| Going Live! | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Children's |
| Presented by | |
| Starring |
|
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 179 |
| Production | |
| Production location | BBC Television Centre[1] |
| Running time | 165–195 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC1 |
| Release | 26 September 1987 (1987-9-26) – 17 April 1993 (1993-4-17) |
Going Live! is a Britishchildren's television series that aired onBBC1 from 26 September 1987 to 17 April 1993. It was presented byPhillip Schofield andSarah Greene. Other presenters includedTrevor and Simon,Annabel Giles,Phillip Hodson,Emma Forbes, Nick Ball, James Hickish andMark Chase.
In 1988, when the second series started, Greene was hurt in a helicopter crash with her then boyfriend, who subsequently became her husband,Mike Smith.[2] Guest presenters stood in for her includingT'Pau'sCarol Decker.[3] Similarly, in 1992–93 during the final series, Schofield was starring inJoseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and was unable to present the show. A third presenter took his place. Originally, then Australian soapNeighbours actorKristian Schmid took the role but soon left after problems with his work permit.[3] Various other celebrities who stood in includedShane Richie andRobbie Williams during hisTake That days.[3]
Some of the cartoons shown duringGoing Live! includedSpider-Man,Thunderbirds 2086,ThunderCats,The Raccoons,Star Wars: Droids,Muppet Babies,Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light,Defenders of the Earth,Fantastic Max,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,Attack of the Killer Tomatoes,Dungeons & Dragons,Alvin and the Chipmunks, andThe Pirates of Dark Water.
Double Dare was presented byPeter Simon, and it was best known for Simon to fall, during the final round, into theGunge. It was replaced in later series ofGoing Live!, first byClockwise, presented byDarren Day, and then byRun the Risk, which was again presented by Simon. The latter of these shows continued ontoLive & Kicking.
Phillip Hodson provided 'agony uncle' advice to young callers on diverse and often difficult topics inGrowing Pains. The topics ranged from love troubles and general teenage angst, to more severe topics such aschild abuse andAIDS, which were uncharacteristically deep issues for a Saturday morning youth programme.
In this segment, the show's producers would arrange for popular musical groups and performers to pay surprise visits to their fans.
The big set-piece interview at the end of each programme, featuring questions from both the studio audience and from phone callers. These were often with politicians, high-ranking executives in the BBC, or people who had made a notable achievement (e.g. sports people who had success at the Olympics).
This was a phone-in section where the viewing public were encouraged to cast their opinions on the popular music videos of the time, which were then shown according to popularity.
These two anchormen (who were essentially clowns) provided light-hearted humour and character comedy. Popular characters played by the duo included:
They were replaced in series five by Nick Ball and James Hickish, but returned for the last series.
Going Live! had their own section on the BBC'sIt Started With Swap Shop[4] featuring classic clips of the show. It is presented as elevator employees recalling favoured parts of the show.
In 1992, the show's opening sequence of a 'colourbars army preparing to Go Live', was nominated for aBafta Award,[5] created by the BBC Design team consisting of Morgan Almeida, Mark Knight and Paul Baguley.
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 September 1987[6] | 16 April 1988[7] | 30 |
| 2 | 8 October 1988[8] | 15 April 1989[9] | 28 |
| 3 | 23 September 1989[10] | 14 April 1990[11] | 30 |
| 4 | 22 September 1990[12] | 13 April 1991[13] | 30 |
| 5 | 21 September 1991[14] | 18 April 1992[15] | 31 |
| 6 | 26 September 1992[16] | 17 April 1993[17] | 30 |