''Get Fresh'' is a children's

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

programme that originally aired from 1986 to 1988 in the United Kingdom.

Format

A Saturday-morning kids' TV show, broadcast on the

Children's ITV CITV is a British children's morning programming block on ITV2 and formerly a free-to-air channel owned by ITV plc. CITV, then Children's ITV, launched on 3 January 1983 as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network for children aged ...

block, the show featured Gareth Jones (aka Gaz Top), Charlotte Hindle, and, for the first year of its run, Gian Sammarco, the British child actor best known for his portrayal of the character '

Adrian Mole Adrian Albert Mole is the fictional protagonist in a series of epistolary novels by English author Sue Townsend. The character first appeared (as "Nigel") as part of a comic diary featured in a short-lived arts magazine (called simply ''mag ...

'. Sammarco was replaced for the 2nd and 3rd series by a puppet named Gilbert the Alien (voiced by

Phil Cornwell Philip Cornwell is an English actor, comedian, impressionist and writer. He is part of the '' Dead Ringers'' television and radio series, and is the voice of Murdoc Niccals in the virtual band Gorillaz. Cornwell has co-written and performed pri ...

). Each week the series would be broadcast from a different UK location and centred on the ''Millennium Dustbin'', a fictional space ship in which the presenters would travel the country. The show invited a live audience to attend and give vox-pop comments, to give presentations on local community activities, and to participate in games and challenges. Pop stars would also appear to perform on the show. The weekly music strand of the show featured musical guest interviews and pop gossip. The segment was hosted each week by Nino Firetto and David "Kid" Jensen. The show featured a unique play-by-phone challenge, using the Atari ST video game ''

Xenon Xenon is a chemical element; it has symbol Xe and atomic number 54. It is a dense, colorless, odorless noble gas found in Earth's atmosphere in trace amounts. Although generally unreactive, it can undergo a few chemical reactions such as the ...

'', where viewers would call in and shout "left, left, right, shoot" commands to a blindfolded player. Get Fresh also featured the animated series '' The Centurions'' and ''

The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers ''The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers'' is an American animated space Western television series created by Robert Mandell (film producer), Robert Mandell and produced by Transcom Media, Inc. and Ryman Hospitality Properties, Gaylord Entertainme ...

''.

Spin-offs

''Get Fresh Sunday'' was a pre-recorded Sunday morning edition of the show also presented by Gaz, Charlotte and Gilbert. This spin-off featured ''

The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin ''The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin'' is a children's animated television series based on Teddy Ruxpin, an electronic children's toy created by Ken Forsse and distributed by toy manufacturer Worlds of Wonder (WoW9. Produced in 1986–1987 for te ...

'' and '' Gummi Bears'' and studio-based interviews and features, and was more item-based than the activity driven Saturday live show. Gilbert later featured in a further two series for

Tyne Tees Television ITV Tyne Tees, previously known as Tyne Tees, Channel 3 North East and Tyne Tees Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV television franchisee for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. Tyne Tees launched on 15 January 1959 from stu ...

, ''Gilbert's Fridge'' (1988) and ''Gilbert's Late'' (1990).

Production notes

The series was administrated by Tyne Tees Television from a Central Unit based at their London office, but was produced in conjunction with the local ITV station from where the series was to broadcast that week. ''Get Fresh Sunday'' was produced solely by Border Television. The theme music for the programme was written by Mick Jones of The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite fame.

Series 1 – 1986

* * 3 May – The Glebe, Boness-on-Windermere (Border) * 10 May – Coney Beach Pleasure Park, Porthcawl (HTV Wales) * 17 May –

Tuxedo Princess Black tie is a semi-formal wear, semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and North American conventions for clothing, attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdoc ...

, Newcastle (Tyne Tees) * 24 May – Glasgow Mayfest (Scottish) * 31 May – Carmunnock Highland Games (Scottish) * 7 June – Portrush (Ulster) * 14 June – Cardiff Castle (HTV Wales) * 21 June – Colchester Zoo (Anglia) * 28 June – Bath Festival of Steam (HTV West) * 5 July – Weymouth Beach (TSW) * 12 July – Bellahouston Park, Glasgow (Scottish) * 19 July – Aberdeen (Grampian) * 26 July – Swaffham (Anglia) * 2 August – Whitehaven Harbour (Border) * 9 August – Scone Palace, Perth (Grampian) * 16 August – Ashton Court Park, Bristol (HTV West) * 23 August – Tyne Tees Studios, Newcastle (Tyne Tees) * 30 August – Carlisle Castle (Border) * 6 September – Beamish Open Air Museum, County Durham (Tyne Tees) * 13 September – Plymouth Hoe (TSW)

Series 2 – 1987

* 25 April and 2 May – "Get Ready for Get Fresh" (Studio-based episodes made by Border) * 9 May – Sheepmount Athletics track, Carlisle (Border) * 16 May – Yeovil (TSW) * 23 May – Duxford Air Museum (Anglia) * 30 May – Edinburgh Castle (Scottish) * 6 June – Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (Grampian) * 13 June – Lakeland Forum, Enniskillen (Ulster) * 20 June – Ulster Folk Museum (Ulster) * 27 June – New Lanark Old Mill Town (Scottish) * 4 July – Cardiff Ice Rink (HTV Wales) * 11 July – Plymouth (TSW) * 18 July – Newquay (TSW) * 25 July – Kelso Agricultural Fair (Border) * 1 August – Clydebank (Scottish) * 8 August – Northumberland Scout and Guide Camp, Gosforth Park (Tyne Tees) * 15 August – Border TV, Carlisle (Border) * 22 August – Norwich (Anglia) * 29 August – Bristol (HTV West)

Series 3 – 1988

* 9 April – Newcastle, County Down (Ulster) * 16 April – Giant's Causeway (Ulster) * 23 April – Maritime Museum, Exeter (TSW) * 30 April – Lord Montagu's Transport Museum, Beaulieu (TVS) * 7 May – St Austell (TSW) * 14 May – Great Yarmouth (Anglia) * 21 May – Galloway Games, Stranraer (Border) * 28 May – Ferry Meadows Country Park, Peterborough (Anglia) * 4 June – Roman fort, South Shields (Tyne Tees) * 11 June – Dundee (Grampian) * 18 June – Killington Lake services (Border) * 25 June – Glasgow Show, Bellahouston Park (Scottish) * 2 July – Summerlee Heritage Trust, Coatbridge (Scottish) * 9 July – Eden Court Theatre, Inverness (Grampian) * 16 July – Glasgow Garden Festival (Scottish) * 23 July – Teignmouth (TSW) * 30 July – Douglas, Isle of Man (Border) * 6 August – Metrocentre, Gateshead (Tyne Tees) * 13 August – Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare (HTV West) * 20 August – Tavistock Meadows (TSW) * 27 August –

Margam Country Park Margam Country Park is a country park estate in Wales, of around 850 acres (3.4 km2). It is situated in Margam, about 2 miles (3 km) from Port Talbot in south Wales. It was once owned by the Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot, Mansel Talbo ...

, Port Talbot (HTV Wales)

Transmission guide

*Series 1: 20 editions from 3 May 1986 – 13 September 1986 *Series 2: 19 editions from 25 April 1987 – 29 August 1987 *Series 3: 21 editions from 9 April 1988 – 28 August 1988

References

External links