The Channel 4 80s Night

3 September 2013

Frankie says ‘WATCH’ as Channel 4 heads back to the 80s for a night of retro most definite bodacious fun on Friday 20th September from 8pm.

The evening will host a night of classic shows, all given a back-to-the-future twist and in between programmes, viewers will be treated to a host of comedy sketches featuring some awesome radical gnarly celebrities including: Going back to the 80s Countdown studios and sneaking- a-peak at a rather unexpected green room starring – PAUL DANIELS and DEBBIE MCGEE, EDDIE THE EAGLE EDWARDS, PETE WATERMAN and DUSTY BIN; ADAM HILLS as a teen in 80’s Oz  with special guest MADGE BISHOP and ALAN CARR goes back to the Channel 4 offices in the 80s as his younger self attempting to pitch the idea of Chatty Man to the Channel 4 Controller(played by Alan too)

Kicking things off is the return of Celebrity Fifteen to One, back on screens after ten years. With Adam Hills at the helm, we’ll see fifteen celebrities go head to head as they battle it out to win the notoriously tough quiz show.

Fifteen to One is a fast-paced, relentless battle to survive TV’s toughest general knowledge questions – over 100 will be asked.  ‘Fifteen’ celebrity contestants including: JONATHAN ROSS, JO BRAND, FERN BRITTON, ALEX BROOKER, Dr DAWN HARPER, EAMONN HOLMES, KONNIE HUQ and STEPHEN MANGAN, start the game, but only ‘One’ can win.

Played over three rounds, the contestants simply have to avoid elimination. To do that they not only have to answer questions correctly, they must also decide which of their opponents to nominate to put under the question spotlight and it’s this tactical game play that makes Fifteen to One more than just a quiz.

This special one off show has been completely revamped for 2013 – with a new host Australian comedian and The Last Leg host Adam Hills (a huge fan of the original), a new set, new graphics and a modern version of the famous theme tune.

The fifteen clever celebrity contestants will be taking up the challenge, hoping to win tens of thousands of pounds for charity and claim the prestigious title of Celebrity Fifteen to One Champion 2013.

Production Company: Remedy Productions. Executive Producers: Tom Blakeson. Series Producer: Edward de Burgh. Director: Barbara Wiltshire

There’ll then be an 80s makeover of 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown. JIMMY CARR hosts a new edition of the ultimate 80s words and numbers quiz show (launched in 1982), as team captain JON RICHARDSON and special guest captain LEE MACK are joined by celebrity guests HENNING WEHN & DAVID O’DOHERTY. Countdown regular SUSIE DENT will be going together with VIC REEVES in Dictionary Corner, while the country's favourite boffin RACHEL RILEY will be providing the letters and numbers with a little help from comedian JOE WILKINSON.

Production Company: Zeppotron, an Endemol company. Executive Producers: Richard Osman, Ruth Phillips, Andrew Westwell. Series Producer: Richard Cohen. Director: Simon Staffurth

Alan Carr will welcome some 80’s sparkle into the studio in a special Alan Carr: 80s Chatty Man with superfly guests including: Jessie J performing and chatting and US actor Mathew Fox.

Production Company: Open Mike Productions. Series Producer: Jon Holman. Executive Producers: Andrew Beint  & Addison Cresswell. Channel 4 commissioning editor: Justin Gorman

The night will end with a documentary throwback to 80s music show Rewind The Tube, which will look at the programme’s rise and fall, the social context that it existed in and also feature a host of stars looking back at their contributions.

It was the anarchic TV show of the 80s that gave a voice to a young generation desperate to be heard. The programme that kick started an industry of imitators but was never topped and which introduced an unsuspecting nation to the wonders of Hip Hop, alternative comedy and the perils of swearing on live TV. And it did all this at teatime on a Friday… It could only be Channel 4’s iconic live music show The Tube. Rewind The Tube sees former presenters; bands and fans dig through the Tube archives and relive the decade that rocked Britain through the unique prism of a TV show caught at the centre of the 1980’s whirlwind.

As well as raiding gems from The Tube vaults, including the first time we heard Frankie Goes to Hollywood instruct us to ‘Relax’ and when national treasure Jools Holland dropped the ‘f’ bomb live on air, we will capture what it was like to be young and pissed off in Thatcher’s Britain. We’ll hear from the Durham miner who memorably invaded the Tube stage, the post-riot musicians who revolutionised the airwaves and see the likes of Vic Reeves and HOLLY JOHNSTON relieve their explosive TV debuts. And in an exclusive, PEACHES GELDOF will explore Paula Yate’s vast Tube archive for the first time and talk candidly about her mother’s influence on a generation. So sit back and crack open the Newcastle Brown as we rewind the greatest and most notorious TV event of the 1980s.

Production Company: Fresh One. Exec producer: Jeremy Lee. Commissioning Editor for C4: Jonathan Rothery

The 80s theme will follow on Saturday with a classic 80s film and on Sunday, two celebrity teams will have their memories challenged in the ‘Big Fat Quiz of the 80s’.  Jimmy Carr is joined by three teams of top celebrity faces for another fiendishly difficult pub quiz about news, music, telly and fashions of the 1980s. As ever, he’ll be helped by a host of famous question-setters, including JIM BOWEN, KIM WILDE, TONY ROBINSON and TOYAH WILLCOX. Playing the quiz are DAVID MITCHELL, PHILL JUPITUS, ALAN CARR, SARAH GREENE, JACK DEE and JASON DONOVAN.

Production Company: Hot Sauce TV. Executive Producers: Jonathan Ross & Jane Goldman. Series Producer: Matt Nida. Director: Mick Thomas

The Channel 4 80s Night was commissioned by Entertainment Commissioning Editor Madeleine Knight and C4 Executive Producer is Hannah Dodson.