A question about Swap Shop...

I recall on It Started with Swap Shop and various other related things saying that Multi Coloured Swap Shop was the first show to extensively use telephones 'for the first time on TV.'

A quick question that I need solving, nevertheless... didn't these people ever see The Golden Shot? Correct me if I'm wrong, telephones were used live on that show for Bernie to control the bolt. Can somebody clear this up, please?

Did the Beeb claim they were the first Saturday morning kids show or something, a claim disputed by 'Tiswas'?

(Mr B - Where are you?)

I suppose the Beeb could claim the first networked Saturday morning kids show I suppose?

Chris Tarrant claims Tiswas came about first, albeit in a very early and somewhat awful form. I easily remember this by him shouting "Sorry, Noel" on Tiswas Reunited.

I'm not sure about this either, I remember Chris Tarrant said on "Tiswas Reunited" something along these lines: "Tiswas was around before Swap Shop, sorry Noel".

I've just checked out Wikipedia for some dates. The first edition of Tiswas was Mulit-Coloured Swap Shop was on 2 October 1976, whereas the first episode of Tiswas was on 5 January 1974. Thus Tiswas did begin before Swap Shop.

However, perhaps back in 1974, Tiswas was only shown in the ATV area, with other regions doing their own Saturday morning programmes. By the time Swap Shop began, perhaps Tiswas was still ATV only (and maybe one or two other ITV regions) whereas Swap Shop from the very first edition was on BBC1 all over the UK, in which case calling Swap Shop "First nationwide Saturday morning kids' TV" would be true. According to Wikipedia, during Series 4 (late 1977 to early 1978) Anglia, Border and Scottish television began showing Tiswas in its entirety. Does anyone know when, if ever, entire editions of Tiswas were screened in every ITV region? I think Westward were late getting it, they still showed it in late 1981, but come January 1982, their successors TSW screened their own Saturday morning kids' show "The Saturday Show" instead.

It may indeed be that The Golden Shot used the 'phone for the viewer's participation - but probably after an initial selection process - I don't know.

However I'm guessing that in this context, Swap Shop was the first to actively promote a telephone number for all viewers to call in on - and then there was the following interaction with the caller and the presenter and guests.

The Golden shot finished before SS started,

With the info about tiswas, Im sure we have this debate on tiswas online forum, HTV was the first with it show called Orbit. then it I believe LWT was next with Saturday Scene 1973-76, being honest there were more like CA for kids.

ATV brought along TISWAS January 1974 onwards, that is where it grow out of. When it comes to who take what in ITV in 1970;s we done know this, Westward took tiswas in January 1981

BBC also make clams there never beaten until SMTV live come along, that is also rubbish, Whats up Doc did beat them in the ratings.

All good, but it doesn't answer the original question.

It all comes down to SS wording, There were not the first to have live telephones, but there were the first to "extensively" to use them on the show. Golden shot only have I think two lives callers a week, but SS had a whole range or people calling, and noel phoning them and people call noel etc, does that make any since?

Pretty sure that The Golden Shot was prerecorded, not live, if that makes any difference...

I find that very difficult to believe considering that viewers who phoned had to see what was happening on their TVs. I also recall Bob Monkhouse ending an episode by saying "next time, live at 4:44"...

Hmm, a very good point, and I now feel extremely stupid!

Sorry I'm late...

I can only answer for Swap Shop and Tiswas. Tiswas began in Jan 1974 (only in the ATV area) and in the only surviving episode of the first 4 years (30th August 1975), a viewer is shown talking on the phone to John Asher. The Swappie began in October 1976 and as we know utilised phone calls from the outset.

CT's "Sorry Noel" on 'Reunited' was in answer to Noel's claim on 'It started with...' that Swap Shop was the first ever TV show for Kids on a Saturday Morning, when in fact Tiswas was almost 3 years old by the time Swap Shop came on air (LWT's 'Saturday Scene' and HTV's 'Orbit' beat Swap Shop to it too!).

Throughout the early years of Tiswas, they used a phone-in device called the "Welly-Phone" (a phone embedded in two conjoined welly-boots). A few years ago I interviewed Sally James for a radio special (still available online, by request ) and she remembered the welly-phone, but neither of us could remember why they used it!! No doubt though it was for the usual competition entries... questions to guests... etc... although it was all-but-entirely dropped by the time of the supposed 'classic' period (1979 onwards).

So, Tiswas was on-air with phones for almost 3 years before Swap Shop, but not across the whole country. Indeed Tiswas was never networked, here's the list of how it spread around the regions: http://www.tiswasonline.com/look_in.php?details=off
(full episode guide: http://tiswasonline.com/episode_guide.php )

All that said, The Golden Shot pipped the lot with the phones!!