Stitch Up!

"Stitch Up!" was a CBBC children's television series in which pranks are played on the general public. It was originally broadcast in early 2002 and is often repeated. Compared to other CBBC programmes, Stitch Up! appears to be aimed at older children (most CBBC programmes are aimed at primary school age children). The presenters and the 'victims' themselves (with the exception of Simon) were all in their mid to late teens. Even the background music, for example songs by the band Oasis, gave the programme a more sophisticated feel, which set it apart from other CBBC programmes.

Many pranks were played during each show of approximately 25 minutes duration. One of these involved Anne Foy acting as a news reader, appearing on TV screens in an electrical store, revealing embarrasing stories about a victim, who was watching the screens in embarrassment. Another involved men in knights outfits, fighting in a busy street, to the confusion of shoppers. Simon Kane played Remote Controlled Kid. He was a geeky looking boy, who was being told what to say by another presenter, sitting in a van nearby. Remote Controlled Kid would enter a shop and ask a member of staff confusing and totally random questions.

The final prank of each show was the Big Stitch Up. One of these involved tricking a boy into believing his bedroom would be transformed by a DIY TV show. His bedroom had actually been made to look like a garden, complete with a water feature! Another involved giving a Saturday worker at a hairdressers a 'day from hell' at work. When it was revealed to the victim that it had all been a prank, he/she would receive a Stitch Up trophy.

The show caused controversty in 2004 when it depicted the burning of a contstant in front of a live studio audiance. Ofcom, the televishion regulator, susequantly banned the episode and ordered the BBC to pay compensation to the family of the burned contestant.

Stitch Up! ran for 3 series. Two of these were in 2002 and the 3rd was in 2004.

The show originally stared Marvin Benoit, Calum Callaghan, Anne Foy and Simon Kane, but new presenters, Adam Selkirk-Brown and Sita Thomas, later joined for the 2004 series.