Crackerjack!

[David C Taylor]

Can anyone please tell me which episodes of the long running children's variety show "Crackerjack!" exist in the archives?

[andrew martin]

18/12/57
19/03/58
18/03/59
27/04/61
02/11/61
11/10/62
25/09/63
07/05/64
22/03/74
29/03/74
24/12/74
03/01/75
10/01/75
17/01/75
24/01/75
31/01/75
07/02/75
14/02/75
21/02/75
28/02/75
07/03/75
14/03/75
21/03/75
31/03/75
24/12/75
02/01/76
09/01/76
16/01/76
23/01/76
30/01/76
06/02/76
13/02/76
20/02/76
27/02/76
05/03/76
12/03/76
19/03/76
26/03/76
07/01/77
14/01/77
21/01/77
28/01/77
04/02/77
11/02/77
18/02/77
25/02/77
04/03/77
11/03/77
18/03/77
25/03/77
01/04/77
06/01/78
20/01/78
27/01/78
03/02/78
10/02/78
17/02/78
24/02/78
03/03/78
10/03/78
17/03/78
24/03/78
31/03/78
07/04/78
29/09/78
06/10/78
13/10/78
20/10/78
27/10/78
03/11/78
10/11/78
17/11/78
24/11/78
01/12/78
08/12/78
15/12/78
28/09/79
05/10/79
12/10/79
19/10/79
26/10/79
02/11/79
09/11/79
16/11/79
23/11/79
14/12/79
21/12/79
26/09/80
03/10/80
10/10/80
17/10/80
24/10/80
31/10/80
07/11/80
14/11/80
21/11/80
28/11/80
05/12/80
12/12/80
19/12/80
02/10/81
09/10/81
16/10/81
23/10/81
30/10/81
06/11/81
13/11/81
20/11/81
27/11/81
04/12/81
11/12/81
18/12/81
22/10/82
29/10/82
05/11/82
12/11/82
19/11/82
26/11/82
03/12/82
10/12/82
17/12/82
24/12/82
30/09/83
07/10/83
14/10/83
21/10/83
28/10/83
04/11/83
11/11/83
18/11/83
25/11/83
02/12/83
09/12/83
16/12/83
23/12/83
28/09/84
05/10/84
12/10/84
19/10/84
26/10/84
02/11/84
09/11/84
16/11/84
23/11/84
30/11/84
07/12/84
14/12/84
21/12/84

[David C Taylor]

Thank you very much for the information, Andrew.

[BillyH]

andrew said:

07/05/64
22/03/74

Any reason for why there's a ten-year gap here, or is it just a coincidence?

[andrew martin]

Not that I know of - I assume the series was just generally junked on VT, until 1974 - when those episodes were available for junking it was getting towards the time when junking stopped, so that might be the reason for everything after then surviving. The few that survive earlier were held by the film library rather than the BBC engineering department (which held all VT in those days) and were just those which happened to have been recorded and not junked. The early years of "Crackerjack" were live, and most episodes would probably not even have been recorded off air. When it began to be pre-recorded, it would have been on tape and thus liable to be wiped in due course, but it's possible it was never recorded on film in addition by BBC Enterprises for sales abroad - and thus no film copies have surfaced.

[John Newland]

Its a shame that there are no editions to represent the era when Leslie Crowther was hosting the programme, but at least he can be seen in some of the earlier editions performing in the sketches.


Slightly off-topic, does anyone out there know why the line-up changed so drastically between 1979 and 1980? Had some of the team decided to leave anyway or was it a typical BBC attempt to revamp a programme that didn't need revamping (in this case adding lots of gunge games which effectively killed the programme off).

And Peter Glaze - did he jump or was he pushed? Did he ever work again after his last Crackerjack in 1979? (I think he passed away early in 1983).

[John Stewart Miller]

This topic has been discussed before, and Andrew raises an interesting point, that currently we don't have enough information to confirm the whats and whys; only to an extent.

In my own observation it's interesting how 1964 seems to have a good across the board selection of items retained; i.e. theres a 'Billy Cotton band show' specifically from that year and an 'Xmas night with the stars.

It does seem that 'Crackerjack' was one of the shows treated in house as a 'live' show even on tape (like Top of the pops) with short term holdings. The same applies to 'Dixon of Dock green'. It may well be that ongoing shows with countless editions were treated likewise at one point; partly due to the sheer unbelievable volume of editions which went out; (evident when studying indexes)!

I think for this type of show, the best hope of material turning up are personal copies. Either those sometimes taken by production staff members or off air home recordings; material of the like of which is now surfacing.

Thanks again to Andrew for informative and informed postings!

[John Stewart Miller]

John said:

Its a shame that there are no editions to represent the era when Leslie Crowther was hosting the programme, but at least he can be seen in some of the earlier editions performing in the sketches.


Slightly off-topic, does anyone out there know why the line-up changed so drastically between 1979 and 1980? Had some of the team decided to leave anyway or was it a typical BBC attempt to revamp a programme that didn't need revamping (in this case adding lots of gunge games which effectively killed the programme off).

And Peter Glaze - did he jump or was he pushed? Did he ever work again after his last Crackerjack in 1979? (I think he passed away early in 1983).

I'm not sure, as I thought Eamonn andrews left in 61 or 62. On one clip i've seen from then theres a long sketch leading up to Crowther, late for work, slipping, falling onto a trolley and bursting through a wall, apprently to introduce the show. It seems to indicate Crowther quickly replacing Andrews, as he later did, doubling a s a straight host, and comedian. When they brought in michael aspel I was baffled. I recall thinking 'why have they brought boring Michael aspel in? He's a newsreader!'.

[Eddie Catflap]

Crackerjack!

[williamM]

Eddie said:

Crackerjack!

Crackerjack!

[John Stewart Miller]

Indeed - What did it mean ? (i.e. the phrase). Think it was explained in one of the annuals. Just to add my earliest memory of the show was Sandie Shaw performing 'Puppet on a string'. It was one of the shows my older Brother and sister watched, but I didn't 'adopt' till I was old enough to latch on to Leslie crowther as a father figure and not get bored of it.

I recall being unimpressed with Leslie Crowthers replacement 'cheeky chappie' Rod McLennan. He resembled a second rate Don Maclean, to the extent I mistook Maclean for him after a lapse in watching of a few years. I hated the Aspel - Mclennan - Stewart period. When Maclean joined actually it was the greatest match since Crowther for Peter Glaze in terms of chemistry.

I recall a sketch where the two were dressed with tiny puppet bodies in a punch and judy show, like schoolboys. At the end they sang a duet 'My brother'. My earliest recollection of maclean. after that I recall a Tarzan sketch. Obviously it spoofed the Ron Eli 60s series repeated in the 70s, and featured new team members like Jaqueline Clarke from Dave allen, and Christine Ozanne, a Denise Coffey lookalike in a page boy cap.

[Stephen Doran]

was it around 1968?the team would present ;D a finale and sing chart hits inbetween?

[Stephen Doran]

Eddie said:

Crackerjack!

wasnt it a hit for dave dee,dozy,beaky mick&tich? ;D

[Clive Shaw]

John said:

And Peter Glaze - did he jump or was he pushed? Did he ever work again after his last Crackerjack in 1979? (I think he passed away early in 1983).

I think he was coming up to retirement age, thats all...

If I remember correctly, they still used those Glaze and MacLean 'Messing Around as Blackpool Pleasure Beach' insert films up until around 1983. I do remember that there was an on-screen mention that Peter Glaze had passed away.

[Barry Delve]

Just to add, Peter Glaze went on to feature in the stage show 'Underneath the Arches' in 1982 - he played a member of the Crazy Gang (for whom he understudied in real life).

He featured in the 1982 Royal Variety Performance in this role too.