Conception
The show debuted on 31 May 1975, and ran until July 1994, in the Saturday teatime slot. It was devised and hosted by Savile, who would "fix it" for the wishes of several viewers (usually children) to come true each week. The producer throughout the show's run was Roger Ordish, always referred to by Savile as 'Doctor Magic'. The standard format was that the viewer's letter, which described their wish, would be shown on the screen and read out aloud, initially by Savile, but in later series by the viewer himself as a voice-over. Savile would then introduce the Fix, which would either have been pre-filmed on location or take place "live" in the studio. At the end, the viewer would join Savile to be congratulated and presented with a large medal with the words "Jim Fixed It For Me" engraved on it. Occasionally, other people featured in the 'Fix It' (actors from well known series, for example), might also give the viewer an extra gift somehow relating to the Fix. Savile himself played no part in the filming or recording of the 'fix-its', unless specifically requested as part of the letter writer's wish. Some children apparently thought that Savile's first name was "Jim'll", so some letters shown on the programme started "Dear Jim'll".
Early series saw Savile distributing medals from a "magic chair" which concealed the medals in a variety of compartments. The "magic chair" was invented by Tony Novissimo and was built for the BBC by him at his workshops in Shepherds Bush. The chair had first appeared on Savile's earlier Saturday night TV series, "Clunk, Click". The chair was later replaced by a new computer controlled robotic "magic chair", the brainchild of Kevin Warwick, built for the BBC by his team at the University of Reading. The arm for the chair was an RTX, designed by Roy Levell at Universal Machine Intelligence in Wandsworth around 1985.
Internally, the BBC were concerned that the show was providing excessive product placement for corporations. Ordish admitted in a televised interview in 2000 that the 'fix-its' generally started with an offer from a company or organisation to provide the 'wish' and then the production team would look for a letter from a viewer to match. He cited examples being offers from singers & groups looking to showcase a new single or airlines such as British Airways providing aircraft and tickets for viewers wishing to visit places. The BBC also used the show to promote other BBC productions.
The theme tune song was sung by voice-over artist Lynda Hayes. The closing theme was sung by the group Good Looks (featuring Lavinia & Lewis Rodgers, siblings of Clodagh Rodgers) who competed in the 1982 A Song for Europe competition. Savile 'fixed it' for a young viewer to perform the song with the group on an edition of the show.
Read more about this topic: Jim'll Fix It
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