' Fantastic Four'' (two different adaptations)
*''Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends''
*''Horrid Henry''
*''House of Mouse''
*''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe''
*''Hey Arnold!''
*''Iggy Arbuckle''
*''Jimmy Two-Shoes''
*''JoJo's Circus'' (until the launch of ''Wakey! Wakey!'')
*'' Kid vs. Kat''
*'' Kim Possible''
*'' The Legend of Tarzan''
*'' Lilo & Stitch: The Series''
*''Monster Buster Club''
*''My Goldfish Is Evil''
*''My Gym Partner's a Monkey''
*''My Life as a Teenage Robot''
*''Ōban Star-Racers''
*''The Penguins of Madagascar''
*''Pet Alien''
*''Phineas and Ferb''
*'' Planet Sketch''
*''Power Rangers'' (from ''Dino Thunder'' to ''RPM'')
*''Pucca''
*'' Recess''
*'' The Replacements''
*''Robotboy'' (rights of showing acquired from Cartoon Network)
*''Rugrats''
*'' Sabrina: The Animated Series''
*''Sabrina's Secret Life''
*''The Secret Saturdays''
*''Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!''
*''Sonic Underground''
*'' Spider-Man''
*''SpongeBob SquarePants''
*''Stanley'' (until the launch of ''Wakey! Wakey!'')
*''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody''
*'' Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!''
*''Tak and the Power of Juju''
*'' Team Galaxy''
*''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''
*''Tiny Planets'' (until the launch of ''Wakey! Wakey!'')
*'' Tom & Jerry Tales''
*''Tootuff''
*''Totally Spies!''
*''Yin Yang Yo!''
*''Yu-Gi-Oh!''

Action Stations!

''Action Stations!'' was the flagship children's strand of the British breakfast television station, GMTV2 (branded as part of CITV). The slot aired between 06:00 and 08:40 on the CITV channel.

It began broadcasting on 13 March 2006 and was simulcast on both the CITV channel and ITV2; however, it moved to ITV4 on 17 March 2008, meaning that ITV2 could broadcast 24 hours a day. From June 7, 2010, ITV4 ceased simulcasting, meaning that from early June 2010, GMTV2 could only been seen on the CITV channel, again allowing ITV4 to broadcast 24 hours a day.GMTV2 moves to CITV
Digital Spy, 12 July 2010

Originally, ''Action Stations'' featured the voices of ''Toonattik'' presenters Jamie Rickers and Anna Williamson in the form of robots with pre-recorded links in between cartoons, and was later voiced by Mike Rance as a spaceship captain. Between September 2009 and May 2010, the slot had the presenters presenting links from the ''Action Station''s 'space base'.

''Action Stations'' featured characters Commander Action (David Kangas), Boogaloo (Serial #80064100) (Simon Fielding), Gribulous Bertnarg "Bert" Pimplewicks (Mike Rance) and Princess Akira, the ship's mechanic (Anna Singleton). These characters travelled the galaxy transmitting cartoons 'free to air' to the children of earth whilst trying to keep them from the clutches of the evil Dr Poopanski (James Hunt) who wanted to keep the cartoons for himself.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Toonattik
2005 British television series debuts
2010 British television series endings
2000s British children's television series
2010s British children's television series
ITV Breakfast
ITV children's television shows
ITV comedy