Chute! (television programme)

Chute is a children's video clip programme presented by Ross Lee that can be seen often on CBBC originally broadcast between September and December 2007.

Overview

Chute is presented by Ross Lee who appears to be trapped in a rubbish tip containing approximately 83,000 video cassettes which cover the floor of the room. Lee's sole purpose seems to be to sort through the videos and share them with whoever comes to visit him (the viewer in this case). The theme music seems to indicate that he fell down the Chute and got trapped in the rubbish tip. Down in the rubbish tip is also a monster who, at the end of every episode, drags away the viewer. Although the monster can not be seen directly as he is in fact the cameraman, a green tentacle with purple spots is draped over the side of the camera to indicate the monster's presence.

Clips usually shown include:

• Stitch Up
• Raven
• Dick and Dom in da bungalow
• Cheese Rolling Championships
• BBC News Headlines
• BBC Foul Ups
• Match of the Day, where unusual sporting events are highlighted
• The Flashing Blade, a series with the original soundtrack removed and voice-over artists provide the new soundtrack. The revoiced clips were taken from On The Waterfront and written by Russell T Davies.

and others.

• In the Sarah Jane episode, "The Mysterious Ticking Noise" from The Potter Puppet Pals was shown as a clip. This may be its first appearance on television.

Episodes

There are 13 episodes.

Raven

(Thursday 27 September 2007)
The first episode of the series stars the guest Raven (James MacKenzie, star of CBBC show Raven). In the episode, Raven set Ross the challenge of removing a faulty tape from the video recorder in a limited amount of time, taking after what type of challenges appear on the show Raven itself.

Bill Oddie

(Thursday 4 October 2007)
Ornithologist and presenter Bill Oddie is the guest in the chute, and some of the video tapes feature birds, as Oddie is a bird-watcher. Bill ends up as a cardboard cut-out and Ross tries to perform magic, but fails.

Ben Major

(Thursday 11 October 2007)
Ben Major, star of the Serious TV series ends up in the chute after one of his expeditions went wrong. Ben is comfronted with a giant guinea pig chasing after him.

The Chuckle Brothers

(Thursday 18 October 2007)
Comedians Paul and Barry Chuckle are the guests in the chute. Ross is found doing silly impressions of them, and a giant moustache monster chases after them all, nearly eating Barry. Paul and barry chuckle. When the first fell down the chute the picked up a tape.^{[clarification needed]} That tape had some cats sing O-ZONES Numa Numa after that a video tape of chuckle vision series 6 that never made it on air. Then they escaped!

The Weasley Twins

(Thursday 1 November 2007)
James and Oliver Phelps, who portray the Weasley Twins in the Harry Potter film series end up down the chute. The twins are after a valuable tape featuring the preview to the next Harry Potter film and try to bribe Ross into giving it to them with a sack of new tapes. Ross is miserable that he has seen every tape in the chute. He tried reading about magic, but that was not interesting either.

Dick and Dom

(Thursday 8 November 2007)
Richard McCourt and Dominic Wood (stars from Dick and Dom in da Bungalow) appeared in the chute after being thrown in there for being "naughty". They try to escape by persuading the public to vote them out. Also, Ross tries to escape as well, but fails.

Ian McNiece

(Thursday 15 November 2007)
Trapped in the depths of TV Centre, Ross Lee shares some hilarious clips. He is joined by movie actor Ian McNeice, who is desperate to be given an award.

Clyde & Luke From The Sarah Jane Adventures

(Thursday 22 November 2007)
Trapped in the depths of Television Centre, Ross Lee shares hilarious clips. Dan Anthony and Tom Knight, better known as Clyde and Luke from The Sarah Jane Adventures, join Ross in the basement as he is invaded by an unwelcome alien.

Arlene Phillips

(Thursday 29 November 2007)
Children's mayhem with Ross Lee. Arlene Phillips from Strictly Come Dancing arrives in Ross's basement to teach him some moves, but is he paying attention?

Lenny Bicknall

(Thursday 6 December 2007)
Ross Lee presents some hilarious clips. He is joined in the tip by Lenny from MI High, who is on a mission to protect the world from an evil force.

Ross' Brother: Malcolm

(Thursday 13 December 2007)
Ross Lee with some hilarious clips. It is Ross' birthday and he is joined by his brother Malcolm (Ted Robbins), who plans a fight with the basement monster.

Bobby Ball

(Thursday 20 December 2007)
Ross Lee is joined by a mysterious guest. Neither of them are feeling festive. Can Ross lift their moods before Christmas?

Recurring Segments

Throughout the show there are gags which are featured in every or most shows:

• Lee would refer to his family and go, "Ah mummy pie. I bet you she'll be looking for me right now". Then it goes briefly to a scene showing Lee's mother enjoying herself (e.g. playing a video game, dancing in the park).
• During some point in the show Lee would grab the keyboard and start singing an amazing song, never out of tune. If he is about to cry or is crying when he does this, his song includes the lyric, "Rossington don't cry". This is put to an end when the viewer grabs a bucket and throws it over Lee's head, numbing his voice.
• In the wall is a tiny gap between two bricks which Lee first looks through before telling the viewer to look through. On the other side is an event which takes place before the viewer is caught looking. Someone then pokes he/she in the eye and they go back into the tip. On numerous occasions, it is the viewer who looks through first, then gestures for Ross to look.
• Sometimes Lee would go slightly crazy and a segment of Reet Petite by Jackie Wilson would play in the background. This happens randomly.
• When the monster takes away the viewer, Lee gets a camera and takes a picture of the viewer. He then tells the viewer to give his love to the viewer's family and gives two random pieces of advice. At the very end of the program, after the credits, a picture of the viewer is shown, followed by a burp which could possibly indicate that the viewer has been eaten.

External links

• Chute at Bungalow Online