The Big Breakfast

Sometimes when a holiday is given as a prize the winner has the option to take the equivalent in cash. There's a chance they could have opted to take a lump cash payout in lieu of the holidays.

I wasn't watching much during that period and this is a reminder why. Keith Chegwin is insufferable. Also, it's amazing just how quickly the show aged. What felt fresh and original and in 1992 felt naff and tired just three years later.

Their biggest mistake was failing to replace Chris Evans with a full time presenter, instead opting for Mark Little and Paul Ross. It's around that time that I gave up on it for a while.

Yes, I can only assume that Mark Little signed an eighteen month contract when he began in the spring of 1994. But I don't know why they didn't just get him to do five days a week when Evans left.

Something lurking in the back of my mind, thinks Mark was still doing stand up comedy gigs as well as the Big Breakfast part time hosting duties..

Or pay him off if they wanted rid of him, stranger things have happened in TV. I suspect they just felt by keeping their options open they avoided comparisons with Evans and his "replacement" but of course that didn't help at all.

A couple of nice clips have popped up on YouTube of that period in 1997 when Rick Adams had been put on the OB and Richard and Denise were hosting. They include Zig and Zag in the garden, making one of their rare live appearances at the time. (I know they were usually pre-recorded anyway, but in the Alien Alarm era, their occasional live appearances dwindled to pretty much never.)

A clip from the 22nd May 1997, I thought the new theme and graphics had come in place by May?

Davina on BB talking about evictions. That clip was so un-Big Breakfast though.

It would be a week later when The Bigger Breakfast debuted during the May half term that the new theme arrived.

Do you think? It's very BB pre-97. They'd often have human interest stories.

For some reason YT isn't generating thumbnails for my videos.

But here is a clip from the 1st December 2000 where Bill Bailey takes on resident pianist Harry in a Piano Duel.

Pop Wins Prizes from 2000 (point the camera at the tv and film it style) Note the Bargain Hunt theme playing in the background.


And an interesting one, there's a time code burnt on in the top left corner. Is this from an off air recording?