Crackerjack 2020 Revival

I was thinking maybe 2022 for the 20th anniversary, like SMTV was supposed to.

Well I'm firmly in the Stu Francis era, born in mid 70s so I was 10 when it ended, but it was my favourite show at that age. So it's a bit like an old friend coming back, I just just remember the Double or Drop era of Ed Stewpot Stewart, but talking down the pub after work with friends from that era with kids now - the kids loved it and my mates enjoyed it as well (not bad for a cynical group in mid 40s!).

Mind you, the biggest thing we'd like is Take a Chance back from our era- but I guess that'll come in specials. "Here are the points to be won or the penalties to pay" was being said a lot in the local tonight!

Little doubt from Twitter it's gone down very well and brilliant refresh.

Sam & Mark played Take a Letter on Children In Need and the letter board looked the same style as the new Crackerjack set so I'm guessing we'll see lots of old games throughout the series.

Yes. I can 'just about' remember the Ed Stewart hosted era, and Chas n Dave theme tune was absolutely not in use then.

If I remember, back in the late 70's I think it was a jaunty orchestral tune, probably one of Ronnie Hazlehursts compositions, and the CnD theme tune (which wrongly, is assumed to be the theme all the way through the shows original run) was totally different to what went before it.

Nothing on you tube though - despite the fact that in one video, some idiot has used the CnD theme tune over the a photo of the badge from the mid 1970's era of the show.

The Chas and Dave theme tune is from the version that Stu Francis presented in the 80s, although I don't know if it came in with Francis in 1980. I think it came in a couple of years later when Chas and Dave were massively popular and the format of the show changed

The Radio 4 series 'The Trumpton Riots' had an episode about Crackerjack (just the classic version, not the Stu Francis era) which is an interesting listen:


Going by that I suspect it didn't have a theme tune at all

Yeah I know that - I meant this theme tune in particular.

Never watched the original Crackerjack (I was 16 days old when the last episode was aired). I have to say that I absolutely LOVED this. Sam and Mark were brilliant, the comedy sketches were hilarious (great to see Ted Robbins back on our screens), and it felt like a really entertaining family show.

This from 1979 and a cold open followed by a very short fanfare instead of a theme tune.

I'm quite surprised actually that Sam & Mark haven't graduated to primetime TV yet (bar the odd show here and there). That's not meant to be a slight at them at all- they're great at what they do on CBBC and clearly enjoy it.

Primetime is often crying out for fresh faces to present and Sam & Mark seem to be incredibly likable and great at whatever you put them on. They very much seem the heirs to Ant & Dec but if you don't watch CBBC you don't see anywhere near enough of them.

I think both Sam and Mark and Dick and Dom have the issue that however good they are they'll always be compared unfavorably to Ant and Dec.

CBBC have a new double act called Max and Harvey (from X Factor) who present some of their stuff and so Sam and Mark could start to move on soon. Let’s not forget that it’s rare for anyone over 40 to be presenting on CBBC in this day, so they have to move on soon.