| Genre: | Comedy |
| Runtime: | 30–60 minutes (including adverts) |
| Network: | ITV |
| Num Series: | 21 |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
...on Television or ...on TV, is a long-running late night television programme on ITV. The programme, which was made first by LWT and then Granada Productions, featured a number of clips from unusual or (often unintentionally) amusing television programmes and commercials from around the world.
The show was first presented by TV critic and journalist Clive James between 1982 and 1988, followed by celebrity chef Keith Floyd in 1989. Chris Tarrant took over as presenter from 1990 to 1996, with James briefly returning in 1997. Tarrant resumed as presenter from 1998 until the show ended in 2006. On Christmas Day 2020, the show was revived for a one-off special with Jeremy Clarkson as host. Another episode with Clarkson aired in April 2021, with a series of three episodes being broadcast after Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in July 2021.
The show first began in 1982, hosted by the Australian television critic and satirist Clive James. The series showed funny and bizarre clips from TV shows and adverts from around the world, most notably from the Far Eastern countries of Japan and Korea. The series popularised the Japanese show Endurance which followed numerous contestants as they underwent painful tasks around the world.
After James joined the BBC in 1988, celebrity chef Keith Floyd was brought in for a six-episode series in 1989 before Chris Tarrant took over in 1990.
For its tenth anniversary in 1992, Tarrant presented a compilation series entitled Tarrant's Ten Years of Television (later 10 Years on TV), which showed clips from the past five series and specials. It also included extra footage that was deemed unsuitable for transmission in the original show.
In 1997, Clive James returned as host for two series, produced by Watchmaker Productions for Carlton Television, in 1997 and 1998.
The show continued to show bizarre clips from all over the world. But they now often included nudity, strong language, and crude or dark humour. Examples include a Japanese crying contest, a Japanese contraception advert, a profane North Korean propaganda film, and an advert showing eggs being fired from the bottom. Tarrant on TV also began to cover more violent and unusual programming such as the Jerry Springer Show or The Man Show.[1]
With a different presenter, the format was also altered to include a special guest. On 4 April 1992, Mel Brooks appeared on the show. The show's content focused on different types of humour in Sweden, America and Israel. However the celebrity guest format was dropped by LWT because it was deemed too expensive to pay for cinematic clips and a guest star each week.
The last series of Tarrant on TV was in 2005, with a special broadcast in October 2006. The theme tune between 1996 and 2006 was Syd Dale's "The Penthouse Suite".
On Christmas Day 2020, a revival of the show was broadcast, with Jeremy Clarkson hosting a review of the year's television.[2] [3] [4] A second episode was broadcast on 2 April 2021 with a series following in July 2021.[5] [6] [7] Now produced for ITV by Expectation Entertainment,[8] the series has moved away from featuring as many foreign television clips (such as Japanese game show Endurance) as its predecessors, with British dramas such as White House Farm, Quiz and Des critiqued alongside English-language shows on streaming services, such as Love is Blind and Selling Sunset.
No full series was aired between 1985 and 1988, in 1991, 1992, 1994 and 1997; however special episodes were often broadcast.
| Series | Start date | End date | Host |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 September 1982 | 31 October 1982 | Clive James |
| 2 | 23 October 1983 | 4 December 1983 | |
| 3 | 28 October 1984 | 2 December 1984 | |
| 4 | 5 March 1989 | 16 April 1989 | Keith Floyd |
| 5 | 21 January 1990 | 25 February 1990 | Chris Tarrant |
| 6 (Tarrant's Ten Years of..) | 13 February 1993 | 20 March 1993 | |
| 7 (10 Years on..) | 19 March 1995 | 16 April 1995 | |
| 8 | 8 September 1996 | 13 October 1996 | |
| 9 | 4 January 1998 | 22 February 1998 | |
| 10 | 3 January 1999 | 21 March 1999 | |
| 11 | 4 January 2000 | 28 February 2000 | |
| 12 | 21 January 2001 | 18 March 2001 | |
| 13 | 3 May 2002 | 5 July 2002 | |
| 14 | 12 September 2002 | 7 November 2002 | |
| 15 | 2 January 2003 | 25 May 2003 | |
| 16 | 6 February 2004 | 22 March 2004 | |
| 17 (The Best of...) | 10 June 2004 | 1 July 2004 | |
| 18 | 8 October 2004 | 23 November 2004 | |
| 19 | 30 May 2005 | 27 June 2005 |
| Series | Start date | End date | Host |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 September 1997 | 16 October 1997 | Clive James |
| 2 | 11 November 1998 | 21 December 1998 |
Hosted by Clive James:
Hosted by Chris Tarrant:
Hosted by Jeremy Clarkson: