Show props & giveaways

Original families of the week & competition winners would be lucky to get their hands on an exclusive pink JVC Big Breakfast Televisions. Now though families and most guests on the show receive an exclusive china teapot emblazoned with "I've been on The Big Breakfast" If you wrote to the show in it's first year or so you'd have got a courtesy postcard thanking you for writing. On it's front a teapot with the logo and address on the back. Fans could also contact the show for signed postcards of its presenters. With hundreds of requests every week you'd be lucky to get one.

Visitors to the house in Bow East-London are often lucky enough to receive signed cue cards, but only the truly dedicated go that far! Even harder to nab are a range of T-Shirts worn by the crew over the years. They normally have 'crew' across the back and feature the show logo on the front. Some variations include a 'Life Starts At Seven' version with a cartoon Johnny & Denise on the front and the shows logo on the arm. Also T-Shirts with 'Vaughan Free' for Johnny's last show and 'The Johnny & Jenny Show' for The Jenny McCarthy week in January 1999. Variations on these for but with the 'Wonga' & 'Junior Wonga' logos also exist and even rarer areWonga baseball caps. In it's final year the crew were issued with black sweatshirts with 'The Big Breakfast' logo in gold across the chest. Some of these shirts were issued to fans at the special show live from Barnsley in Yorkshire in September 2001. For the final show some crew sported an 'I Heart BB' shirt with cockney Vic having a sleeveless fitted version with 'Cockney Vic' on the back.

The ultimate bit of Merchandise of course would be the Big Breakfast house - a full scale replica of which was given away in May 1994, failing that in 1993 the show gave away cars painted in BB colours.

Over the years Channel 4 have tried to get the show more attention. Spurred on by rising ratings in 1997 they issued a special promotional video to talent agencies and international music/tv big wigs in an attempt to get more celeb bookings. The video was beautifully packaged in a cereal box featuring Johnny, Denise and very bright show graphics. The stunt was repeated in 1999 to promote the arrival of Lisa Tarbuck. This time the promotion was delivered with a stylish free coffee pot once again featuring bright BB graphics.

In summer 1999 The Big Breakfast launched it's now legendary 'You Beauty' campaign with visitors to Wimbledon receiving an A4 card with You Beauty pictured on it and 'Ace' on the reverse. These were highly sought after, The BB offices had so many requests for the card that The Sun newspaper printed one in its pages. The show tried to emulate the success in summer 2000 with Big Breakfast Cuzoos, sadly these didn't catch the nations heart. Another BB Giveaway was a 'Down Your Doorstep' sticker to entice Keith Chegwin into your house in 1993 while in 1999 viewers who wrote into the show received a large poster of Johnny, Liza, Bacon, Sara Cox & Phil Gayle all in regal clothes declaring 'TV's Royal Family: The Great British Breakfast; 7-9 Channel 4.

As BB fans will know every now and then the house had a make over to keep the look up to date with the latest trends. This meant that furniture formally used but no longer needed on the BB 'disappeared' from the house. So keep your eyes open on ebay - we all know how dodgy some of the BB crew are because you just might find old props and set cropping up. Take this for instance - the sofa from Liza's boudoir. Or the pink TVs which appear now and then online!

Perhaps the most sought after exclusive-to-the-show merchandise were the Big Breakfast mugs. Launched in 1999 to coincide with the return of More Tea Vicar these mugs are extremely hard to get hold of only given away in competitions or 'ahem' stolen from the Big Breakfast's canteen! Top marks though goes to anyone who can steal one of the famous Big Breakfast Umbrellas which have featured on many outside broadcasts since the shows launch! Another item that has been smuggled from the house over the years is the Big Breakfast name badge issued to all guests on the show.

A popular prop that many fans have is the BB Cue Card. With many design changes over the 10 years (including one 'temporary card') the cue card is one prop you were bound to get if you went to the picket fence, often signed by presenters and crew. With different designs for each look of the show as well as different designs for regular items/competitions BB completists have a lot to try and get hold of!

1999 saw a range of Vital Statistics merchandise given exclusively to callers who provide stats for the show. Over the weeks cue cards, t-shirts and ties were all given away featuring the distinctive Vital Stats graphics but oddly one week saw a Vital Stats thong up for grabs. Well it could only be on The Big Breakfast.

The final show on March 29th gave visitors to the house the chance for a good steal. A limited run of 1000 collectors plates was commissioned and given to guests to the last ever BB. Only 999 now exist and one has been seen on Ebay for £250! The plates featured a picture of the house with the main presenters pictured around it. Another collectable is theLast Ever BB script - worth even more if you have a signed edition!

The tradition of exclusive gifts continued when The Big Breakfast returned in 2021. Guests and crew on the 'Black to Front' special each received a medal featuring the show's key art in celebration of their contribution.