What was your favorite regional ITV station growing up?

I wonder what the last programmes actually commissioned for night time (bar Nightscreen) actually were.

That’s excluding overnight versions of programmes shown at other times (such as Trisha, CDUK repeats etc) and football highlights

Was CD:UK Hotshots an original show made for night time or was it just a compilation of old performances?

I suppose Nightwatch with Steve Scott would have been one of the last to be commissioned though that was clips of old regional shows repackaged.

Also there was Bingo Night Live which, as far as I remember, wasn't strictly an ITV Play style show as it was entirely free to enter. I still don't understand the purpose of that programme as they were making no money from phone lines and I don't even think they were running any ads during the breaks so I don't know how it was making them any money.

CD:UK Hotshots was just videos linked by Cat (or whoever else was presenting that week).

American Gladiators was a regular overnight fixture, along with Gillette World Sports. Is that still going - I remember it briefly and unwisely replacing Trans World Sport on C4 a few years back but don't know if it is still running somewhere.

Gillette World Sport stopped in 2008-ish and then came back in 2015. Not sure whether it's still going, it was on BT Sport a few years ago but not any more. Had a quick look on their social media and they've not posted anything since 2018 which suggests not.

Is Trans World Sport still broadcast in the UK?

Yes, on FreeSports.

To add onto my posts last month: I feel TVS as a company was very innovative in its craft, particularly in the children's programmes it commisioned: (No. 73, Motormouth, Tugs, Art Attack) and classy identity; my favourite being the company's final presentation set from 1989-1992, for taking what made the 1987-89 presentation work, but smoothing any roughness around the edges.

The problem was that as they attempted to become a media conglomerate through TVS Entertainment plc, after acquiring MTM Enterprises in 1988, it ultimately spelled the death of the company, combine that with the 1991 Franchise Round Results and their assets being sold to International Family Entertainment Inc., (which eventually got bought by Fox and ultimately, Disney), a shame really, as they died far too soon.

On the plus side: it catapulted Nigel Pickard into the world of children's television, being poached by STV to commission new episodes Art Attack after 1993, he'd eventually go on to became the Director of Children's Programming for the whole ITV network in 1998, (and SMTV Live). He later became the Head of Children's Programming at the BBC in 2000, overseeing the launch of CBeebies and the CBBC Channel, before returning to ITV as the Director of Programmes for the whole network.

Motormouth was another TVS programme for Saturday mornings. TVS were quite good with the Saturday morning slots, although when 73 was morphed, as it were, into 7T3, with the house now being a saloon, and apparently an oil well under Maidstone, I didn't like that! Mind you, I wonder how Maidstone must've felt having an oil reserve underneath it!

In the early days, I think 73 tried to be a bit educational as well as entertaining, one time they had a local shoemaker in, showing you how they made shoes. Motormouth, the replacement, had former Blue Peter presenter Yvette Fielding, and former CBBC announcer Andy Crane, among the hosts. Had TVS retained their franchise, I wonder if Motormouth would've stayed on screen.

Well, What's Up Doc was effectively a TVS production really, made by the same team who made Motormouth and 73, just done via STV. Quite likely that change would have happened whether they lost the franchise or not.

Was there much dfference between 73, Motormouth, and Whats Up doc? I know the settings may have been different, as were the presenters, but was that it?

WUD and Motormouth were variations on a theme. What set 73/7T3 apart was that the presenters were actors in character, and there was some semblance of back story (much more than Saturday Superstore's pretence of Mike Read being the manager and Cheggers being the delivery boy).