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It'll be Alright on the Night is a British television bloopers programme broadcast on ITV and produced by ITV Studios. It was one of the first series created with the specific purpose of showing behind the scenes bloopers from film and TV.[1]
| It'll Be Alright on the Night | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Presented by | Denis Norden Griff Rhys Jones |
| Narrated by | David Walliams |
| Opening theme | Export International by Graham de Wilde (1981) It'll Be Alright on the Night by Rod Argent and Peter Hooke (1990–) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 57 |
| Production | |
| Production locations | The London Studios (1977–2016) |
| Running time | 45–60 minutes (including adverts) |
| Production companies | LWT (1977–2004) Granada (2004–2006) ITV Productions (2008) ITV Studios (2011–2021) Lifted Entertainment (2021–present) |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 18 September 1977 – present |
| Related | |
| Auntie's Bloomers Outtake TV TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes TV's Naughtiest Blunders | |
The programme was originally presented by Denis Norden from 1977 until 2006. Griff Rhys Jones took over as presenter from 2008 until 2016. Since 2018, the series has been narrated by David Walliams.[2]
Format
editThe programme is usually one hour in length and aired in ITV's Saturday evening entertainment slot. However, some of the first few episodes up to and including It'll be Alright on the Night 6 which aired in 1990, originally went out on a Sunday evening. Two episodes also debuted on a Friday: It'll be Alright on the Night 3 and It'll be Alright on Christmas Night on Christmas Day 1981 and 1987 respectively. The programme's success led to the competing BBC One series Auntie's Bloomers presented by Terry Wogan, which focused on bloopers from some of the BBC archives.
The programme followed a simple format. Norden, traditionally holding a clipboard in his hand, appeared on an otherwise empty stage and delivered a humorous piece to camera, followed by a selection of outtakes taken from various sources. Popular sources for clips include numerous British and American sitcoms, news reports and foreign broadcasts.
The programme returned in September 2008 with Griff Rhys Jones who presented 11 episodes of It'll be Alright on the Night. The last episode featuring Rhys Jones was broadcast on 4 June 2016. After a two-year break, the programme returned in summer 2018 with brand new episodes featuring David Walliams as narrator, instead of a presenter in the studio. New editions of the programme, narrated again by Walliams, began airing from September 2020. These editions introduced a new feature entitled the 'Big Cock-Up Question' where before each advert break, a small portion of a clip would be played before it stops and Walliams asks viewers to guess what happens next, the answer being revealed following the break.
Episodes
editThe audience figures (where given) are those for the initial transmission of an episode. In the early years of the series, episodes sometimes achieved higher ratings on repeat showings. For instance, It'll be Alright on the Night 2 (first shown on 28 October 1979) was watched by 16 million viewers for a repeat showing in February 1983, while It'll be Alright on the Night 4 (first shown on 11 March 1984) was watched by 18.5 million viewers on its initial repeat in January 1985. A further repeat of The Second Worst of Alright on the Night (first shown on 24 November 1985) achieved the programme's highest ratings of 19.92 million in February 1992.[3][4]
| Episode | Episode name | Original airdate | Presenter/Narrator | Viewers (millions) |
Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | It'll be Alright on the Night 1 | 18 September 1977 | Denis Norden | 16.45 | [5] |
| 2 | It'll be Alright on the Night 2 | 28 October 1979 | — | ||
| 3 | The Worst of Alright on the Night | 21 September 1980 | — | ||
| 4 | It'll be Alright on the Night 3 | 25 December 1981 | — | ||
| 5 | It'll be Alright on the Night 4 | 11 March 1984 | 16.90 | [6] | |
| 6 | It'll be Alright Late at Night | 11 July 1985 | — | ||
| 7 | The Second Worst of Alright on the Night | 24 November 1985 | 14.55 | ||
| 8 | It'll be Alright on Christmas Night[a] | 25 December 1987 | 17.95 | [7] | |
| 9 | 10 Years of It'll be Alright on the Night | 25 December 1988 | — | ||
| 10 | It'll be Alright on the Night 6 | 1 December 1990 | 17.92 | [8] | |
| 11 | It'll be Alright on the Night 7 | 2 January 1993 | 15.03 | [9] | |
| 12 | The Utterly Worst of Alright on the Night | 10 April 1994 | — | ||
| 13 | The Kids from Alright on the Night | 26 November 1994 | — | ||
| 14 | It'll be Alright on the Night 8 | 10 December 1994 | — | ||
| 15 | Alright on the Night's Cockup Trip | 12 October 1996 | 13.00 | [10] | |
| 16 | It'll be Alright on the Night 10 | 15 November 1997 | — | ||
| 17 | 21 Years of Alright on the Night | 24 January 1998 | — | ||
| 18 | It'll be Alright on the Night 11 | 2 October 1999 | 10.12 | [11] | |
| 19 | It'll be Alright on the Night 12 | 27 January 2001 | 9.17 | ||
| 20 | It'll be Alright on Election Night | 7 June 2001 | 6.77 | ||
| 21 | It'll be Alright on the Night 13 | 17 August 2001 | 6.61 | ||
| 22 | It'll be Alright on the Night 15: Silver Jubilee Special[b] | 14 September 2002 | 8.11 | ||
| 23 | More Kids from Alright on the Night | 28 September 2002 | 5.61 | ||
| 24 | Alright on the Night's All-Star Special | 31 August 2003 | 9.63 | ||
| 25 | It'll be Alright on the Night 16 | 6 September 2003 | 5.53 | ||
| 26 | It'll be Alright on the Night 18 | 2 October 2004 | 6.89 | ||
| 27 | It'll be Alright on the Night 19 | 24 December 2004 | 5.84 | ||
| 28 | Alright on the Night's 50 Years of ITV | 17 September 2005 | 6.28 | ||
| 29 | It'll be Alright on the Night 20 | 18 March 2006 | 5.32 | ||
| 30 | It'll be Alright on the Night 2008: Part 1 | 20 September 2008 | Griff Rhys Jones | 4.30 | |
| 31 | It'll be Alright on the Night 2008: Part 2 | 25 December 2008 | 3.99 | ||
| 32 | It'll be Alright on the Night 2011: Part 1 | 28 December 2011 | 4.95 | ||
| 33 | It'll be Alright on the Night 2011: Part 2 | 31 December 2011 | 3.73 | ||
| 34 | All New It'll be Alright on the Night 2012 | 28 December 2012 | 3.91 | ||
| 35 | All New It'll be Alright on the Night 2014: Episode 1 | 5 January 2014 | 3.86 | ||
| 36 | It'll be Alright on the Night's Best of the Worst (also known as All New It'll be Alright on the Night 2014: Episode 2) |
12 January 2014 | 3.64 | ||
| 37 | All New It'll be Alright on the Night 2014: Episode 3 | 19 May 2014 | 3.11 | ||
| 38 | All New It'll be Alright on the Night 2014: Episode 4 | 28 December 2014 | 3.43 | ||
| 39 | It'll be Alright on the Night 2015 | 30 December 2015 | 3.80 | ||
| 40 | All New It'll be Alright on the Night 2016 | 4 June 2016 | 2.76 | ||
| 41 | David Walliams Presents – Return of Alright on the Night | 22 August 2018[c] | David Walliams | 2.81 | |
| 42 | David Walliams Presents – Revenge of Alright on the Night | 29 August 2018[d] | 2.61 | ||
| 43 | It'll be Alright on the Night S34: Episode 1 | 11 September 2020 | 2.62 | ||
| 44 | It'll be Alright on the Night S34: Episode 2 | 5 December 2020 | 2.80 | ||
| 45 | It'll be Alright on the Night S34: Episode 3 | 12 December 2020 | 2.94 | ||
| 46 | It'll be Alright on the Night at Christmas (also known as It'll be Alright on the Night S34: Episode 4) |
19 December 2020 | 3.02 | [12] | |
| 47 | It'll be Alright on the Night S34: Episode 5 | 30 April 2021[e] | <1.79 | [13] | |
| 48 | It'll be Alright on the Night S34: Episode 6 | 5 June 2021 | 2.65 | [14] | |
| 49 | It'll be Alright on the Night S35: Episode 1 | 17 December 2021 | — | ||
| 50 | It'll be Alright on the Night S35: Episode 2 | 22 April 2022 | 1.84 | [15] | |
| 51 | It'll be Alright on the Night S35: Episode 3 | 29 April 2022 | 1.70 | [16] | |
| 52 | It'll be Alright on the Night S35: Episode 4 | 6 May 2022 | 1.71 | [17] | |
| 53 | It'll be Alright on the Night S35: Episode 5 | 27 May 2022 | — | ||
| 54 | It'll be Alright on the Night S35: Episode 6 | 2 September 2022 | — | ||
| 55 | It'll be Alright on the Night S36: Episode 1 | 2 December 2022 | 2.05 | [18] | |
| 56 | It'll be Alright on the Night S36: Episode 2 | 24 December 2022 | — | ||
| 57 | It'll be Alright on the Night S36: Episode 3 | 3 February 2024 | 2.17 | [19] | |
| 58 | It'll Be Alright on the Night S36: Episode 4 | 10 May 2024 | 1.50 | [19] | |
| 59 | It'll Be Alright on the Night S36: Episode 5 | 17 May 2024 | 1.24 |
Broadcasting
editAlthough a staple of ITV's light entertainment programming for over 40 years, few editions of It'll be Alright on the Night have been produced, with rarely more than one new episode a year being screened. Episodes presented by Denis Norden have normally included a number in their title screens to aid identification with the audience, while from 2008 to 2016, episodes presented by Griff Rhys Jones and from 2018 onwards, episodes narrated by David Walliams no longer did so. Towards the end of the Denis Norden era, episodes up to and including It'll be Alright on the Night 20 were prefixed with "All New" to avoid viewer confusion with repeat screenings of earlier episodes.
During its run, several special episodes were also made, including anniversary specials, a late night edition for Channel 4 with more mature adult content and a one-off political special to mark the 2001 general election.
The majority of the episodes were filmed at The London Studios, but in the programme's later years, the Granada studios in Manchester were also used, as well as the now-closed (and demolished) Meridian studios at Northam, Southampton. A few editions were also filmed on-location; these included Alright on the Night's Cockup Trip which was presented from the Great Cockup fell in the Lake District, 21 Years of Alright on the Night was presented on a yacht supposedly in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle (which, in reality, was in the south of France) and It'll be Alright on the Night 11, which was presented from an empty Haymarket Theatre, London.
During its run, the series has had three main producers: Paul Smith (1977–1984), Paul Lewis (1984–2002) and Simon Withington (2003–2006). Sean Miller, James Sunderland and Stephanie Dennis also produced some episodes. Grant Philpott was the series producer (2011, 2012 and 2018) and Simon Withington, who previously served as a producer from 2003 to 2006 has been the executive producer from 2014 to 2016. In 2020, Chris Thornton became the series producer.
The show has never been released on DVD or in any streaming format, in part due to rights issues.[20]
Denis Norden's Laughter File
editThe series also inspired the spin-off programme Denis Norden's Laughter File, which began airing on 22 September 1991 and ran until 13 May 2006. Although it largely followed the same format as its sister programme, while It'll be Alright on the Night focused solely on bloopers/outtakes, Laughter File also screened clips that included pranks and practical jokes. As with It'll be Alright on the Night, later episodes included the words "All New" in their titles to avoid viewer confusion with repeat screenings of earlier episodes.
The theme music used for Denis Norden's Laughter File throughout the whole of its run was a library piece, called "Dress to Kill" by Errol Reid. The programme's producers were Paul Lewis (1991–2002) and Simon Withington (2002–2006).
Episodes
edit| Episode | Episode name | Original airdate | Viewers (millions) |
Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denis Norden's 1st Laughter File | 22 September 1991 | 17.39 | [21] |
| 2 | Denis Norden's 2nd Laughter File | 4 October 1997 | — | |
| 3 | Denis Norden's 3rd Laughter File | 5 December 1998 | 10.00 | [11] |
| 4 | Denis Norden's 4th Laughter File | 16 October 1999 | 8.46 | |
| 5 | Denis Norden's 5th Laughter File | 30 September 2000 | 8.02 | |
| 6 | Denis Norden's 6th Laughter File | 15 October 2001 | 7.21 | |
| 7 | Denis Norden's 7th Laughter File | 30 March 2002 | 5.67 | |
| 8 | Denis Norden's 8th Laughter File | 9 November 2002 | 6.62 | |
| 9 | Denis Norden's 9th Laughter File | 4 October 2003 | 5.53 | |
| 10 | Denis Norden's Christmas Laughter File Special | 27 December 2003 | 8.10 | |
| 11 | Denis Norden's All New 11th Laughter File | 26 December 2004 | 5.73 | |
| 12 | Denis Norden's All New 12th Laughter File | 12 February 2005 | 5.54 | |
| 13 | Denis Norden's All New 13th Laughter File | 13 May 2006 | 3.88 |
Notes
edit- ^ Retitled and re-edited as It'll be Alright on the Night 5 for subsequent repeats.
- ^ Retitled and re-edited as 25 Years of Alright on the Night for subsequent repeats.
- ^ Scheduled to be aired on 2 July 2018, but was moved five days later due to the England v Colombia World Cup game going into extra time. The 7 July 2018 date was moved again to 22 August 2018 due to the Russia v Croatia World Cup game going into extra time.
- ^ Scheduled to be aired on 3 July 2018, but was moved seven days later due to the England v Colombia World Cup game going into extra time. The 10 July 2018 date was moved again to 29 August 2018 due to the Russia v Croatia World Cup game going into extra time.
- ^ This episode was scheduled at short notice, after the last episode of drama Viewpoint - originally planned to air that time - was dropped hours before due to sexual misconduct allegations against actor Noel Clarke.
References
edit- ^ "What time is Return of Alright on the Night with David Walliams on TV?". RadioTimes. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
- ^ Darvill, Josh (1 September 2020). "It'll be Alright on the Night start date as David Walliams hosts new series". TellyMix.
- ^ "1983 – Top 10 programmes". Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
- ^ "1985 – Top 10 programmes". Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
- ^ "Jictar Ratings". The Stage. 29 September 1977. p. 20. Retrieved 22 December 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Ratings". The Stage. 22 March 1984. p. 18. Retrieved 22 December 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Young, Graham (8 January 1988). "Hilda beats Dirty Den". Sandwell Evening Mail. p. 10. Retrieved 22 December 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "1990 – Top 10 programmes". BARB. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ "Mr Bean jumps over his rivals". Aberdeen Evening Express. 13 January 1993. p. 10. Retrieved 22 December 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Ratings Watch". The Stage. 31 October 1996. p. 24. Retrieved 22 December 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b "Weekly top 30 programmes on TV sets (July 1998 – Sept 2018)". BARB. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ "Top programmes report - Dec 14-20". thinkbox.tv. 28 December 2020. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
- ^ "Top programmes report - week 17, April 26 - May 02 - ITV". thinkbox.tv. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ "Top programmes report - week 22, May 31 - June 06 - ITV". thinkbox.tv. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ "Top programmes report - week 16, April 18–24 - ITV". thinkbox.tv. Archived from the original on 4 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
- ^ "Top programmes report - week 17, April 25 - May 01". thinkbox.tv. Archived from the original on 10 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
- ^ "Top programmes report - week 18, May 02–08". thinkbox.tv. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
- ^ "Top programmes report - week 48, November 28 - December 04 - ITV1". Thinkbox. 12 December 2022. Archived from the original on 19 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Assorted consolidated Thinkbox ratings". Imgur. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
- ^ "It'll be Alright on the Night DVD?". 14 June 2012.
- ^ "1991 – Top 10 programmes". BARB. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
