7 January 1987 (1987-01-07) – 19 December 1995 (1995-12-19)
Allsorts (later renamed Gigglish Allsorts in 1994) is a British educational comedy series for children that was produced for ITV by Granada Television. The programmes aired from 7 January 1987 to 19 December 1995 and covered a range of children's learning activities.
In common with many of ITV's educational children's programmes of the era, Allsorts – first screened in January 1986 – was originally intended to run for only one series while ITV's flagship children's series, Rainbow, was off air that year. The first series ran until July, but despite moderate popularity in its first run, Granada decided not to renew the series and, instead, initially opted in favour of Allsorts predecessor, the pre-school orientated series Our Backyard (which had already been on air since August 1984), largely because the latter could be made more quickly and cheaply. But, after failing to attract enough viewers in its third run in late 1986, Our Backyard was cancelled and Allsorts was brought back for a second series in January 1987 and proved so popular with both pre-schoolers and older children that it was subsequently recommissioned for a further seven series, before it was eventually dropped in 1995.
The series was characterised by its quirky humour, songs and entertaining storylines, which the characters would have to discover, solve or enjoy. It starred Andrew Wightman as Bonzo and Wayne Jackman as Jiffy, who starred in the series throughout its entire run. Wayne and Andrew were originally joined by Vivienne Mckone as 'Natty' and Virginia Radcliffe as 'Spike The Dog'. Natty and Spike were later dropped from the cast and Radcliffe was promoted to the role of Virginia, replacing Natty. In the early 1990s Virginia Radcliffe left the cast and was replaced by Jane Cox as 'JJ'. Puppet characters were later introduced. The first was Box (a talking box) operated by Julie Westwood. The final addition to the cast was Moudly The Mole, operated by Robert Skidmore who co-built the puppet with Daryl Worby and also rebuilt Box .
The series was renamed Gigglish Allsorts in 1994, with a new set of titles, a new house and new music. However, by this time, viewing figures were on the wane, despite the introduction of a zany Jack In The Box played by Fred Feast and Granada decided that the show had become a shadow of its former self. After a decade-long run, the series was cancelled at the end of its ninth series a year later, in part due to Granada discontinuing many of its lower budget programmes. The final episode was screened on 12 December 1995. Jane Cox later joined Emmerdale and Andrew Wightman became series producer of Granada's Stars in Their Eyes.
The show's format changed every series. The set changed, the characters' clothing changed, and the storylines became a little more complex. By series 5 with the introduction of Box and JJ, the show became more of situational comedy with educational aspects and the Gigglish Allsorts era of the series, the characters even ventured out of the house on outings, such as a visit to Gulliver's World in the episode "The Big Day Out" in 1994.
The opening credits from series one to five are fully animated in a cartoonish style. They feature a toy which starts off as a spinning top, then turns into a ball, then a jug of water, then a train, then a house which flies into a kite which reads "Allsorts". The music consists of several pieces of instrumentation in sequence, coming in one after the other as the toy changes form.
Series six has the cartoon pictures of series one in three square boxes at the right hand side of the screen, with the opening titles on the left side. The background music is sung by the stars of the show, with each singing a different verse. The lyrics of the song are "Hey, it's an Allsorts day, anything can happen / It's an Allsorts day / Today!"
The opening credits from series seven to nine begins with a close-up of a box made of numerous light-up squares as an unknown voice starts singing. As the lyrics『one – two – three』are sung, the camera pans back, and a box opens which contains objects including toy aeroplanes, cars and teddy bears. Afterwards, JJ, Jiffy, Box and Bonzo appear, pulling faces. The lyrics of the background song are "Hey! Are you ready – steady – one – two – three / Gigglish Allsorts – what's happening today? / Gigglish Allsorts – they're coming out to play."
