# Chute! (TV programme)

Chute! is a British children's comedy television series broadcast on CBBC and presented by Ross Lee. It was originally broadcast between September and December 2007 and was cancelled after its first series. Lee played a version of himself trapped inside a rubbish tip at BBC Television Centre containing approximately 83,000 video cassettes covering the floor of the room.

## Overview

Trapped in a rubbish tip with approximately 83,000 video cassettes, Lee's sole purpose seems to be to sort through the videos and share them with whoever comes to visit him (the viewer in this case – the episodes are shown through their point of view in first-person). According to the series' title theme, the viewer is a child that fell down the chute while taking part in a tour of the BBC Television Centre. Down in the rubbish tip is also a monster who, at the end of every episode, drags away and "eats" the viewer. Although the monster can't be seen directly a green tentacle with purple spots is draped over the side of the camera to indicate the monster's presence.
Footage shown in the series varies, from clips of other BBC programmes, numerous unusual news stories as reported by BBC News, to even several viral videos that were popular at the time. In the Sarah Jane episode, The Mysterious Ticking Noise from The Potter Puppet Pals was shown, marking its first broadcast on television.
Programmes and clips that made frequent appearances on the show included:
* Stitch Up
* Raven
* Dick and Dom in Da Bungalow
* Cheese Rolling Championships
* BBC News Headlines
* BBC Foul Ups (bloopers)
* Match of the Day, where unusual sporting events are highlighted
* The Flashing Blade, a series with the original soundtrack removed and voice-over artists provide the new soundtrack. The re-voiced clips were taken from On the Waterfront and written by Russell T Davies.

## Episodes

| No. | Title / Guest(s) | Original air date |
| 1 | "James MacKenzie (as Raven)" | 27 September 2007 (2007-09-27) |
| The first episode of the series stars the guest Raven (James MacKenzie, star of CBBC show Raven). In the episode, Raven set Ross the challenge of removing a faulty tape from the video recorder in a limited amount of time, taking after what type of challenges appear on the show Raven itself. |||
| 2 | "Bill Oddie" | 4 October 2007 (2007-10-04) |
| Ornithologist and presenter Bill Oddie is the guest in the chute, and some of the video tapes feature birds, as Oddie is a bird-watcher. Bill ends up as a cardboard cut-out and Ross tries to perform magic, but fails. |||
| 3 | "Ben Major" | 11 October 2007 (2007-10-11) |
| Ben Major, star of the Serious TV series ends up in the chute after one of his expeditions went wrong. Ben is confronted with a giant guinea pig chasing after him. |||
| 4 | "Chuckle Brothers" | 18 October 2007 (2007-10-18) |
| Comedians Paul and Barry Chuckle are the guests in the chute. Ross is found doing silly impressions of them, and a giant moustache monster chases after them all, nearly eating Barry. This Episode is notable for containing footage from an unaired episode of ChuckleVision |||
| 5 | "Lizo Mzimba" | 25 October 2007 (2007-10-25) |
| Lizo Mzimba from Newsround, arrives in the chute on the trail of lost treasure. |||
| 6 | "James and Oliver Phelps" | 1 November 2007 (2007-11-01) |
| James and Oliver Phelps, who portray the Weasley Twins in the Harry Potter film series end up down the chute. The twins are after a valuable tape featuring the preview to the next Harry Potter film and try to bribe Ross into giving it to them with a sack of new tapes. Ross is miserable that he has seen every tape in the chute. He tried reading about magic, but that was not interesting either. |||
| 7 | "Dick and Dom" | 8 November 2007 (2007-11-08) |
| Richard McCourt and Dominic Wood (stars from Dick and Dom in da Bungalow) appeared in the chute after being thrown in there for being "naughty". They try to escape by persuading the public to vote them out. Also, Ross tries to escape as well, but fails. |||
| 8 | "Ian McNeice" | 15 November 2007 (2007-11-15) |
| Trapped in the depths of BBC Television Centre, Ross Lee shares some hilarious clips. He is joined by movie actor Ian McNeice, who is desperate to be given an award. |||
| 9 | "Dan Anthony and Tom Knight (as Clyde Langer and Luke Smith)" | 22 November 2007 (2007-11-22) |
| Trapped in the depths of Television Centre, Ross Lee shares hilarious clips. Dan Anthony and Tom Knight, better known as Clyde and Luke from The Sarah Jane Adventures, join Ross in the basement as he is invaded by an unwelcome alien. |||
| 10 | "Arlene Phillips" | 29 November 2007 (2007-11-29) |
| Children's mayhem with Ross Lee. Arlene Phillips from Strictly Come Dancing arrives in Ross's basement to teach him some moves, but is he paying attention? |||
| 11 | "Ted Robbins (as Lee's brother Malcolm)" | 6 December 2007 (2007-12-06) |
| Ross Lee with some hilarious clips. It is Ross' birthday and he is joined by his brother Malcolm (Ted Robbins), who plans a fight with the basement monster. |||
| 12 | "Danny John-Jules (as Lenny Bicknall)" | 13 December 2007 (2007-12-13) |
| Ross Lee presents some hilarious clips. He is joined in the tip by Lenny from MI High, who is on a mission to protect the world from an evil force. |||
| 13 | "Bobby Ball (as Santa)" | 20 December 2007 (2007-12-20) |
| Ross Lee is joined by a mysterious guest. Neither of them are feeling festive. Can Ross lift their moods before Christmas? |||

## Recurring segments

Throughout the show there are gags which are featured in every or most shows:
* Lee would refer to his family and go, "Ah mummy pie. I bet you she'll be looking for me right now". Then it goes briefly to a scene showing Lee's mother enjoying herself (e.g. playing a video game, dancing in the park).
* During some point in the show Lee would grab the keyboard and start singing a song, often out of tune. If he is about to cry or is crying while he does this, his song includes the lyric, "Rossington don't cry". This is put to an end when the viewer grabs a bucket and throws it over Lee's head, muffling his voice.
* In the wall is a tiny gap between two bricks which Lee first looks through before telling the viewer to look through. On the other side is an event which takes place before the viewer is caught looking. Someone then pokes them in the eye which has enough force to knock them back into the tip. On numerous occasions, it is the viewer who looks through first, then gestures for Ross to look.
* Sometimes Lee would go slightly crazy and a segment of Reet Petite by Jackie Wilson would play in the background. This happens randomly.
* When the monster takes away the viewer, Lee gets a camera and takes a picture of the viewer. He then tells the viewer to give his love to the viewer's family and gives two random pieces of advice. At the very end of the program, after the credits, a picture of the viewer is shown, followed by a burp which implies that the viewer has been eaten.
* Occasionally, the lights in the Chute go out, then when they come back on, something strange has happened. (e.g. his clothes would be off, etc.)