Magpie (TV series)
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| Magpie | |
|---|---|
 The Magpie logo |
|
| Genre | Children's Entertainment |
| Created by | Lewis Rudd |
| Presented by | Pete Brady Susan Stranks Tony Bastable Mick Robertson Douglas Rae Jenny Hanley Tommy Boyd |
| Theme music composer | Ray Fenwick |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Lewis Rudd |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Audio format | Monaural sound |
| Original run | 30 July 1968 – 6 June 1980 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Magpie was a children's television programme shown on ITV from the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. It was a magazine format show intended to compete with the BBC's Blue Peter, but was deliberately much more "hip and trendy" than what the makers of Magpie considered to be rather old-fashioned "Auntie Beeb" approach of the BBC's show[citation needed]. It focused much more on popular culture than did Blue Peter.
The programme, made by Thames Television, was first transmitted on 30 July 1968, which was Thames Television's first day of broadcasting. It was shown once a week for the first year, but from then until it ended in 1980 went out twice a week. The first presenters were the former BBC Radio 1 DJ Pete Brady, Susan Stranks, and Tony Bastable. Bastable and Brady left the show in 1972 to be replaced by Mick Robertson and Douglas Rae. Jenny Hanley replaced Susan Stranks in 1974. This lineup remained until 1977, when Tommy Boyd replaced Rae.
Approximately 1000 episodes were made, each of 25 minutes' duration.
The show's mascot was Murgatroyd Magpie, and the theme tune (written by Ray Fenwick and played by the Spencer Davis Group) was based on the old children's nursery rhyme:
- 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 for Heaven
- Nine for Hell
- Ten for the Devil himself
The first seven lines of this song (from One for sorrow to Seven for a secret never to be told) have been used in the last verse of the song Magpie, by Patrick Wolf.
The rhyme refers to an old English superstition concerning the portent of the number of magpies seen together in a flock. The TV programme version altered the final lines to:
- Eight to wish
- Nine to kiss
- Ten is a bird you must not miss
In 1973, Magpie adopted a steam engine, "Black 5" 44806 and renamed her "Magpie" (Blue Peter already had theirs). After an eventful history, she is still working today on the Llangollen Railway, although now under another name.
