Hunt is on for child star of Tiswas in 1979

A SUPERFAN of iconic Saturday morning children’s show Tiswas is hunting for an Ilkley lad who appeared as a competition winner in 1979.

Marc Neun, who is an archivist for the television series, is trying to track down Martin Parkinson so he can see the episode for the first time in 41 years.

Marc, 46, of Hampshire, said: “Being a fan of the programme has led to my involvement in many fan clubs and online activity. I have a large collection of episodes donated by Chris Tarrant and Sally James.

“There are a few of us that own the only surviving episodes. ITV company ATV wiped most of the tapes, so these are rare finds. On a 1979 Tiswas appeared a competition winner called Martin Parkinson. He chats to Chris Tarrant and says he’s from Ilkley. He was a pupil of St Mary’s School. It’s quite a comical encounter and I am trying to track down Martin so he can see the episode for the first time in 41 years. Martin has probably never seen himself on Tiswas as video recorders weren’t that common in 1979.”

Martin’s appearance came during the sixth series of the show. He visited the ATV studios in Birmingham after winning one of the show’s competitions. The feature was nicknamed ‘Up By The Ears’ as presenters Chris Tarrant and Sally James pulled up winners from under the desk.

Chris Tarrant explains: “Up by the Ears was actually a way of gently making sure the kids were looking at the right camera for their close ups! It was gently done and of course, their feet never left the ground as one idiot journalist suggested!

“It was always more memorable when we had a talkative child on as you never knew what they were going to come out with, as Tiswas was live anything could happen.”

Tiswas was the first ITV Saturday morning show. Starting in 1974, it remained a Midlands only programme for several years until other areas cottoned on and started screening the madness. The main team were Chris Tarrant, Sally James, Bob Carolgees and Spit The Dog and John Gorman. It was an anarchic show featuring sketches and competitions. Custard pies and water were thrown at guests and children. It had a cage where they placed the grown-ups and pelted them with rubbish to the cries of ‘this is what they want’.

It launched the careers of various comedians from Jim Davidson to Lenny Henry. The show finished in 1982 after 302 editions.

Marc added: “I now have a good relationship with Chris Tarrant and Sally James and other crew members. I managed to get the whole cast back together for a 40th anniversary party in 2014. I often seek child stars and participants from the show. This has led to some great friendships. Often their families are so pleased as they have been searching for tapes for years. ITV wiped most of the official archive.”