Gordon the Gopher

Play Bus took the slot from Monday the 17th on Saturday mornings.

There was Going Live with Philip Schofield and Sarah Green plus Gordon the Gopher.

Play school going off feels like the end of a chapter because everybody grew up looking through the round square and arched windows.

Going live was the opposite energy, phone-ins and pop stars and a puppet gopher stealing every scene.

There was-

...

Andy Peters was in there for a bit.

Yeah.

Was it, was it Ed the Duck or Gordon the Gopher? One of them.

One of the two.

Gordon the Gopher.

That was the grown-ups' Friday night, but for anyone still in school, the real appointment was Saturday morning.

Going Live was still running on BBC One, uh, with Philip Schofield and Sarah Green, um, holding the fort, Gordon the Gopher squeaking phone-ins, cartoons, and pop stars getting gently roasted.

It was the three-hour pajama shift, uh, before anyone was allowed near the console.

Going Live was sacred, Lee.

It was, and if you were a kid back then, the, the telly you were really glued to was Saturday morning.

On BBC One, uh, that meant going live, uh, with Phillip Schofield and Sarah Green, Gordon the Gopher squeaking away, and Trev and Simon getting the guests to swing their pants.

It was three hours of phone-ins, pop stars, and cartoons, and on the very next Saturday, Phillip and Sarah unveiled, uh, BBC One's brand new ident, that see-through spinning globe.

Oh, [laughs] I'd completely forgotten Gordon the Gopher, and now I can hear that little squeak in my head.

Going Live was the show you watched in your pajamas with a bowl of cereal balanced on your knees, and the swing-your-pants bit was absolutely the highlight.

I don't care what anyone says.

One was called Paul Smith.

Paul actually also used to be Gordon the Gopher as well as being in charge of children's BBC.

And Paul and Chris both took me on and, uh, you know, I was probably a bit of a risk and a bit of a punt at that point, and they both are just amazing chaps.

How old were you when you got the job?

When our children entertainers were not just entertaining.

Gordon.

That's Gordon the Gopher.

We didn't know.

He didn't

You just need Ed the Duck in there and you're well away.

Or Gordon the Gopher.

We'll go for one thing or the other, friend, but just stick on target.

Now, what are you telling me? What's this one game you've been playing?