It'll be Alright on the Night
Encyclopedia
It'll be Alright on the Night is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 television bloopers show screened on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 and produced by London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...

. It was one of the first shows created with the specific purpose of showing behind the scenes bloopers from film and TV and it has been running since 18 September 1977. Denis Norden
Denis Norden
Denis Mostyn Norden CBE is a former English comedy writer and television presenter. After an early career working in cinemas, he began scriptwriting during World War II. From 1948 to 1959, he co-wrote the successful BBC Radio comedy programme Take It from Here with Frank Muir...

 was the host from 1977 to 2006 and Griff Rhys Jones
Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...

 took over in 2008.

Format

The show is usually one hour in length and aired in ITV's Saturday evening entertainment slot. However, some of the first few episodes up to and including It'll be Alright on the Night 6, which aired in 1990, originally went out on a Sunday evening. Two episodes also debuted on a Friday: It'll be Alright on the Night 3 on Christmas Day 1981 and It'll be Alright on the Night 5 on Christmas Day 1987.

The shows followed a simple format. Norden, traditionally holding his trademark clipboard
Clipboard
A clipboard is a thin, rigid board with a clip at the top for holding paper in place. A clipboard is typically used to support paper with one hand while writing on it with the other, especially when other writing surfaces are not available.-Other uses:...

 in his hand, appears on an otherwise empty stage and delivers a humorous piece to camera, followed by a selection of outtakes taken from various sources. Popular sources for clips include numerous British and American sitcoms, news reports
News broadcasting
News broadcasting is the broadcasting of various news events and other information via television, radio or internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or television studio newsroom, or by a broadcast network...

 and foreign broadcasts may or may not include explanatory subtitles.

The show returned in September 2008 with new host Griff Rhys Jones, who to date has presented two editions. Two new editions are scheduled for broadcast in December 2011 on ITV1.

Episodes

Show Name Original airdate Ratings (Episode Viewing figures from BARB
Barb
Barb may refer to:* A backward-facing point on a fish hook or similar implement, rendering extraction from the victim's flesh more difficult* Wind barbs for each station on a map of reported weather conditions...

).
It'll be Alright on the Night
18 September 1977
??
It'll be Alright on the Night 2
28 October 1979
??
The Worst of Alright on the Night
28 September 1980
19,920,000
It'll be Alright on the Night 3
25 December 1981
??
It'll be Alright on the Night 4
11 March 1984
??
It'll be Alright Late at Night (*)
11 July 1985
??
The Second Worst of Alright on the Night
24 November 1985
??
It'll be Alright on the Night 5 (**)
25 December 1987
17,950,000
10 Years of It'll be Alright on the Night
1988
??
It'll be Alright on the Night 6
1 December 1990
17,920,000
It'll be Alright on the Night 7
2 January 1993
??
The Utterly Worst of Alright on the Night
10 April 1994
??
The Kids from Alright on the Night
26 November 1994
??
It'll be Alright on the Night 8
10 December 1994
14,890,000
Alright on the Night's Cockup Trip
12 October 1996
??
It'll be Alright on the Night 10
29 November 1997
??
21 Years of Alright on the Night
24 January 1998
??
It'll be Alright on the Night 11
2 October 1999
10,120,000
It'll be Alright on the Night 12
27 January 2001
9,170,000
It'll be Alright on Election Night
7 June 2001
6,770,000
It'll be Alright on the Night 13
17 August 2001
6,610,000
It'll be Alright on the Night 15 (***)
14 September 2002
8,110,000
More Kids from It'll be Alright on the Night
28 September 2002
5,610,000
Alright on the Night's All-Star Special
31 August 2003
9,630,000
It'll be Alright on the Night 16
6 September 2003
5,530,000
It'll be Alright on the Night 18
2 October 2004
6,890,000
It'll be Alright on the Night 19
24 December 2004
5,840,000
Alright on the Night's 50 Years of ITV
17 September 2005
6,280,000
It'll be Alright on the Night 20
18 March 2006
5,320,000
It'll be Alright on the Night
20 September 2008
4,300,000
It'll be Alright on the Night
25 December 2008
3,990,000

  • (*) - originally transmitted on Channel 4; was first shown on ITV on 29 June 1986.
  • (**) - original transmission was billed as It'll be Alright on Christmas Night.
  • (***) - original transmission was billed as Alright on the Night's Silver Jubilee Special.

Broadcasting

Despite being a staple of ITV's light entertainment
Light entertainment
Light entertainment is a term used to describe a broad range of usually televisual performances. These include comedies, variety shows, quiz/game shows, sketch shows and people/surprise shows.-Light entertainment in Britain:...

 programming for nearly 30 years, comparatively few episodes of It'll be Alright on the Night were produced, with rarely more than one new episode a year being screened. Episodes included a number in their title screens to aid identification with the audience. The last new episode to be aired was It'll be Alright on the Night, aired on Christmas Day 2008 and presented by Griff Rhys Jones
Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...

.

During its run, several special episodes were also made, including anniversary
Anniversary
An anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event...

 specials, "late night" versions with less family-friendly content and a one-off 2001 election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...

 edition.

The majority of the episodes were filmed at The London Studios
The London Studios
The London Studios is a television studio complex which is owned by London Weekend Television and has been home to the London Weekend ITV provider since 1972...

, but in the show's later years, Granada
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....

's studios in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 were also used, as well as the now-closed Meridian
Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....

 studios at Northam, Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

. A few episodes were filmed on-location; most notably, Alright on the Night's Cockup Trip which was presented from the Great Cockup
Great Cockup
Great Cockup is a fell in the northern region of the English Lake District, one of the four Uldale Fells .- Description :...

 fell in the Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...

, and It'll be Alright on the Night 11 which was presented from an empty Haymarket Theatre
Haymarket Theatre
The Theatre Royal Haymarket is a West End theatre in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use...

, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

During its run, the series has had three main producers: Paul Smith (1977-1984), Paul Lewis (1984-2002) and Simon Withington (2003-2006). Sean Miller and James Sunderland also produced some episodes. Grant Philpott is currently Series Producer for two new editions due to air in December 2011.

Denis Norden's Laughter File

The series also inspired the spin-off show Denis Norden's Laughter File, which started on 22 September 1991 and ran until 13 May 2006. Although it followed largely the same format as its sister show, while It'll be Alright on the Night focused solely on bloopers/outtakes, Laughter File also screened clips that included pranks and practical jokes.
  • Denis Norden's Laughter File (22 September 1991)
  • Denis Norden's 2nd Laughter File (4 October 1997)
  • Denis Norden's 3rd Laughter File (5 December 1998)
  • Denis Norden's 4th Laughter File (16 October 1999)
  • Denis Norden's 5th Laughter File (30 September 2000)
  • Denis Norden's 6th Laughter File (15 October 2001)
  • Denis Norden's 7th Laughter File 2002
  • Denis Norden's 8th Laughter File 2003
  • Denis Norden's 9th Laughter File (4 October 2003)
  • Denis Norden's Christmas Laughter File (27 December 2003)
  • Denis Norden's 11th Laughter File 2004
  • Denis Norden's 12th Laughter File 2005
  • Denis Norden's All New 13th Laughter File (13 May 2006)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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