Jigsaw (1)

Contents

Host

Adrian Hedley (all series)

Janet Ellis (1979-83)

Co-hosts

Character voices: John Leeson

David Cleveland and David Wyatt (Cid Sleuth section, 1979-81)

Chris Emmett (1980)

"The 'O' Men": Sylvester McCoy and David Rappaport (1980-84)

Wilf Lunn (1980-84)

Tommy Boyd (1981)

"Dot": Julia Binsted (1983-4)

Paul Shearer (1984)

Howard Stableford (final series, 1984)

Broadcast

BBC Bristol for BBC1, 16 July 1979 to 15 June 1984 (50 episodes in 6 series)

Synopsis

Viewer participation competition where the object each week to identify a six-letter word.

Janet Ellis and Adrian Hedley

Each letter would be identified via a sketch of some variety, which nearly always included some brilliant miming by host Adrian Hedley. At the end of the programme, Mr Noseybonk (a man - Hedley in disguise, of course - wearing a really quite scary mask with a very, very long nose and a pair of ill-fitting trousers) would run around a park or some such location, with some jaunty background-music, looking at different objects - the first letters of these prominent objects being the answer to the write-in competition.

Mr Noseybonk

In the early series there would be a sketch involving inept detective "Cid Sleuth", and other characters included the O-Men (Sylvester McCoy and David Rappaport), Biggum the Scottish giant - all you ever saw of him was his sandals - and Pterry the pterodactyl. After Janet Ellis left to join Blue Peter, Julia Binsted provided a replacement of sorts as "Dot", a character who changed from a silver dot on the screen into a human and could manipulate the visual elements of the show.

Jig (foreground) reveals the six-letter word

Reprised to an extent with See it, Saw it.

Inventor

Devised by Clive Doig.

Theme music

The original theme music was a collaboration between Martin Cook and Richard Denton. The theme tune was changed in 1984 with Martin Cook composing on his own.

Web links

Wikipedia entry

Opening titles from 1979 and 1983 in the BBC Motion Graphics Archive

See also

Weaver's Week reflections

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