British TV series or programme
CD:UK
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a7/CDUK_title_card.jpg/220px-CDUK_title_card.jpg) |
Presented by
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Country of origin
| United Kingdom
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Original language
| English
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No.
of series
| 8
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No.
of episodes
| 397
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Executive producer
| Conor McAnally
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Producer
| Blaze Television
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Production locations
| The London Studios
(August 1998?January 2003)
Riverside Studios
(2003?06)
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Running time
| 60 minutes (including adverts)
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Production company
| Blaze Television
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Network
| ITV
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Release
| 29 August 1998
(
1998-08-29
)
?
1 April 2006
(
2006-04-01
)
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CD:UK
(
CountDown:United Kingdom
), stylised as
cd:uk
, was a music television programme that ran in the United Kingdom from 29 August 1998 to 1 April 2006. Originally run in conjunction with
SMTV Live
, the programme aired on
ITV
as a rival to the BBC's
Live & Kicking
and was the replacement for
The Chart Show
, which had been airing on the network for nine years.
In contrast to its predecessor, which only showed music videos,
CD:UK
was broadcast live on Saturday mornings with a
studio audience
and featured live performances, as well as star interviews and competitions. It also featured the
Saturday Chart
, which although was unofficial, usually reflected the new chart positions a day before
the official chart
was announced on
Radio 1
. This made the BBC's long-running
Top of the Pops
, which aired only the night before, seem very out-of-date broadcasting the previous week's chart.
CD:UK
later utilised an
interactive
chart based on viewers' votes, called the
MiTracks Countdown
. The show was sponsored by
Tizer
from 1999 until 2003, then
Ribena
from 2003 until 2005, and finally
Rimmel
from 2005 until its demise.
In 2002, the programme was criticised for showing "raunchy" performances in a slot aimed at children, sparked by a performance of "
Dirrty
" by
Christina Aguilera
. In response, a spin-off programme entitled
CD:UK Hotshots
, featuring music videos which could be considered unsuitable for daytime viewing, was launched in January 2003 and broadcast overnight.
History
[
edit
]
Presenters
[
edit
]
The show was at the peak of its popularity between 1998 and 2001, when it was presented by
Ant & Dec
and
Cat Deeley
.
CD:UK
was originally fronted by the same presenting team for
SMTV Live
?
Ant & Dec
and
Cat Deeley
. It directly aired after its sister show, usually at around 11:30am, and like its predecessor
The Chart Show
, it was also repeated in a late night slot.
Ant & Dec left both programmes on 1 December 2001 ahead of presenting the
Pop Idol
live shows. This left Deeley to present
CD:UK
solo. As time went on, due to her popularity with viewers, Deeley was offered more and more television work and went on to present
Stars in Their Eyes
and
Fame Academy
. This meant that she was absent from the show more and more and was frequently replaced by either a celebrity guest or
Holly Willoughby
from
SMTV'
s successor
Ministry of Mayhem
. Deeley chose to leave the programme for good in March 2005.
TRL
presenter
Dave Berry
presented the programme for several weeks before Holly Willoughby became the new regular host presenting each fortnight with guest presenters such as
Kelly Osbourne
,
Rachel Stevens
,
Brittany Murphy
,
Girls Aloud
, Natalie Brown and
Jayne Middlemiss
filling in for the weeks when Willoughby was absent.
MiTracks relaunch
[
edit
]
In August 2005,
Myleene Klass
was hired as main presenter alongside
XFM
DJ
Lauren Laverne
and
Trouble TV
presenter
Johny Pitts
as part of a major revamp of the programme, which was duly unveiled on 17 September 2005 with new titles, a redesigned studio and a new chart, the
MiTracks Countdown
, which allowed viewers to vote for their favourite and least favourite songs on the
CD:UK
website.
Although it was initially reported that the relaunch had helped double viewing figures, audiences soon dropped below 1 million.
Cancellation
[
edit
]
On 28 December 2005, it was announced that
CD:UK
was to cease production due to budget issues within the broadcaster.
[
original research?
]
The final regular edition of the show was aired on Saturday 18 March 2006, followed by two compilation programmes on 25 March and 1 April, respectively.
Aborted revival
[
edit
]
On 20 April 2006, it was announced that production company
Blaze Television
had reached a deal with
Five
to revive the programme. However, Five announced on 2 June that Klass, Laverne and Pitts would not return to present the show, and that Berry would instead host the show alongside a yet to be decided female presenter, later announced as
Caroline Flack
. It was also announced that
CD:UK
would air at 17:30 on Saturday afternoons, and that the show should be back on air, initially by Autumn 2006, later pushed back to some time in 2007. However, nothing on the subject had been heard in several months and it seemed uncertain as to whether the show would return at all. It was officially announced on 17 April 2007 that
CD:UK
would not be returning.
[1]
Music
[
edit
]
There have been two compilation albums released between 2 October 2000 and 20 January 2001, featuring many of the bands and singers who have performed on the show. Classic artists include:
Westlife
,
Fatboy Slim
,
Samantha Mumba
,
S Club 7
,
Ronan Keating
,
Five
,
Steps
,
Girls Aloud
,
A1
,
Britney Spears
,
Shanks & Bigfoot
and
Craig David
.
CD:UK ? You Know Where it's At!
[
edit
]
CD:UK ? More Wicked Hits
[
edit
]
CD:UK Hotshots
[
edit
]
CD:UK Hotshots
was a spin-off programme, aired on the
ITV
network overnight. Introduced in January 2003, the show was initially presented by
Cat Deeley
, but she left to make way for MTV presenter
Dave Berry
who left in the summer of 2005 and was replaced by a rotating presenting team of
Myleene Klass
,
Lauren Laverne
and
Johny Pitts
.
As opposed to the main show,
Hotshots
consisted of presenters' links and music videos ? some of which had been considered unsuitable for broadcast on
CD:UK
.
International versions
[
edit
]
Although the original UK version has ended, an American version of the programme,
CD USA
, began on
DirecTV's
The 101
on 21 January 2006. Australian broadcaster
Foxtel
also air a local version of the show, renamed
CD Live
, on the
Fox8
channel every Saturday evening.
In Italy, the public television channel
Rai Due
has aired from 2003 to 2007 an Italian version of the show, renamed
CD: Live
, which replaced Top of the Pops, every Saturday afternoon at 15:00. In Croatia, the public television channel
HRT 2
aired a Croatian version of the show, renamed
T-Mobile CD Live
, from 2007 to 2008 every Friday afternoon at 18:40.
References
[
edit
]
British Saturday and Sunday morning children's television programmes
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BBC
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ITV
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Channel 4
|
- T4
(Sat/Sun)
- 4Kids
(weekdays/weekends)
|
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Five
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