History
The show was effectively the TV version of Radio Active, which spoofed local radio stations, and was developed by the same team.
It was written by Angus Deayton and Geoffrey Perkins, produced by Jamie Rix, directed by John Kilby and John Stroud, and with music by Philip Pope. The majority of the program's scripts had already aired on Radio Active.
The five key actors all performed various roles, some multiple, others on a single occasion. Their main characters as presenters were:
- Angus Deayton as Mike Channel
- Helen Atkinson-Wood as Anna Daptor
- Michael Fenton Stevens as Martin Brown
- Geoffrey Perkins as Mike Flex
- Philip Pope simply as The Continuity Announcer (not named)
The pilot show was broadcast on 12 May 1989, and a series of 6 programmes began on 3 May 1990. A second series of 6 began on 17 March 1992, and a final 6 episodes were broadcast between 17 September and 22 October 1993, plus an additional Children in Need special, for a total of 19 episodes.
In 1992 the series won the Silver Rose and the Special Prize of the City of Montreux at the Festival Rose d'Or for the "Good Morning Calais" episode. Also, in the DVD commentary for The Micallef Programme, lead writer and performer Shaun Micallef cites this series as an inspiration for his show's format.
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