Harry Hill's Shark Infested Custard
| Harry Hill's Shark Infested Custard | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Harry Hill |
| Starring |
Harry Hill Siobhan Hayes Joann Condon Jake Chaplin |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Avalon Television |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CITV |
| Original run | 21 October 2005 – 13 January 2006 |
Harry Hill's Shark Infested Custard was a children's television series that was broadcast in the United Kingdom from October 21, 2005 to January 13, 2006. The show marked comedian Harry Hill's first, and currently only move into the world of children's television.
As of 2015, the show is still regularly being repeated on Cartoon Network, with up to three broadcasts a day, despite only 13 episodes ever being made.
Background
The series was produced by Hill's long-running production team Avalon Television, and broadcast on ITV between October 2005 and January 2006. Hill co-wrote the series with British comedian Dean Wilkinson.
The series was originally broadcast at 4:30pm on Fridays on CITV, children's programming on the ITV Network. The series co-starred Siobhan Hayes and Joann Condon.[1] The name of the show is derived from the punchline of the well-known children's joke, "What's yellow and dangerous? Shark-infested custard."
The show was deemed as new territory for Harry Hill, as prior to broadcast, he had never made the plunge into children's television before. However, for many years Harry, whose comedy has always generally been smut-free and seldom of harsh language, has appealed to a large audience of all ages; with his mad comedic routines. While it may have originally been have a surprise when Harry announced his show plans on his website, the cross to children's entertainment was not entirely unexpected.[2]
Two books - Harry Hill's Whopping Great Joke Book,[3] and Harry Hill's Bumper Book of Bloopers[4] - were released to tie in with the series.
Synopsis
In a very similar setup to his Channel 4 breakthrough series in the 1990s, Harry Hill, the show included various sketches, recurring jokes, musical numbers, a segment entitled "Meet The Johnsons", in which Harry would invite a family with the surname Johnson onto the show, and a Multi-Coloured Swap Shop style game entitled "Help The Aged".
The series also featured classic Harry Hill characters, such as Stouffer the Cat, and Harry's "son from his first marriage" - ventriloquist doll Garry Hill. Several new characters were also introduced - Burly Caroline, Harry Hill Snr., Speed Camera Boy, a giant, and a musical "genius", Evelynne Hussey. The self-aware forumulaic style continued, with each show ending on a song, as per Harry Hill.
Overview
The following blurb was used to synopsise the series when originally broadcast:
"Families of Johnsons will flock to climb Harold Hill…… Got a family of Johnsons? Plastered celebrities will struggle to be recognised…… Natasha Kaplinsky, the tap-dancing Armadillo will defend her title in Harry’s ‘Pet Idol’…… Have you got a pet to challenge this thick-skinned prima donna?. This is a rare opportunity to watch bald men spell, to marvel at Evelynne’s wonderful instrument and to find a friend for Speed Camera Boy – if you’re very quick! In the studio, hundreds of 8-11 year olds will out the woman with the annoying laugh… banish vegetables that don’t look like Harry…. and if you’ve got a Nan, you too can have 15 minutes of fame…".[2]
Transmissions
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References
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