Live & Kicking

Live & Kicking was the ultimate Saturday morning magazine show, hitting BBC1 every week from October 1993 to September 2001. It was the show to start your weekend right (or at least distract you from your homework). Airing from late September or October, it would take a break in the warmer months when we all probably preferred to be outside anyway, pretending to be superheroes or attempting skateboard tricks. Aimed at young people (with a hefty side of nostalgia for anyone who grew up in the '80s), it packed in music performances, celebrity "hot seat" questions, phone-ins, games, sketches, competitions, and, of course, all your favourite cartoons. Their taglines said it all: "Miss it, miss out" and "The only way to start your weekend." Not sure if we actually missed out, but they certainly made it sound important.

The original hosts were Andi Peters - fresh from the Broom Cupboard (a man whose energy could probably power a small city), Emma Forbes (who'd previously dazzled audiences with a cookery segment on Going Live!), and John Barrowman, who would later become famous for a little thing called Doctor Who, where he’d play the legendary Captain Jack Harkness. By the second series, Barrowman was swapped out of the main hosting gig and placed in charge of Electric Circus, a segment focused on the latest in films, music, and gossip. But, after one series, even Electric Circus couldn’t keep him, and Barrowman bid farewell to focus on acting. Meanwhile, the main presenting duties fell to Peters and Forbes, and for a while, it was their show, as Live & Kicking really started hitting its stride. We also had some fun regulars like comedy duo Trevor and Simon and later, Ben, Gez, and Rich from The Cheese Shop and SuperGirly.

Run the Risk, a game inspired by Going Live!’s Double Dare, featured kids running through obstacle courses and enduring challenges. Gunge was, of course, involved, because what’s a game show without it? Famous for Five Minutes allowed a family the chance to shine. It’s My Life looked at people with unusual lifestyles; in the first week a new age traveller. Guests on programme one were Michelle Gayle and Linford Christie, with music from Take That.

In the early days, the show featured a rather odd computer-generated cat named Ratz, who announced links. After one series, Ratz was replaced with human announcer Mitch Johnson. Mitch did all the usual announcing stuff, but he also interacted with the audience and the hosts, making him an unofficial co-host. By the second series, two puppet leprechauns named Sage and Onion joined the gang. This mischievous duo were a regular hit, performing sketches, interacting with the people in the studio and generally (and gleefully) causing chaos.

Peters and Forbes left at the end of series three, and the show truly reached its peak with series four, when Zoe Ball and Jamie Theakston took over hosting duties. It was so successful; it even won a BAFTA. Who knew Saturday mornings could be so prestigious?

And, because this is the '90s, we couldn't forget about Mr. Blobby, the chaotic, unpredictable, slightly terrifying figure who first appeared on Noel's House Party but then made his debut on Live & Kicking during series three. There was also Hit, Miss, or Maybe, a pop culture game loosely based on the 1960s show Juke Box Jury, and the show featured US cartoon series Spider-Man, The Addams Family and Rugrats, which became a major feature.

The show’s final series saw some major revamping, which meant that most regular features were tossed out like yesterday's homework. But the one thing that stuck around? The jingle for the phone number, which evolved over time from 081 811 8181 to 0845 610 1515, and you know what? It’s still stuck in our heads.

In series five and six, they tried something new with L&K Friday, a shorter version that aired on Friday afternoons (because who doesn’t love a little weekend preview?), but this was cancelled after two series. There was also the L&K Replay on BBC Choice, which was a 90-minute version of the show.

In May 2000, the show had a one-off special with Music Live & Kicking, a mash-up of the BBC's Music Live with presenters Steve Wilson, Emma Ledden, Ortis Deley, and special guest Stephen Gately from Boyzone. It was the first edition to be broadcast in widescreen, because nothing says new era like widescreen.

One of the final segments was L&K Castaway, a reality spin-off where six kids were dropped on a remote Scottish island to learn survival skills. Points were earned for tasks and lost for entering the "Temptation Hut," which had all sorts of modern luxuries.

Live & Kicking had run almost unopposed due to ITV's inability to come up with a suitable rival with Motormouth, Ghost Train and What's Up Doc? all falling by the wayside.

Live & Kicking eventually faced its downfall in 1998 when SM:tv LIVE (with Ant and Dec, of course) started trouncing it in the ratings, dragging Pokémon into the British mainstream and stealing all the spotlight. The BBC tried to counter with The Saturday Show and Dick and Dom in Da Bungalow, but for many, the golden age of Saturday morning television on the BBC had come to an end. Oh well, at least we have the retro memories... and the jingle, of course.