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The topic of this page has a wikia of it's own: SMTV Live Wikia.

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The topic of this page has a wikia of it's own: Ant & Dec Wikia.

SMTV Live logo


SMTV Live (an abbreviation of Saturday Morning Television Live), also written SM:TV Live and in early promotional material SMTV://live, was a British Saturday morning children's television programme, first broadcast on ITV on 29 August 1998 and last broadcast on 27 December 2003.

Plot[]

On the surface, the programme did not seem to stray away from the format of other Saturday morning output, featuring an audience of children, competitions and cartoons, though it constantly won in ratings battles with the BBC's Live & Kicking and became ITV's most successful children's programme since Tiswas.

At the height of its popularity, SMTV Live regularly attracted 2.5 million viewers. Ant & Dec's company Gallowgate currently owns the rights to the show.

Format[]

SMTV Live operated on a live-television format for its timeslot on Saturday. Alongside the involvement of audience of children and celebrity guests - including bands - the programme mostly consisted of studio segments that were interwoven around regular children programming used during the show's over 2-hour timeslot. Studio segments frequently featured sketches by the presenters, competitions (including phone-ins), and other features.

Programming[]

Children's programming featured on SMTV Live consisted of two categories - cartoons and live-action programmes:

  • Cow and Chicken (1998–1999)
  • The Angry Beavers (1998)
  • Sabrina the Teenage Witch (various runs from 1998 to 2003)
  • Dexter's Laboratory (1998–1999)
  • Power Rangers in Space (briefly in 1999)
  • Pokémon (1999 to 2001 & 2003)
  • Digimon (season 1 and briefly 2 only) (2000–2002)
  • Men in Black: The Series (1998–1999)
  • Bernard's Watch (2001)
  • My Parents Are Aliens (2001)
  • Clueless (2001–2002)
  • Starstreet (2001)
  • Popstars Ireland (2002)
  • Hey Arnold! (2002)
  • The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2002-2003)
  • Sitting Ducks (2002)
  • SpongeBob SquarePants (2003)
  • The Flintstones (2003)
  • Girls in Love (2003)
  • That's So Raven (2003)
  • All Grown Up! (2003)

Sketches[]

Presenters often conducted a variety of sketches on the programme during SMTV Live's broadcast. Most were performed by McPartlin and Donnelly, with assistance from Deeley, with many often being parodies of programmes being aired between 1998 - 2003. The most prominent sketches used on the programme included:

  • "Dec Says" - The sketch revolved around Donnelly answering a letter from a fictional viewer about a personal problem in which he would recount how he handled a similar issue in the past. However, the scene would often be depicted in a flashback recalled differently by McPartlin. The "real story" featured Donnelly portrayed as an inconsiderate, cheeky schoolboy referred to as "Downright Dirty Donnelly" who often got into trouble with the relevant problem, often with a character portrayed by the celebrity guest(s) for that week's episode. Deeley often appeared, portraying herself as a schoolgirl with very messy hair, huge teeth, and a strong Birmingham accent (an example of the accent being the line "it's ever so different from Bir-ming-ham!") who was referred to as "Cat the Dog", while McPartlin occasionally appeared, portrayed as an overweight boy who ate huge amounts of food and referred to as "Gi-ant".
  • The sketch later was renamed as "The Secret of My Success", though always opening around a badly selling book that Dec had written. After McPartlin and Donnelly left the programme, the sketch was revised under a new title of "The Further Adventures of Cat the Dog" in which the flashback scenes were often opened and ended with Cat writing in her diary about the events of the day.
  • "Chums" - A parody of the American sitcom Friends, the sketch involved Donnelly and Deeley involved in a romance, dealing with McPartlin and a serious problem, often joined by the celebrity guest(s) for that week's episode either as themselves or a character. The sketch was noted for opening on a parody version of the line "... is filmed in front of a live studio audience", and ending on a "freeze-frame" moment (a homage to the closing sequences of Police Squad!). Although the sketch acted a serial, plotlines were stand-alone and never interconnected, with the exception of the fictional romance between Donnelly and Deeley. The sketch later spawned a VHS compilation and weekday repeats as part of CITV. Chums continued for a few weeks after the departure of Ant & Dec, but finished quickly. However, during SM:TV Gold, no mention was made of this period and they treated Ant & Dec's departure episode as the last. In March 2021, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its final episode, "Chums" was revived for a one-off live episode as part of the "End-of-the-Show Show" on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.
  • "PokéRap" and "Pokéfight" - These sketches were based upon the programme's regularly featured broadcasts of Pokémon, and were conducted primarily by McPartlin and Donnelly between 1998 and 2001. The rap sketches mainly involved the pair acting as rappers and conducting raps that featured the names of various Pokémon, while each wearing a knitted Pokémon jumper that featured both Pikachu and their own name upon it. The feature later developed with the addition of a weekly letters' segment with viewers sending in their own raps (mostly via home video), and the eventual participation of the celebrity guest(s) for that week's episode.
  • The fight sketch also mainly involved McPartlin and Donnelly, and was the creation of the show's writers after being inspired by the cartoon series. The presenters portrayed different parody version of the anime's main characters, in which they fought using "Pokémon" named after the moves they performed on each other - an example of this was "Embarrassmon" which involved one dueller telling a secret about the other, which damaged their health as a result. The sketch often involved a graphic overlay, that was reminiscent of the video game of Pokémon.
  • "Eminemmerdale" - A parody of the American rapper Eminem and the Yorkshire Television soap opera Emmerdale
  • "Play Your Hits Right" - A parody of the British game show Play Your Cards Right, The sketch involved Dowling hosting a music-oriented show, Dealing with Daly and her problems, Often joined by the celebrity contestant(s) for that week's episode either as themselves or the host. The sketch was noted for Brian Dowling saying the phrase "It's nice to see you, To see you, To see you, Nice!", and ending with the credits (a homage to the closing sequences of Bruce's Price is Right). Although the sketch acted a serial, plotlines were stand-alone and never interconnected, with the exception of the fictional double-act between Dowling and Daly . The sketch later spawned a VHS compilation and weekday repeats as part of CITV. Play Your Hits Right continued for a few weeks after the departures of both Brian Dowling and Tess Daly, but finished quickly. However, during SM:TV Gold, no mention was made of this period and they treated both Brian & Tess' departure episodes as the last. In March 2023, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its final episode, "Play Your Hits Right" was revived for a one-off live episode as part of the "End-of-the-Show Show" on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.
  • "Tess' Price is Right" - A parody of the British game show Bruce's Price is Right, The sketch involved Daly hosting a game show, Dealing with Dowling and his problems, Often joined by the celebrity contestant(s) for that week's episode either as themselves or the host. The sketch was noted for Tess Daly saying the phrase "It's nice to see you, To see you, To see you, Nice!", and ending with the credits (a homage to the closing sequences of Play Your Cards Right). Although the sketch acted a serial, plotlines were stand-alone and never interconnected, with the exception of the fictional double-act between Daly and Dowling. The sketch later spawned a VHS compilation and weekday repeats as part of CITV. Tess' Price is Right continued for a few weeks after the departure of Tess Daly, but finished quickly. However, during SM:TV Gold, no mention was made of this period and they treated Daly's departure episode as the last. In March 2023, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its final episode, "Tess' Price is Right" was revived for a one-off live episode as part of the "End-of-the-Show Show" on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.
  • "Truce Forsyth's Generation Frame" - A parody of the British game show Bruce Forsyth's Generation Game, The sketch involved Watkins hosting a picture-oriented show, Dealing with Richards and her problems, Often joined by the celebrity contestant(s) for that week's episode either as themselves or the host. The sketch was noted for Ian Watkins saying the phrase "It's nice to see you, To see you, To see you, Nice!", and ending with the credits (a homage to the closing sequences of Name That Tune). Although the sketch acted a serial, plotlines were stand-alone and never interconnected, with the exception of the fictional double-act between Watkins and Richards lll. The sketch later spawned a VHS compilation and weekday repeats as part of CITV. Play Your Hits Right continued for a few weeks after their departures, but finished quickly. However, during SM:TV Gold, no mention was made of this period and they treated both H & Claire's departure episode as the last. In March 2023, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its final episode, "Truce Forsyth's Generation Frame" was revived for a one-off live episode as part of the "End-of-the-Show Show" on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.

Main features[]

Alongside sketches, the programme also featured a mixture of competitions - both phone-ins and studio-based - and other segments. Competition prizes differed from those offered by other Saturday morning children's programmes, by including more valuable items on offer including holidays. Amongst these segments that were used, the most notable included:

  • "Postbag" - A segment for reading out viewer fan mail, which often began with the presenters, guests and audience dancing to the song "Please Mr. Postman" by The Carpenters. The segment featured three notable events during the tenure of McPartlin and Donnelly:
    • During the episode broadcast on 1 April 2000, Donnelly pulled off an April Fool's joke by pretending to be slightly ill when opening the Mailbag segment and passing out unconscious. A few seconds after this, the programme moved towards airing the second half of a cartoon, before later returning after a commercial break to Donnelly revealing the truth. A later interview with both himself and McPartlin later revealed the joke had been devised to coincide with the date but had been unplanned and frowned upon by ITV.
    • McPartlin once had to read out a rather crude anecdote, that caused him to fall into uncontrollable laughing alongside his co-presenter. The incident later was retained as a clip on the consideration that it appeared to be in the similar format of an "outtake".
    • One letter sent to the presenters concerned the pronunciation of the word "Pokémon" and asked that it be pronounced as "Po-KAY-mon". However, when the second half of the Pokémon episode "Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village" and included the pronunciation the presenters had used, Donnelly paused the broadcast to review the moment before making a small rant to camera about the letter and then ripping it up before allowing the episode to resume. It was not made clear if the incident had been a stunt and intended to make a point on the subject.
  • Magic - Many episodes featured the guest appearance of various magicians, who conducted small and large-scale illusions on the programme. These illusions often involved the participation of Deeley as an assistant, in which she commonly was involved in the "Sawing a woman in half" illusion. After Deeley left in 2002, her replacement Tess Daly took over to act as assistant on later illusions performed on SMTV Live.
  • "Wonkey Donkey" - A phone-in competition for viewers to partake in, which operated in a similar manner to that of Catchphrase, but required contestants to answer with two words that rhymed together to match the object they showed - a golden rule of the competition. For example, the game's name itself of "Wonkey Donkey" pertained to describe the state of a small toy donkey which had one leg missing. Before contestants began, the presenters would showcase something similar, before taking calls from up to five viewers. Donnelly frequently often ranted in "anger" to camera when a young contestant couldn't get the answer, with the game often notable for featuring presenters using the catchphrase of "It's gotta rhyme!" As a rule, if none of the callers answered correctly, the competition would roll over to the next week - if after three weeks, no one had answered correctly, the object involved would be abandoned for a new one. The competition itself remained notable in ITV, receiving a mock version on Britain's Got More Talent and Celebrity Juice.
  • "Challenge Ant" - A studio competition in which one of the young audience members would be challenged by Donnelly to give McPartlin ten questions they had prepared, usually based on that week's showbiz news. Each question he failed to answer correctly within a time-limit of ten seconds would result in the child winning a prize. After the ten questions had been given, Donnelly would offer the contestant a chance to gamble their prizes on a star prize, in which they asked McPartlin a further question - if answered incorrectly, the contestant would win all their prizes, but if answered correctly, the prizes and star prize would be put up for offer in a viewers' competition. Later episodes later gave the child contestant a consolation prize of a handkerchief reading "I lost on Challenge Ant", along with celebrity editions of the contest.
  • After McPartlin and Donnelly left the programme, Deeley took over the contest under the title of Brian's Brain", challenging children to defeat Brian Dowling under the same format, with Daly taking over in 2002.
  • "Eat My Goal" - A phone-in competition in which viewers chose a celebrity, who would proceed to take penalties against McPartlin in goal while Donnelly hosted the contest. The format was amended with Dowling as the goalkeeper in 2001, with Daly and later Stephen Mulhern hosting the competition. In 2003, the format was changed to a different celebrity each week representing two teams taking it in turns to be goalkeeper.
  • "Facts Game" - Played since 2009.
  • "Prankety Prank" - Hosted by Ian "H" Watkins' drag queen persona Jody Savage, Jody hosts the game show where they guess the pranks that were played.
  • "Fame That Tune" – Hosted by Truce Gyngell, This is a parody of the American/British/Australian format Name That Tune.

CD:UK[]

After the broadcast of an episode of SMTV Live, the episode was followed by the broadcast of CD:UK (an abbreviation of CountDown United Kingdom). The programme took place within the same studio and with the same presenters, and operated on its own live-television format, featuring bands in the UK Singles Chart, music videos, and interviews with famous music stars. The programme continued long after SMTV Live concluded, finally ending in April 2006.

Media releases[]

Gallery[]

External links[]


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