...but they wouldn't let me

Harry Hill said he tried to revive kids’ TV show Crackerjack – but was knocked back by broadcast bosses.

The manic game show ran for 29 series On BBC One  between 1955 and 1984,  and featured stars such as  Eamonn Andrews, Max Bygraves, Leslie Crowther, Ed ‘Stewpot’ Stewart Don Maclean, Michael Aspel and The Krankies.

But it is one regular in particular that inspired Hill.

‘I tried to bring back Crackerjack but they wouldn’t let me,’ the 58-year-old comic told Bella magazine. ‘I’m a big fan of Basil Brush.’

When Hill launched his own children’s TV show, Shark Infested Custard, in 2005 he likened it to the long-running classic.

‘It’s like a Crackerjack sort of thing - there are game show elements, gags, some silly sketches and a big finale,’ he said at the time.

Crackerjack was revived in 2000 for CBBC, with presenting duo Sam & Mark at the helm, but was cancelled after two series. The pair were Hill’s co-hosts on Junior Bake-Off – and the comedian was speaking to Bella to promote that show’s return next week.

Hill also revealed in the interview that he got a Baga 4 award for proficiency in gymnastics when he was a child.

Published: 12 Jan 2023