| Runaround | |
|---|---|
| Format | Game Show |
| Created by | Merrill Heatter & Bob Quigley |
| Starring | Mike Reid (1975 - 1976) Leslie Crowther (1977) Stan Boardman (1977 - 1978) Mike Reid (1978 - 1981) Gary Crowley (Poparound: 1985 - 1986) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 12 (Original series) 2 (Poparound) |
| No. of episodes | 100 (inc. 3 xmas specials) (Original series) 12 (Poparound) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Southern Television |
| Running time | 30mins (inc. comms) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Original run | 2 September 1975 - 7 September 1981 (Original series) – 19 June 1985 - 4 June 1986 (Poparound) |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Runaround (US version) |
Runaround was produced by Southern Television for ITV between 2 September 1975 and 7 September 1981. It was much more successful than the American original. The original host was comedian Mike Reid, who later starred in EastEnders as Frank Butcher. In 1977 his place was taken by Leslie Crowther and Stan Boardman, before Reid returned in 1978. The ball in tube scoring was copied from the US version but with two colours; yellow worth one point for a correct answer and red worth 2 points for being the only contestant to choose the right answer. Metal Mickey made his screen debut on the British version of the show after being discovered by the show's in-vision researcher, Tim Edmunds. The series ended when Southern were stripped of their broadcasting franchise at the end of 1981, although the format returned in 1985, now produced by Central Independent Television as "Poparound", with questions centred around pop music. The presenter this time round was disc jockey Gary Crowley. In 1978, the game was incorporated into Southern TV's Saturday morning programme Saturday Banana, hosted by Bill Oddie.
Contents |
Few copies of the British version of the show survive due to a policy of wiping master-tapes of contemporary shows that were deemed to have little or no commercial value, in order to save costs.
Four surviving episodes, two of which are Christmas specials, are listed by the BFI as extant, although private collectors are thought to have other recordings of the programme; certainly, a clip of Metal Mickey co-hosting the show is a popular item on the collector's circuit.
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 September 1975 | 7 October 1975 | 6 |
| 2 | 13 January 1976 | 24 February 1976 | 7 |
| 3 | 31 March 1976 | 5 May 1976 | 6 |
| 4 | 18 August 1976 | 29 September 1976 | 7 |
| 5 | 12 April 1977 | 12 July 1977 | 13 |
| 6 | 23 November 1977 | 4 January 1978 | 7 |
| 7 | 28 March 1978 | 2 May 1978 | 5 |
| 8 | 4 August 1978 | 8 September 1978 | 6 |
| 9 | 22 May 1979 | 31 July 1979 | 10 |
| 10 | 13 June 1980 | 19 September 1980 | 13 |
| 11 | 24 December 1980 | 25 March 1981 | 14 |
| 12 | 27 July 1981 | 7 September 1981 | 6 |
| Date | Entitle |
|---|---|
| 26 December 1975 | Christmas Special |
| 27 December 1976 | Christmas Special |
| 24 December 1979 | Christmas Special |
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 June 1985 | 24 July 1985 | 6 |
| 2 | 30 April 1986 | 4 June 1986 | 6 |