8:15 from Manchester

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The 8:15 From Manchester was a Saturday morning children's magazine show broadcast on BBC1 when Going Live! was in-between series.

Broadcasting from Manchester, it was presented by Ross King and Charlotte Hindle. The first edition was broadcast on 21 April 1990. It was produced by Martyn Day. BBC Radio One (and now BBC North West) weathergirl Dianne Oxberry joined for the second series, which began on 28 April 1991.

The format was very similar to Going Live!, with imported cartoons (Rude Dog and the Dweebs, The Jetsons and Defenders of the Earth) punctuating items, such as games, music performances and interviews. A weekly drama was shown, in which the short episode ended in a dilemma of some sort (e.g. should x tell her sister that y has been cheating on her). Two endings had been filmed and viewers telephoned to vote which ending would be shown.

It also incorporated a repeat run of Rentaghost, though all the pre-1980 episodes were omitted and the end-credits rarely seen. Later, episodes of Grandad, starring Clive Dunn, were also shown.

The theme tune was by Inspiral Carpets: a rewrite of their single "Find Out Why". An early edition had a feature of how the theme was recorded.

The first series came out of studio C in BBC Manchester (on Oxford Road), which was really the scene dock between the main network studio (A), and the regional studio (B). On Thursday evening all the scenery and sets were wheeled out into studio B and everyone moved into the space left to rehearse on Friday mornings. Studio A was eventually used for the second series.

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