The Word (TV series)
The Word was a 1990s Channel 4 television programme in the United Kingdom. Format. The show's presenters included Terry Christian, comedian Mark Lamarr, Dani Behr, Katie Puckrik, Jasmine Dotiwala, Alan Connor, Amanda de Cadenet and Huffty. Originally broadcast in the old "Tube" time slot of 6 pm Friday evenings, "The Word"'s main live show was shifted to a late-night timeslot from 9 November 1990. The magazine format allowed for interviews, live music, features and even game shows. The flexible late-night format meant that guests could do just about anything to be controversial . There was also an 'I'll do anything to be on television' section called "The Hopefuls" which ran for half of series 4 and half of series 5 in which people did generally repulsive things in order to get featured on the programme. Production. The show was the brainchild of Charlie Parsons and Christian and was originally produced for series 1 and 2 by the production company 24 Hour Productions, which later became Planet 24. Paul Ross was the series editor on series 3 and 4, and became executive producer for series 5. Jo Whiley worked as a researcher/band  booker on series 2 and half of series 3 and is credited as having given Nirvana their historic and notorious first TV appearance. The programme ran for five series from 1990 to 1995. From the start, there was considerable tabloid backlash against the show. In mid 2000, Channel 4 screened a short-running compilation series titled "Best of The Word", which mostly featured music performances. Tango sponsored the show in 1994.