Let’s take this show off the road
It’s 30 years since we said goodbye to The Noel Edmonds Saturday Roadshow
THE cascade of dreaded gunge finally diminished to a dribble 30 years ago as TV viewers said farewell to The Noel Edmonds Saturday Roadshow. The mix of music, quiz questions and comedy became one of the highlights of the BBC’s weekend schedule following its launch in 1988.
The eclectic guests ranged from Meat Loaf, Shane Richie and Patrick Moore to Spike Milligan, David Essex and runner Steve Cram who all joined in the fun of the fast-paced entertainment show.
The 45 minute running time was packed with surprises – from celebrity pranks with the Gotchas to home truths from children about their parents in Wait ‘Til I Get You Home.
But the big attraction every week was the gunge tank in which an unsuspecting soul was drenched in gallons of coloured slime if a quiz questions was answered wrongly. A large alarm would sound and the gunge would flow.
Among those who stepped into the tank was an immaculately dressed clean-up campaigner Mary Whitehouse who was a guest on the Costa
Del Crime sunshine episode.
She put on a plastic hat to save her hair, even though Noel reassured her that no-one would dare to gunge her. She remained safe throughout all the questions until the very end when the alarm sounded and the goo poured down.
Mary gamely smiled throughout the downpour as her plastic hat was washed away.
“I’m now going to be the first person ever in the history of British television to clean up Mary Whitehouse,” said Noel has he helped her from the tank. Sylvester McCoy also appeared on the show as Doctor Who with his Tardis. “I’ve just come back from 2014 and you won’t believe what you are doing,” he told Noel.
The series finally came to an end on December 15, 1990, after 48 episodes but it was not long before Noel Edmonds was back with more gunge with Noel’s House Party’s launch in 1991.
It saw him broadcasting from the manor house at Crinkley Bottom and the return of many of the favourite features of the Saturday Roadshow. It also introduced the accident-prone Mr Blobby to the nation.
The unlikely pink star with the yellow dots went on to beat Take That’s single, Babe, to bag the Christmas number one slot in 1993.