Jungle Run - A Contestants Story

Jungle Run is a children's game show I remember watching with great fondness and occasional frustration. Often shouting at the TV in despair "HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO SLOT TOGETHER A FOUR PIECE JIGSAW PUZZLE!". But aside from that, wasn't it just an awesome show for children? The sets, the games, the music, just about everything!

Just to make you feel old as well. As mentioned in a previous blog post. Jungle Run started on CITV in 1999. Meaning that this year is the 20th anniversary of the show. Yes, really.

But curious old me has wondered for a long time, what the experience of actually being on the show was like. Thankfully for me, an episode of Jungle Run popped up on Youtube recently. Uploaded by one of the contestants featured. Who I contacted and he kindly agreed to answer my questions.

Dan Burridge was a contestant on the very first series of Jungle Run. Alongside his friends Emily, Addison and Hannah. When the show was presented by one half of Dick & Dom, Dominic Wood. Another notable difference is in the early shows, contestants didn't play games to collect miniature monkey statues. They collected bananas instead. But the rest of the format was basically the same.

How did you apply for the show?

We were part of a drama society called ‘Fairford Amateur Dramatics Society’ (FADS!). We had no idea about it, but I think our organisers had got in touch with the producers / must have responded to an advert or something, and we had some scouts come down to a rehearsal. We were more interested in fighting and sliding round on the floor really at that age, until they shortlisted a few of us and we went for a follow up meeting, which they then picked the final 4!  

What was your reaction when you were picked to be on Jungle Run?

Ever wanted to get that Hogwarts letter through the door? That's what it was like. I remember so vividly ripping it open before I could get upstairs to my room and reading it sat there. The letter had little yellow bananas around the edges. It was honestly one of the best days of my life haha. I'd never had anything like that happen to me before. I just couldn't believe it. 

Where was the show filmed? 

I can't remember the exact location but it was somewhere up north just off the M1 I think, as we stayed at my parents friends the night before in Cawthorne near Barnsley, it was a huge disused aircraft hangar from what I remember! (According to this tweet by Dom Wood. His series was filmed at Finningly Airfield in Doncaster.) 

What was your reaction upon seeing the set for the first time? 

Wasn't sure what to expect, but was definitely amazed as it was my first time seeing a TV/film set of any type before. All of the cliffs/rocks were made out of chicken wire and spray foam and hanging about 1cm off the floor! You could go up and shake a whole cliff face ha ha. The belly of The Temple of the Jungle King was all foam as well. If you actually got trapped in it, it would have crumbled around you. 

What was Dominic Wood like? 

An absolute diamond. Lovely lovely guy, made us feel really comfortable and relaxed as we were pretty nervous. Taught me how to do a lot of the magic tricks which I was trying to do for years after...

Did you see the people who played Sid and Elvis out of costume at all? No one knows who played them!

Absolutely! I can't remember their names but it was two very attractive girls haha... They had to stay in costume all day (they could take the heads off) so each had their own freezer to lie in in-between shots as they were so hot! I don't think it was anyone famous though, sorry to disappoint haha. They were a great laugh :)

How long did it take to film the episode?

So there was another team in the morning up until lunch, and that's when we had our sort of training 'dress rehearsal'. The other team had their training the afternoon of the previous day. Then we filmed our episode after lunch. Think it only took around 5-6 hours. The production team were extremely professional and rapid! 

Out of all the games you played. Which one was your favourite? 
Has to be the water one man... that pool/cavern thing was so cool. I was obsessed with swimming as a kid and I'd have LOVED that in my back garden ha ha. It was like an artificial tropical rainforest and was so deep you could do dives and backflips in to it etc. I think there were two divers out of shot for health and safety which was quite cool as well. 

You managed to get the golden banana in the pool challenge. How proud are you of that achievement?

Mostly - relieved! We all clocked it at the start, I was terrified I'd wasted all my jumps getting a total of 0 bananas because I was only going for the golden one. 

Luckily I managed it on my last try. I swear to god if it was 1mm further away I wouldn't have done it and it's not like I grabbed it either, only just managed to knock it off. I didn't know I had done it either, until I realised they were all shouting at me haha. My mates still take the piss to this day, but all in all I'm absolutely made up about it!

Your team did very well in the challenges. But struggled in The Temple Of The Jungle King. Was this disappointing? 

Right... here's the thing. I've watched that level we got stuck on 1000 times. (Which involved completing a puzzle of a Butterfly) I still wouldn't get it today. I honestly think the borders around the edges of those blocks were too thick and the gaps between each block were too wide as well. It was difficult to line up/work it out man! People have said to us it seemed pretty harsh. I think Dominic and the producers seemed to be a bit guilty / sheepish about it as well (Maybe we're just rubbish). We're quite gutted as that was only the second puzzle so we don't really know how difficult the rest of it was... Would have loved to at least have seen what the other puzzles were. We'll never know... Or am I imagining that? Do they show it on the episode maybe...

That second puzzle haunted me for months ha ha. I think we could have won a trip to Disneyland or something. We were only on the first series, but I think up until that point, we'd got the most amount of bananas anyone had ever got on the programme and the most amount of time anyone had in the temple... And we did the worst anyone has done in the temple yet! I remember looking at the camera I had won on the way home and basically using the whole film taking pictures out of the window thinking "You've failed Dan". Absolute anti climax!

Do you still own the camera you won and the Jungle Run sweatshirt and bag?

Camera is long gone but I still have the T shirt and bag! Never ever losing those. Won a few bets as well with people who didn't believe me until I shown them these. In hindsight I'm so glad with this merch, any other prizes would be a memory by now but I'll always have these :)

Any funny behind the scenes stories to tell? Anything which didn't make it into the final programme.

I do remember the swamp one, we had to redo the second half as I got carried away and told Sid or Elvis (can't remember which one) to f**k off when I was trying to get the bananas off the trees. Producers weren't too happy!

When the show aired. Were you the coolest kids in school? Did everyone watch it?

Not really! Perhaps a few slightly jealous mates I think and quite a few people thought that it was lame. The head teacher made us stand up in assembly and tell everyone about it. when it was airing etc. Pretty embarrassing! People were saying the catchphrases to us for years afterwards...

To this day. Do you still tell people you were on Jungle Run? Do people still think it's amazing?

When it comes up in conversation 100%! In response to your last question though - it's the opposite now - it's not really been talked about until about 3 years ago, when Addison managed to find the VHS and converted it to digital. We kept it secret due to embarrassment until about 6 months or so ago (I guess whenever you spotted the Youtube video!) when the demand from our mates (new people we'd all met at uni etc) got too high and we couldn't say no. This second wave of people definitely think it's amazing and never shut up about it now! It was just at the time people weren't bothered really. 

So after the dizzy heights of Television fame. What are you up to now?

We kept doing our pantomimes. I did actually audition to be Harry Potter and got called back to London twice, got in the final 16-20 or something, then the lady who was organising quit her job as she wasn't happy with any of us and the rest is history really haha. Now I am a venue booker for Wire and Hifi Club in Leeds (PS. Check my band Deadset Dream out). Emily is heavily involved in theatre and showbiz I think. Addison is a teacher and head of year. I don't actually know what Hannah does :/ 

Cheers Dan!

Dan's appearance on Jungle Run can be viewed here!

Zzzap! comes to Birmingham's MCM Comic Con.

Photo Credit: The Girl With The Glasses Cosplay

Once again it was time for MCM Comic Con to return to Birmingham's NEC during March. I had attended the previous one dressed as Neil Buchanan, complete with red Art Attack jumper and giant pencil. Made with toilet roll tubes, paper mache and paint. An effort I'm sure Neil would be proud of.

The cosplay actually went down a storm with numerous people approaching me for photos. A few people asked me if I remembered Zzzap! Not only do I remember the show. It's had a special place in my heart and nostalgic affections for quite some time. I watched it religiously back in the day. I'm still have to occasionally watch an episode now.

I was surprised I was asked as I didn't think many would remember the show. It finished in 2001 and hasn't had many repeats since. So the idea started brewing in my head.

The show had a few characters I'm sure you're aware. The natural choice after cosplaying as Neil would be his alter ego Smart Arty.

Now, I'm not a skilled costume maker, I haven't touched a sewing needle since primary school. So making a costume was a no and finding the right parts which look close to the real thing was difficult. Plus, someone else has already done a really good job.

So I chose Cuthbert Lilly. Complete with pink suit, yellow shirt and polka dot bow tie and pocket square. All of which were purchased easily online! The pink suit if you're wondering how to get one was available from Opposuits!

I also roped in a friend of mine to go as Daisy. She had to put up with me stressing for weeks that her costume looked right. But after much shopping around. We got there with a few days to spare.

I also created a comic for us to carry. I'd like to say I drew it free hand...that would be a bit of a lie. I actually traced it from the t-shirt available from Truffleshuffle which I own. But even that was a hard task. Tracing a t-shirt on to tracing paper. Imprinting it on to normal paper and then drawing the lines in with a pen before colouring.

I'm pleased to say the costume went down brilliantly with lots of good reactions and lots of pictures taken! Nice to hear from other people who enjoyed the show back when it was a staple of CITV's schedules.


On to the pictures!

As a Father Ted fan. These guys win it for me.

Photo Credit: Andrew English.

Jungle Run and My Parents Are Aliens Turn 20 This Year

Yes, you read the title correctly. Both Jungle Run and My Parents Are Aliens turn TWENTY YEARS OLD THIS YEAR.

Yes, I know it's not a photo with the original Sophie. I don't have one, sorry!

2019 is one of those years which despite only being three months in to at the time of writing. Has started to make me feel a bit old and not part of the young, hip and trendy crew (although some would argue I have never been hip or trendy).

2019 marked me turning a quarter of a century old. Which is still young frankly. But when so many elements of your childhood have started to turn two decades old. It becomes a bit depressing. For example one of my favourite childhood songs, Keep on Moving by Five. That hit the charts in November 1999.

Other little things as well from around that time...like children all around the country being addicted to Sunny Delight. Ah, simpler times!

Also I seemed to have a collection of those rubbish mini roll safes which didn't actually do anything to stop people robbing them.

Not only that but so many elements of my regular CITV watching that I remember, all happened twenty years ago. Such as the relaunch of Art Attack as Art Attack Twice Weekly (Which lasted all of five minutes before going back to the old format).

As well as Zzzap! having a lick of paint and an addition of a new character Minnie the Mini Magician. 

But what's even more scary, is two staple childhood shows of the Noughties. Both launched in 1999. One in September and the other November. Jungle Run and My Parents Are Aliens you could argue were some of the biggest kids TV shows in the UK during their time and are still fondly remembered. Both shows ended in 2006 but repeats continued for way longer.

Original Jungle Run host, Dominic Wood. Who presented
the first two series.

I'll have to try and some special posts about both shows over the course of the year. So far I have nothing planned. I'll at the very least, write in more detail, my memories of both.

Jack's Throwback Attack Podcast (Episode 6) - A Chat With Nikky Smedley (Teletubbies)

Or alternatively you can find the interview on Youtube.

Once again, it's interview time again. This one was actually recorded some time ago and I've only finally got round to uploading it. It's a chat with Nikky Smedley. Who worked with the fantastic Ragdoll Productions for 10 years. Most famously, playing Laa Laa in the original series of Teletubbies between 1997-2001. After that, she worked behind the scenes on the choreography and direction of Boobah and In The Night Garden. 

Teletubbies I think is one of those shows that anyone of a certain age will remember watching. Even people who were parents at the time, will probably never forget the impact the show had. It became Ragdoll Productions most internationally successful show worldwide. I, for one. Remember really wanting a Tubby Custard Machine!

In the chat, we discuss her background in dancing and choreography and how she got the role in Teletubbies. Alongside how physically demanding playing Laa Laa was. With an update on her current activities.

Nikky Smedley (Laa Laa), Pui Fan Lee (Po),
Simon Shelton (Tinky Winky) and John Simmit (Dipsy)

Nikky's website can be found here and you can also follow her on Twitter.

Enjoy!

10 Lesser Remembered Retro Kids TV Shows

One of the things I enjoy writing about are those old kids TV shows which are perhaps not as widely remembered as the likes of Art Attack, Fun House or Tots TV. The shows where you feel like you're the only person who saw them or remembers them.

Here is a list of 10 such shows for me. I plan to write a few of these lists eventually and write about most of the shows featured in more details. There are bound to be some online nostalgia enthusiasts out there, like me. Who do remember these shows. But I like to think these have been forgotten by the wider general public at least.

10. Crazy Cottage (CITV 1996-1998)

Barmy kids gameshow which ran for three series on CITV. Two teams of kids played games with a backwards or back to front gimmick in the various rooms of the Crazy Cottage. Presented at first by The Big Breakfast host Rick Adams and later by Jez Edwards. Who went on to present Saturday morning show Mashed. 

9.  It's a Mystery (CITV 1996-2002)

Nothing to do with Toyah Wilcox. Investigative show presented by Neil Buchanan and a range of different co-hosts. Which explored the world of paranormal and strange goings on. Trying to solve some of the UK's biggest mysteries. The show was renamed as Mystery for it's final series. With Steve Wilson and Shiarra Juthan taking over hosting duties.

8. Jamboree (CITV 1998-2000)

Pre-school educational programme presented by children's television legend Floella Benjamin and a series of Tweenies style characters called The Bopkins.

7. Insides Out (CBBC 1999-2000)

Gameshow centred around body parts and bodily functions. With tons of gunge thrown in for good measure. Presented by Mark Speight and Marsali Stewart alongside Otis The Aardvark.

6. Snug & Cozi (CITV 1996-1997)

Comedy slapstick series about two clumsy spacemen who accidentally crash land on earth and have to adapt to human life. Causing chaos wherever they go. Much to the annoyance of the people around them.

5. Beachcomber Bay (Milkshake 2001-2003)

Puppet series set on a boat (which always seemed to be in dry dock and never actually in the sea). Featuring Salty Dog, Sam the Seagull and Bertha (A cat). Alongside co-host Jenny played by Casey-Lee Jolleys. 

4. Cats Eyes (CBBC 1994-1995. Repeated until 2003)

Part of BBC's educational schools programmes but often shown on CBBC in the mornings. You wouldn't think a back alley pizza shop would be the setting for a show about Science. Featuring cats Jimmy and Juke and pizza shop owner Alf. Played by Rowland Rivron. 

3. Pump It Up (CITV 1999-2000)

Awesome gameshow centred around inflatables. Featuring a large assault course at the end. Oh and like every kids gameshow of the time. Lots of gunge had to be featured. Presented throughout by Andy Collins. Joined in the first series by Julia Bradbury and in the second by Fearne Cotton. The show only got two series. A shame. 

2. Twister (CITV 2001)

Another gameshow! (I seemed to watch a lot of them). A show which was basically like Fun House but on a smaller budget (well it was the exact same production crew). Featuring gunge fueled games, a race around the studio on mini quad bikes and a race around a large play area. With lots of cheap looking weather CGI effects dubbed on during the games. Fronted by Nigel Mitchell. 

1. Bug Alert! (GMTV Kids 1996-1997. Channel 4 2000)

Wonderfully surreal series about a group of "ugly bugs" that live inside someones kitchen and only come out then they are gone (Someone call Rentokil). Featured songs, makes, sketches, jokes. That kind of thing. 

So there's ten lesser remembered kids TV shows from the 90's and 00's. I'll definitely compile a few more lists over time as there's tons more shows that I remember that could qualify. Watch this space!

Hard to find nostalgic oddities

One of the things I liked to do on this blog is take a retrospective look at children's television shows from my childhood which have fallen in to the realms of obscurity. The only problem is, there are occasionally shows out there which I first saw something like 20+ years ago and there's little to no footage or information out there on the internet.

There are two 90's CITV shows which fall in to this.

The first one is It's Not Fair. A CITV gameshow which ran for a single series in 1997. Shown in the middle of Saturday morning show Scratchy & Co. The fairground themed show was hosted by Mike McClean and co-hosts Candy & Floss. One of whom was portrayed by Andrea Green who would later go on to host continuity links on CITV in 2000.

My only real memory of this show featured the contestants doing some kind of assault course which I seem to remember involved going down a slide in to a ball pool.

The only footage available online at the time of writing is via the CITV 20th Anniversary Birthday Bash where a few short clips were shown.

The second being an even more obscure show is Energize. A sports themed children's gameshow which aired on CITV for one series in 1999. It's surprising that I watched this show as I have never really taken a keen interest in sport. It was presented by athlete Jamie Baulch and according to the UKGameshows.com article. Three teams compete in a range of challenges, such as an archery competition, as well as battling it out on the Energize Challenge Course.

The one vivid mental image I have of this show is at the the very end of each episode. Where the winning team would crack open a bottle of fizzy pop (in the same way a Formula 1 driver would with champagne) and proceed to spray it all over Jamie.

All that exists online is two low res images.

If you can help out with footage or memories of these shows. Let me know!