| The Word | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Luke Campbell Julia Knowles |
| Presented by | Terry Christian Mark Lamarr Dani Behr Alan Connor Amanda de Cadenet Huffty Katie Puckrik Jasmine Dotiwala Michelle Collins |
| Theme music composer | 808 State[1] |
| Opening theme | Olympic (Euro Bass Mix)[2] |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 104 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Jane Buchanan |
| Producers | Sean Borg Paul Ross Tamsin Summers Asif Zubairy |
| Production locations | Limehouse Studios (1990–92)[3] Teddington Studios (1993–95)[3] |
| Running time | 60 minutes (inc. adverts) |
| Production company | Planet 24 |
| Original release | |
| Network | Channel 4 |
| Release | 24 August 1990[4] – 24 March 1995 |
| Related | |
| The Girlie Show | |
The Word was a 1990s Channel 4 television programme in the United Kingdom.[5]
The show's presenters included Terry Christian, comedian Mark Lamarr, Dani Behr, Katie Puckrik, Jasmine Dotiwala, Alan Connor, Amanda de Cadenet and Huffty.[6] 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.[6]
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.[7]
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.
