{"id":390626,"date":"2026-04-09T22:38:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T22:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/390626\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T22:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T22:38:10","slug":"the-eight-best-citv-shows-chosen-by-our-critics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/390626\/","title":{"rendered":"The eight best CITV shows chosen by our critics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another era of British television is coming to an end. After 42 years, children\u2019s ITV is leaving broadcast TV.<\/p>\n

While the CITV channel closed in September 2023, the brand lived on as a breakfast programming slot on ITV2. However, that is coming to a close when all content moves to the ITVX Kids streaming hub on April 10. The change is driven by altered viewing habits. The average time children spend watching traditional broadcast television has declined by almost two thirds since 2019.<\/p>\n

To mark the moment we have picked out some of the most influential and beloved children\u2019s ITV programming \u2014 from Tiswas to Knightmare, Magpie to Rainbow. And there were shows that made stars out of Chris Tarrant, Ant and Dec, and a certain irrepressible cartoon mouse (no, not that one).<\/p>\n

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Tiswas (1974-82)<\/p>\n

\"TheFrom left, top: Lenny Henry, Sylvester McCoy, Peter Tomlinson and Frank Carson; middle: Paul Harding and at the front: Sally James and Chris TarrantITV<\/p>\n

ITV\u2019s children\u2019s programming often offered children a more anarchic antidote to the public service offerings on the BBC. And there were few more anarchic and hyperactive shows than Tiswas (thought to stand for \u201cThis is Saturday, watch and smile\u201d). It was a rollicking format, best remembered for buckets of gunge being poured over people. The frontman was Chris Tarrant, who was joined by a roster of rambunctious performers and presenters including Trevor East and a very young Lenny Henry. Ben Dowell<\/p>\n

Magpie (1968-80)<\/p>\n

\"SusanFrom left: Susan Stranks, Mick Robertson and Douglas Rae Shutterstock Editorial<\/p>\n

Magpie was devised as ITV\u2019s answer to Blue Peter, and some believed that the title was a joke because of claims that it stole the BBC\u2019s idea. Admittedly it did feature charity appeals and some daredevil action stunts and foreign trips. But Magpie was a different proposition, aimed more at the older, possibly naughtier kids and featuring a cooler presenter line-up. This included Susan Stranks in her famously tight T-shirts, pop star lookalike Mick Robertson and the charming Tommy Boyd. BD<\/p>\n

Danger Mouse (1981-92)<\/p>\n

\"IllustrationDanger Mouse showed the adventures of a James Bond-esque rodent Shutterstock Editorial<\/p>\n

The adventures of a secret agent mouse regularly saving the world with the help of his frightened service mole sidekick, Penfold, and operating from his base inside a pillarbox in London\u2019s Baker Street was a clever James Bond spoof. The mouse\u2019s M was Colonel K and fat toad Baron Silas Greenback took the Blofeld role (and his caterpillar, Nero, that of Blofeld\u2019s cat). The hyperbole, silly cliffhangers and excellent voice work from David Jason made this animation a rare British hit in the US where it enjoyed a run on the children\u2019s cable channel Nickelodeon. BD<\/p>\n

Press Gang (1989-93)<\/p>\n

\"SevenFrom left: Mmoloki Chrystie, Kelda Holmes, Paul Reynolds, Gabrielle Anwar, Lee Ross, Julia Sawalha and Dexter FletcherShutterstock Editorial<\/p>\n

An early success for the Doctor Who showrunner-to-be Steven Moffat, who took the idea of a newspaper run by young people from his dad, Bill, a Paisley headmaster. The Junior Gazette was certainly a lively place \u2014 it even had a wisecracking American called Spike (played by Dexter Fletcher). His spiky relationship with the boss, Julia Sawalha\u2019s Lynda Day, kept viewers engaged, as did the humour and occasionally raw storytelling, which, like any decent newspaper, explored a range of hard-hitting issues including teenage suicide, drug deaths and child abuse. BD<\/p>\n

Knightmare (1987-94)<\/p>\n

\"ActorsHugo Myatt and Jackie Sawiris hosted the tricky game showShutterstock Editorial<\/p>\n

Pity my mother on the school run. Not only did she have to grapple with the congested lanes of north London, but she had me screaming at her to floor it so that I wouldn\u2019t miss a single minute of Knightmare. In this high-tech game show, which probably introduced a generation to virtual reality, a team of children took on a labyrinth populated by monsters, trapdoors and a few stoical real-life actors. Among them was the sterling Hugo Myatt as Treguard, who played the knightly dungeon master role for so long that we must assume he remains in character, still warning people about lying elves. Best of all, this show was hard. Only eight teams won it over eight series. Take that, snowflakes of today. Neil Fisher<\/p>\n

Rainbow (1972-95)<\/p>\n

\"ZippyGeoffrey Hayes and ZippyShutterstock Editorial<\/p>\n

Up above the streets and houses, rainbow climbing high\u2026 With a mission to improve language and number skills in young children, ITV was determined that learning could be fun \u2014 and with a human presenter and his fantastic menagerie of characters it certainly was. The combination of Geoffrey Hayes with his surrogate (sort of) children \u2014 the mouthy Zippy, shy hippo George and inquisitive Bungle the Bear \u2014 as well as performers Rod, Jane and Freddy, was loved by many. Doctored clips of the ensemble saying rude things have since amused adults online \u2014 but only because the original was so loved. BD<\/p>\n

Art Attack (1990-2007)<\/p>\n

\"NeilNeil Buchanan presented Art Attack for nearly 20 years Shutterstock Editorial<\/p>\n

The PVA glue industry owes a surprising debt to Neil Buchanan and his gloriously chaotic art and craft show, which taught a generation the intricacies of papier-m\u00e2ch\u00e9. Always sporting his trademark oversized red jumper, the presenter was champion of giving it a go; you didn\u2019t need to be Picasso to make something brilliant. His message was simple: art could come from anything, even an empty cereal box or a toilet roll. The result? Thousands of British living rooms transformed into sticky, messy art studios. Jake Helm <\/p>\n

SMTV Live (1998-2003)<\/p>\n

\"Ant Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly in 2000 on SMTV LiveShutterstock Editorial<\/p>\n

For five years, millions of children and their hungover parents tuned in every weekend for this dose of unhinged TV. Launched as a scrappy challenger to the BBC\u2019s powerhouse Live & Kicking, it didn\u2019t just compete, it obliterated the competition with its chaos. At its heart was a refreshing presenting trio: Ant McPartlin, Declan Donnelly<\/a> and Cat Deeley. They didn\u2019t care when things went wrong. Whether it was their low-budget Friends spoof \u2014 complete with surreal cameos from Mariah Carey to Sting \u2014 or screaming at viewers who couldn\u2019t rhyme on Wonkey Donkey, mayhem was the goal. Their formula was simple: treat kids like adults and they\u2019ll keep coming back. The presenters\u2019 eventual leap into primetime, grown-up TV was inevitable. JH<\/p>\n

Love TV? Discover the\u00a0best shows on Netflix<\/a>, the\u00a0best Prime Video TV shows<\/a>, the\u00a0best Disney+ shows<\/a>, the\u00a0best Apple TV+ shows<\/a>, the\u00a0best shows on BBC iPlayer<\/a>, the\u00a0best shows on Sky and Now<\/a>, the\u00a0best shows on ITVX<\/a>, the\u00a0best shows on Channel 4<\/a>\u00a0streaming, the\u00a0best shows on Paramount+<\/a>\u00a0and our favourite\u00a0hidden gem TV shows<\/a>. Don\u2019t forget to check\u00a0our critics\u2019 choices to watch<\/a>\u00a0and browse our comprehensive\u00a0TV guide<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Another era of British television is coming to an end. After 42 years, children\u2019s ITV is leaving broadcast…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":390627,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[93,61,60,282],"class_list":{"0":"post-390626","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=390626"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390626\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/390627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=390626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=390626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=390626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}