TV Pop Diaries
Pop Music on British Television 1955 -
After the much missed Going Live, the BBC decided to continue with a similar format. This time the broom cupboard was left vacant by Andi Peters, while Emma Forbes was promoted from the kitchen. Trev and Simon thankfully remained, while guests from the music world appeared every week. It also debuted future West End star John Barrowman, while AI cat head Rats was TV's first proper live CGI star.
For the very first show Take That and Lulu appeared showing that the programme meant business. The show continued the rest of its lifetime with the procession of boy and girl bands, solo girl singers, some of the more polite Brit poppers and the occasional megastar like Elton John, Phil Collins and Sting.
In March 1996 they played host to PJ and Duncan the character names for actors Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (aka Ant & Dec). Two years later they would own Saturday morning TV themselves.
The 21st September 1996 edition saw Zoe Ball and Jamie Theakston take over as presenters and the show would move up a notch, particularly with regular appearances by The Spice Girls and Robbie Williams, but trouble came two years later. ITV finally made a show worthy of the Tiswas time slot when SMTV Live starring Ant and Dec debuted in August 1998 and began to bite into Live and Kicking's audience.
Live and Kicking continued despite the strong competition and carried the final series through the summer of 2001, rather than making a summer replacement, something the BBC had never done before. The end came in September.
LIVE AND KICKING
BBC1
2nd October 1993 -
