The 1996 Big Breakfast relaunch is now cemented in history as being an unmitigated disaster. However, I do think that people somewhat look at it from the wrong perspective. I have to hold my hand up and say that I was horrified by it when it was originally broadcast. I was most upset about the destruction of the lovely Grade II Lock Keepers Cottages (Which I was once told on a visit to the house that the work had been carried out without permission and the council were furious.). Rick was a second rate Chris Evans impersonator (Sorry Rick.), Sharron demonstrated that she could indeed go out of her depth (Sorry Sharron.) and the whole thing had been completely stripped of its punkish anarchic fun, replaced by a dull middle class lifestyle magazine. But I think you have to look at what had brought the show to that point. Chris Evans' departure was the pivotal force behind its rapid demise. The Big Breakfast was, essentially, the Chris Evans show. And there's not a lot you can do to fill that gap. You can put any other talent you like into the role, but they'll never be that one vital thing; Chris Evans. So, it trundled on with a succession of have-a-bash-at-it substitutes, managing to just about keep it going by relying on its next biggest strength Gaby Roslin. But when Gaby left, the situation became critical. By this point it was not only lacking Chris Evans, but was being rivalled by the self same man on Radio 1. But the show was still very much styled with Chris's creations. The catchphrases, the humour, just the whole show really. And every element, the look, the content, all was looking really dated. Cue a long overdue revamp... The house and gardens had started to look very shabby. The revamp tackled this perfectly, by introducing a new bright, clean, crisp look. The show had been sorely missing Chris Evans. In comes a Speccy bloke who reminds you of him. The show needed a Gaby figure, in comes Sharron who... well, she sort of looks a bit like her if you squint. Along with numerous other problems which had been tackled, the whole revamp, I thought, threw the right answer at every single problem. So why did it not work out? On paper, it should have done. But in practice, it was a horrible show to watch at the time. To condense it right down, I think it was mainly the pace of change. I look back at it and think it got everything right, even if others disagree. But it felt like it came at the cost of something which had become an institution, and that was hard to swallow. I'd love to go on even more about it, but I'll have to leave at that. Great that the whole show is available for everyone to see for the first time ever since it was broadcast over 20 years ago. I've wanted to share the entire show from my copy for a long long time, but life conspired against it. I hope that people can see past the fact that this revamp was only misguided with hindsight. It was actually a very insightful and incredibly precise solution to all the problems which the show was facing. It's just that when it went on air, it somehow didn't come across as it should have done.
@@livingthroughtv Ah, my knowledge of the crew is very thin unfortunately. I'll tell you as much, or as little, as I know. He seemed to join the show in 1997 and was there up until the final edition in 2002. The earliest footage I've seen of him at the show is from camcorder footage taken around Easter 1997 of him lighting a cigarette in the front garden whilst they were setting up a scene with Denise and boyband 911. I don't think he made any notable appearances on the show until 1998, when Johnny started to bring the crew into the chat more. It's anyone's guess what his official job title was, I have never seen his name in the credits, but he was mainly responsible for standing next to the camera holding a small monitor for the presenters to look at.
@@97channel Haha - thankyou, that was a beautiful bit of info all the same. He must have some great stories from the time, despite presumably living in total obscurity now, haha.
I remember watching this exact episode on holiday in the Isle of Wight and my entire family were horrified. It seemed to be without warning (Did the show go on a break before this episode?) and it was like they'd forgotten everything that we watched the show for. It's a miracle that they managed to clamber it all back for another special run later in the show's life.
I developed a massive crush on Sharron around this time at the age of 13... It hasn't gone away. That Rick guy was on some kids game show before this, where everything was shot in reverse... Anyone remember that?
As well as the clock being a different colour, each day had an overall matching colour scheme which was also applied to the news backdrop, the presenters' clipboards and cue cards, the intro sequences to items such as Snap Cackle Pop, picture frames around the house, and cushions on the living room sofa.
I remember this ! I was 8 years old in 1996 , also they done the work on the house illegally too! The council weren’t too happy about this! 😂 Rick & Sharon were crap together! No chemistry between them , also I remember when the building work was being done on the house, the show was broadcast from a boat ! ( think a canal boat or barge?
Remember going back to school and seeing these two, fucking hated them! Good thing Denise Van Outen came in and saved the show. It got even better when Jonny Vaughn came in.
I would love to know what the thinking was behind pairing these two as show hosts. Absolutely ludicrous, and really quite painful to watch (particularly Rick)!!
Does anyone remember when this failed and The Big Breakfast was presented on a boat for a brief time while the house was restored?? Simon Gregson - aka Steve McDonald - was one of the presenters on the boat 😂😂 Sounds crazy I know, but it did happen.
I remember watching this as a 14 year-old with so much excitement... before it all evaporated very quickly and I realised it was rubbish. I couldn't believe the zany, inspirational excitement from Chris and Gaby had gone and replaced with such blandness. I thought The Big Breakfast as we knew it had gone forever. However, it came back, in my opinion, better than ever, with Johnny and Denise with restoration of the zany attitude. What a show it was! But not this one... 😂😂
Great stuff.....weird, I don't remember this house or these presenters. In my mind it was Chris and Gabby then Denise and Johnny ...memory's a bitch though ;)
That was the original broadcast in the early 90s, Chris and Gabby. When Chris started doing Don't Forget Your Toothbrush in 94, he did less on Big Breakfast and we started to get various male presenters in. The relaunch, this clip, was 96 and Johnny and Denies came after these in the late 90s.
Looking at this again, it did have a nice fresh feel, Rick is doing a decent job of trying to keep it all going, unfortunately Sharon doesn't quite gel with him, i thiok he should have had a more of a chance really, he just needed a better pairing we got used to well known faces adn these 2 were little TV unknowns, which didn't balance the new look, i enjoyed the top 5 charts and zig and zag and question of the day though itsashame they changed it so quick
Didn't they get in trouble for trying to jump on the X-Files bandwagon by showing, quite early in the morning, a clip of Gillian Anderson briefly getting her nips out in a low budget movie that she had starred in before hitting the big time. I remember Rick doing a "steamy windows" sight gag at the end of the clip. What were they thinking?
Didn’t realise how bad this program was . I haven’t seen it in years . People shouting and constantly talking over each other . The whole 2 hour show seems to be about nothing.
The issue was the format. The format only worked if the 2 main presenters could put ther own stamp on it, and also as a duo. These 2 didnt work well together, so neither did the show.
Bad presenters meant it failed the content was fine things like the top 5 charts and onnthe bed but the presenting was fake and bland which was a shame the house looked good though
I forgot all about Harry Potter's brief tenure as host of The Big Breakfast!
I Miss the 90's
The 1996 Big Breakfast relaunch is now cemented in history as being an unmitigated disaster. However, I do think that people somewhat look at it from the wrong perspective. I have to hold my hand up and say that I was horrified by it when it was originally broadcast. I was most upset about the destruction of the lovely Grade II Lock Keepers Cottages (Which I was once told on a visit to the house that the work had been carried out without permission and the council were furious.). Rick was a second rate Chris Evans impersonator (Sorry Rick.), Sharron demonstrated that she could indeed go out of her depth (Sorry Sharron.) and the whole thing had been completely stripped of its punkish anarchic fun, replaced by a dull middle class lifestyle magazine.
But I think you have to look at what had brought the show to that point. Chris Evans' departure was the pivotal force behind its rapid demise. The Big Breakfast was, essentially, the Chris Evans show. And there's not a lot you can do to fill that gap. You can put any other talent you like into the role, but they'll never be that one vital thing; Chris Evans. So, it trundled on with a succession of have-a-bash-at-it substitutes, managing to just about keep it going by relying on its next biggest strength Gaby Roslin. But when Gaby left, the situation became critical. By this point it was not only lacking Chris Evans, but was being rivalled by the self same man on Radio 1. But the show was still very much styled with Chris's creations. The catchphrases, the humour, just the whole show really. And every element, the look, the content, all was looking really dated. Cue a long overdue revamp...
The house and gardens had started to look very shabby. The revamp tackled this perfectly, by introducing a new bright, clean, crisp look. The show had been sorely missing Chris Evans. In comes a Speccy bloke who reminds you of him. The show needed a Gaby figure, in comes Sharron who... well, she sort of looks a bit like her if you squint. Along with numerous other problems which had been tackled, the whole revamp, I thought, threw the right answer at every single problem. So why did it not work out? On paper, it should have done. But in practice, it was a horrible show to watch at the time. To condense it right down, I think it was mainly the pace of change. I look back at it and think it got everything right, even if others disagree. But it felt like it came at the cost of something which had become an institution, and that was hard to swallow.
I'd love to go on even more about it, but I'll have to leave at that. Great that the whole show is available for everyone to see for the first time ever since it was broadcast over 20 years ago. I've wanted to share the entire show from my copy for a long long time, but life conspired against it. I hope that people can see past the fact that this revamp was only misguided with hindsight. It was actually a very insightful and incredibly precise solution to all the problems which the show was facing. It's just that when it went on air, it somehow didn't come across as it should have done.
Did you get a degree on the programme.?
Everything but. Memory's fading, after all these years, but nothing a refresher course couldn't fix.
@@97channel While you're here - can you give us some more info on Linton?
@@livingthroughtv Ah, my knowledge of the crew is very thin unfortunately. I'll tell you as much, or as little, as I know. He seemed to join the show in 1997 and was there up until the final edition in 2002. The earliest footage I've seen of him at the show is from camcorder footage taken around Easter 1997 of him lighting a cigarette in the front garden whilst they were setting up a scene with Denise and boyband 911. I don't think he made any notable appearances on the show until 1998, when Johnny started to bring the crew into the chat more. It's anyone's guess what his official job title was, I have never seen his name in the credits, but he was mainly responsible for standing next to the camera holding a small monitor for the presenters to look at.
@@97channel Haha - thankyou, that was a beautiful bit of info all the same. He must have some great stories from the time, despite presumably living in total obscurity now, haha.
I remember watching this exact episode on holiday in the Isle of Wight and my entire family were horrified. It seemed to be without warning (Did the show go on a break before this episode?) and it was like they'd forgotten everything that we watched the show for. It's a miracle that they managed to clamber it all back for another special run later in the show's life.
I developed a massive crush on Sharron around this time at the age of 13... It hasn't gone away.
That Rick guy was on some kids game show before this, where everything was shot in reverse... Anyone remember that?
Crazy Cottage. It was Rick for the first series, then Jez Edwards after that.
Mother Theresa died one year later, and Kim Wilde's marriage lasted 26 years, ending in 2022.
Denise and Johnny were very hard to beat. Johnny was very sharp and Denise was a solid presenter as well.
I remember waking up one day before school and thinking... Wtf has happened to the house
Rick was alright, but Sharon was no help at all. He may as well have hosted the thing on his own.
Oh yes this takes me back and remember the new re launch, if i remember rightly that clock changed colour each day
As well as the clock being a different colour, each day had an overall matching colour scheme which was also applied to the news backdrop, the presenters' clipboards and cue cards, the intro sequences to items such as Snap Cackle Pop, picture frames around the house, and cushions on the living room sofa.
I remember this ! I was 8 years old in 1996 , also they done the work on the house illegally too! The council weren’t too happy about this! 😂 Rick & Sharon were crap together! No chemistry between them , also I remember when the building work was being done on the house, the show was broadcast from a boat ! ( think a canal boat or barge?
Remember going back to school and seeing these two, fucking hated them! Good thing Denise Van Outen came in and saved the show. It got even better when Jonny Vaughn came in.
I would love to know what the thinking was behind pairing these two as show hosts. Absolutely ludicrous, and really quite painful to watch (particularly Rick)!!
Did they take the show off air, while the house was designed like that
Does anyone remember when this failed and The Big Breakfast was presented on a boat for a brief time while the house was restored??
Simon Gregson - aka Steve McDonald - was one of the presenters on the boat 😂😂
Sounds crazy I know, but it did happen.
Actually, the events you mention happened the other way around.
Sharron Davies looks fantastic. So hot!!
I remember watching this as a 14 year-old with so much excitement... before it all evaporated very quickly and I realised it was rubbish.
I couldn't believe the zany, inspirational excitement from Chris and Gaby had gone and replaced with such blandness.
I thought The Big Breakfast as we knew it had gone forever.
However, it came back, in my opinion, better than ever, with Johnny and Denise with restoration of the zany attitude.
What a show it was!
But not this one... 😂😂
Great stuff.....weird, I don't remember this house or these presenters. In my mind it was Chris and Gabby then Denise and Johnny ...memory's a bitch though ;)
That was the original broadcast in the early 90s, Chris and Gabby. When Chris started doing Don't Forget Your Toothbrush in 94, he did less on Big Breakfast and we started to get various male presenters in. The relaunch, this clip, was 96 and Johnny and Denies came after these in the late 90s.
same here! hard to believe i forgot so much.
Why overlay that giant watermark?
Do u have the episode from 28th august 1995
Looking at this again, it did have a nice fresh feel, Rick is doing a decent job of trying to keep it all going, unfortunately Sharon doesn't quite gel with him, i thiok he should have had a more of a chance really, he just needed a better pairing we got used to well known faces adn these 2 were little TV unknowns, which didn't balance the new look, i enjoyed the top 5 charts and zig and zag and question of the day though itsashame they changed it so quick
I have a feeling Sharron and that rich guy enjoyed each other after the show.
51:00
Sharon Davies is 🔥🔥
This would have driven me mad
can you please upload the 1st episode of the same house back at bow locks in 1997
Some folks had some crap video recorders.
Because "Change is good!" - No, you don't pimp the Rolls Royce !!!!
That weathergirl has got something about her/
Didn't they get in trouble for trying to jump on the X-Files bandwagon by showing, quite early in the morning, a clip of Gillian Anderson briefly getting her nips out in a low budget movie that she had starred in before hitting the big time. I remember Rick doing a "steamy windows" sight gag at the end of the clip. What were they thinking?
Literally WHO is the male presenter?
I didn't even remember him, never knew him then, don't know him now, and never saw him again 🤣
Didn’t realise how bad this program was . I haven’t seen it in years . People shouting and constantly talking over each other . The whole 2 hour show seems to be about nothing.
The issue was the format. The format only worked if the 2 main presenters could put ther own stamp on it, and also as a duo. These 2 didnt work well together, so neither did the show.
Johnny and Denise brought a second coming to the show.
It was no wonder that the utterly boring GM-TV started to claw the ratings back
Harry Potter doing the big breakfast?????
Bad presenters meant it failed the content was fine things like the top 5 charts and onnthe bed but the presenting was fake and bland which was a shame the house looked good though
This was the worst incarnation of The Big Breakfast
Skip to 13:13 for lel.
It looks like Sharron was very flirty with that Karl
Sharon Davies was hot!!
Rick Adams was really annoying bless him.
Sharron looks hot, but is a TERRIBLE presenter, just doesn't have what it takes.
But very fit though.
Beginning of the end wasn’t it?
so cringe