''Magpie'' was a British

children's television Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...

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

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

'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 ...

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

popular culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art

f. pop art F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distributi ...

or mass art, sometimes contraste ...

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

magpie Magpies are birds of various species of the family Corvidae. 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 c ...

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

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

" 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 Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

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 personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

Pete Brady, Susan Stranks and Tony Bastable. 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. Jenny Hanley replaced Stranks in 1974. This lineup remained until 1977, when

Tommy Boyd Timothy Leslie "Tommy" Boyd (born 14 December 1952) is a British television and radio presenter. He gained prominence in the 1970s and 1980s as host of the children's television programmes ''Magpie'', '' Wide Awake Club'', and ''The Saturday ...

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 blues and R&B influenced rock band formed in Birmingham in 1963 by Spencer Davis (guitar), brothers Steve Winwood (vocals, keyboards, and guitar) and Muff Winwood (bass guitar), and Pete York (drums). ...

under the alias of The Murgatroyd Band, and composed by Eddie Hardin (lead voc., keyb.), Ray Fenwick (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 and :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 (supernatural), magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly app ...

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 The show awarded badges to viewers who wrote in. They were based on the lines of the theme song.https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/assorted-original-magpie-badges-433510108

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 The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England, that runs through the North York Moors National Park. First opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway, the railway was planned in 1831 by Ge ...

, 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 shows produced by Thames Television British English-language television shows Television shows shot at Teddington Studios