''Magpie'' was a British

children's television Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...

programme shown on ITV from 30 July 1968 to 6 June 1980. It was a magazine format show, intended to compete with the BBC's ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Te ...

'', but it attempted to be more "hip", focusing more on

popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...

. The show's creators, Lewis Rudd and Sue Turner, named the programme ''Magpie'', as a reference to the

magpie Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is on ...

's habit of collecting small items and also because of "mag" being evocative of "

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

" and "pie" being evocative of a collection of ingredients.

Broadcast history

The programme, made by

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

, was first transmitted on 30 July 1968, Thames Television's first day of broadcasting. It was shown weekly until 1969, after which, until it ended on 6 June 1980, it went out twice a week. It was not fully networked to all other ITV companies until the autumn of 1969. Approximately 1,000 episodes were made, each 25 minutes in duration. The first presenters were the former

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobil ...

Pete Brady, Susan Stranks and

Tony Bastable Anthony Leslie Bastable (15 October 1944 – 29 May 2007) was an English television presenter, who was one of the original presenters of the children's magazine programme ''Magpie''. Early life Bastable was born in Hexham, Northumberland, i ...

. Brady left the show in 1971 to be replaced by Douglas Rae, and Bastable left his presenting role to become the show's producer in 1972, being replaced by

Mick Robertson Michael Robertson (born February 14, 1946 in Petworth, Sussex) is a former presenter of the ITV children's television magazine programme ''Magpie''. Early career He attended Midhurst Grammar School and trained as a teacher before working in ...

Jenny Hanley Jenny Hanley (born 15 August 1947) is an English actress. She remains best known for being one of the presenters of the ITV children's magazine programme ''Magpie''. Early life and education Hanley is the daughter of actors Dinah Sheridan and ...

replaced Stranks in 1974. This lineup remained until 1977, when

Tommy Boyd Timothy Leslie Boyd (born 14 December 1952), better known as Tommy Boyd, is a British radio presenter. Television From 1977 to 1980, Boyd was co-presenter of the ITV children's magazine programme ''Magpie'' replacing Douglas Rae. In 1981, ...

replaced Rae. Like ''

'', ''Magpie'' featured appeals for various causes and charities. Unlike its rival programme, however, it asked for cash donations rather than stamps or secondhand goods, familiar on ''Blue Peter''. The cash totaliser was a long strip of paper which ran out of the studio and along the adjacent corridor walls. Unlike the BBC programme, ''Magpie'' was unscripted and the presenters were free to improvise the presentation of the show. The show's mascot was a

called Murgatroyd.

Theme song

The theme tune was played by the

Spencer Davis Group The Spencer Davis Group were a British band formed in Birmingham in 1963 by Spencer Davis (guitar), brothers Steve Winwood (keyboards, guitar) and Muff Winwood (bass guitar), and Pete York (drums). Their best known songs include the UK numbe ...

under the alias of The Murgatroyd Band, and composed by

Eddie Hardin Eddie Hardin (19 February 1949 – 22 July 2015) was an English rock pianist and singer-songwriter. Born Edward Harding, he was best known for his associations with the Spencer Davis Group, Axis Point, and Hardin & York. Hardin, along with the ...

(lead voc., keyb.),

Ray Fenwick Raymond John Fenwick (18 July 1946 – 30 April 2022) was an English guitarist and session musician, best known for his work in The Syndicats and in The Spencer Davis Group in the 1960s, and as the lead guitarist of Ian Gillan's post-Deep Purpl ...

(harm. voc., guit.) and Spencer Davis (harm. voc.guit.). The main lyric is an old children's nursery rhyme One for Sorrow: :One for sorrow :Two for joy :Three for a girl :Four for a boy :Five for silver :Six for gold :Seven for a secret never to be told :Eight's a wish and :Nine a kiss :Ten is a bird you must not miss. The rhyme refers to an old English

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs ...

concerning the portent of the number of magpies seen together in a flock, and an older version of the ending runs: :Eight for Heaven :Nine for Hell :Ten for the Devil himself

Steam engine and boat

In 1973, ''Magpie'' adopted a steam railway locomotive, "Black 5" 44806, which was given the name "Magpie" (''Blue Peter'' already had a locomotive with the same name as that show). After an eventful history, it is still being used today on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, although now with a different name. ''Magpie'' also adopted a boat, originally called "Mankadu" and renamed "Thames Magpie". Its current whereabouts are unknown.

References

External links

British Film Institute Screen Online
* {{IMDb title, 0238791, Magpie. 1968 British television series debuts 1980 British television series endings 1960s British children's television series 1970s British children's television series 1980s British children's television series ITV children's television shows Television series by Fremantle (company) Television shows produced by Thames Television English-language television shows Television shows shot at Teddington Studios