| Fully Booked | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | FBi |
| Genre | Children's |
| Presented by | Zoe Ball(1995) Grant Stott(1995–97) Paul Brophy(1995–97) Sarah Vandenbergh(1996–97) Gail Porter(1998) Chris Jarvis(1998–99) Tim Vincent(1998–99) Kate Heavenor(1999–2000) Keith Duffy(2000) Vernon Kay(2000) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 133 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 120–180 minutes |
| Production company | BBC Scotland |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC1(1995, 2000) BBC2(1996–99) |
| Release | 22 April 1995 (1995-4-22) – 23 September 2000 (2000-9-23) |
Fully Booked, later retitledFBi, is a Britishchildren's television series produced byBBC Scotland and broadcast from 22 April 1995 to 23 September 2000.
The first series is presented byZoe Ball andGrant Stott, and set in a fictionalhotel. The presenters were joined by actor Paul Brophy, who appeared as a series of comic characters (such as 'Jan Van der Vall', 'Les Vegas' and 'Wee Alistair McAlistair'), and by a large puppet, a talkingHighland cow named Morag who was the hotel'sreceptionist.
The second series had Ball being replaced by ex-Neighbours starSarah Vandenbergh, due to the former's promotion to co-hostingLive & Kicking. Stott, along with Brophy's characters and Morag, all returned. This series was not broadcast live but was 'recorded as-live', meaning that it was recorded in one session with no editing and broadcast as if it were a continuous live show (though without any live interactivity). This format was also used for the third series.
Due to thedeath ofDiana, Princess of Wales in the early hours of 31 August 1997, the edition ofFully Booked recorded for broadcast that morning was postponed, ultimately airing as part of theCBBC morning schedule onBBC Two on 2 September at 7:30am.
The fourth series had a new logo, title sequence and set introduced, along with a remix of the theme music. The presenters and characters of the show's previous incarnation were all removed, with a new presentation team consisting ofChris Jarvis,Gail Porter andTim Vincent. The show continued to use the magazine format, with guests, games, features, inserts and music; however, the 'hotel' gimmick was largely dropped in favour of relatively straightforward magazine presentation.
The fifth series continued in this new format, but withGail Porter having decided to quit kids' TV,Kate Heavenor was brought in to replace her. Heavenor had previously been presenting programmes forBBC Choice, and was one of the first presenters to graduate from a digital BBC channel to a show on one of the mainstream terrestrial channels.
The show gained a reputation for allowing alternative bands to perform alongside the mainstream pop acts, and booked groups includingElectrasy,Shed Seven,Catatonia,The Dandys andSt. Etienne to appear during this era.
The sixth and final series was replaced by a new live series. A new studio set, title music and graphics were introduced to tie in with the retitled nameFBi.
The show was still hosted by Kate Heavenor, butChris Jarvis andTim Vincent were not involved, and were replaced byVernon Kay (previously a presenter on digital channelUK Play) and formerBoyzone memberKeith Duffy.
The show had a similar mixed-magazine format to its predecessors, but aimed to increase the level of live interactivity by encouraging viewers to take part in the show via the internet,email,text messaging and telephone. Viewers were given the opportunity to take part in games and features and submit questions for studio guests.
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 April 1995[1] | 16 September 1995[2] | 22 |
| 2 | 21 April 1996[3] | 15 September 1996[4] | 22 |
| 3 | 27 April 1997[5] | 21 September 1997[6] | 22 |
| 4 | 26 April 1998[7] | 19 September 1998[8] | 22 |
| 5 | 25 April 1999[9] | 19 September 1999[10] | 22 |
| 6 | 22 April 2000[11] | 23 September 2000[12] | 23 |