TFI Friday
TFI Friday is an entertainment show that was broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. It was produced by Ginger Productions, written by Danny Baker, and hosted by Chris Evans, for the first five series. The sixth series was hosted by several guest presenters. The show was broadcast on Fridays at 6pm from 9 February 1996 to 22 December 2000, with a repeat later that night. Its theme tune was Ron Grainer's theme from "Man in a Suitcase", in keeping with Evans' frequent use of 1960s television themes in his work. A one-off revival  episode of the show was broadcast on Channel 4 on 12 June 2015. The episode was well-received; on 23 June 2015, Channel 4 announced that it had commissioned a full revived series, which began airing on 16 October 2015. In 2016, Channel 4 announced that there were no plans for any further series. Format. The show regularly featured live music, mostly of the then-popular Britpop school. A snippet of "The Riverboat Song" by Ocean Colour Scene, a band particularly championed by Evans (and the very first band to play on the show, with the same song), was used  as an introduction to guests, as they walked the length of a walkway up into the "bar" to be interviewed by the host. Viewers repeatedly asked if they could have the "TFI Friday" mug (or one like it) that graced Evans' table every week, so the production company created a limited run of 1,000 mugs. These were offered for sale at a prohibitive price and for a limited period, after which, the remaining stock was destroyed live on air when a washing machine was dropped on to them from the height of the television studio. Inspiration from/for other shows . During November and December 1999, the show included a segment titled "Someone's Going to Be a Millionaire!", inspired by the ITV game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" (which would not have its first million-pound winner until November 2000). "TFI Friday" paid out the promised £1 million jackpot on 24 December 1999, becoming the first British TV show to do so. Guest presenters. In the summer of 2000, Channel 4 announced that the sixth series of "TFI Friday" was to be the last. Chris Evans left the show moments after this announcement, leaving the final series  to be presented by several guest presenters. Controversies. Swearing. The show attracted controversy when Happy Mondays frontman Shaun Ryder appeared on the second episode of the first series, slipped out the word "fuck" during his interview on the show. A week later, Ewan McGregor also slipped out the word "fuck" on the show, when ranting about the Conservative government of the time. A month later, Shaun Ryder was invited back on the show to do a "Stars in Their Eyes" skit. Ryder performed (as Johnny Rotten) the Sex Pistols' "Pretty Vacant". The section was transmitted live, as it was not  an interview. Ryder shouted "fuck" several times. Subsequently, the show was forced to be pre-recorded in later editions and Ryder has been barred from appearing live on any Channel 4 programme – he is the only person listed by name in the Channel 4 transmission guidebook. Despite this, he reappeared for the live 20th Anniversary Special in June 2015. In episode 2 of the 2015 series, actor Nicholas Hoult was heard saying "oh fuck it" after Chris Evans asked him to play the trombone. Evans immediately apologized afterwards. Car competition. The show gained more notoriety when as part of a  competition, two children were forced to go head-to-head in a stare-out contest to win their parents a car. After the competition was won, the boy who had lost then started to cry, which led the tabloid press to attack the show. The next edition showed the boy with the consolation prize of an assortment of toys, an apparent attempt to mitigate controversy, but which was followed by another staring contest (this time for a speedboat), again ending with the losing child crying. The ITC gave Channel 4 a formal warning following these two incidents, and the competition  feature never appeared again on the programme. On the 2015 revival show, both losing children (now grown-up) were invited back and given a free holiday to Barbados with their families. Chris Evans also took this opportunity to apologise for what they did to them, acknowledging that it should never have happened. Revival. In September 2005, Evans announced that he would be returning the "TFI Friday" format to TV, with "OFI Sunday" airing on ITV. The first edition was broadcast on 20 November 2005 but was not as successful and quickly axed. On 30 July 2014, Evans announced during his  BBC Radio 2 breakfast show that "TFI Friday" could be returning to Channel 4, after being asked to host a 20th anniversary special (despite the gap having been only been 19 years), as well as a new series, in 2015. During his radio breakfast show on 24 February 2015, Evans revealed that the show would return on Channel 4 on 12 June. It aired from the Cochrane Theatre in Holborn, "TFI Friday"s earlier home at Riverside Studios having been demolished. On 23 June 2015, it was confirmed that Channel 4 had commissioned a new series, which started airing on 16  October 2015, with U2 opening and closing the show. On 7 July 2016, Channel 4 confirmed it had "no plans" to commission more episodes of "TFI Friday". Regular features. Features on the show included: