La Triviata
The Big Breakfast was on air between 1992 - 2002 & 2021 and produced 2483 shows. That's 4966 hours of shows with no content but plenty of useless info - here's some of the best.
The Big Breakfast launched on September 28th 1992 replacing the dull Channel 4 Daily. The shows initial mandate was to double its predecessor's audience figure of 250,000. This proved no problem for Chris and Gaby - they boosted Channel 4's morning ratings by 600%
The Show's production company Planet 24 was originally part owned by Bob Geldof. He even employed his wife, Paula Yates, on the show as the on-the-bed-interviewer.
When Chris Evans left the show in 1994 the ratings dropped drastically. This caused Planet 24 to 'relaunch' the show on a number of occasions. First Mark Little and Zoe Ball (who used to be a researcher on the show) were brought in. They didn't hit it off and both left.
The Big Breakfast launched in Australia in 1999, however it is aimed at Children rather than teens/twentysomethings. The Oz version features more cartoons than celeb interviews.
There was also a Canadian 'The Big Breakfast' which only shares the same clock font and name! The content of the show focuses more on local music and rock.
Ardal O'Hanlon could have been a roving reporter on The Big Breakfast had it not been for Father Ted. In an interview with Jarlath Regan's An Irishman Abroad podcast in January 2014, the comic said he auditioned at 6am one day for the early morning show show 'even though I had no real aptitude or interest in getting up' – and they offered him a six-month contract to be on call. But later that same day he got the call from Arthur Mathews to audition for Father Ted.
Phil Gayle The Big Breakfast's newsreader (1996 - 1999, 2002 & 2021) used to be a mobile DJ going by the name of Paul Benton
In 1995 the house suffered a major power cut and had to be replaced with an episode of 'The Clangers' It was also taken off air on St. Patricks day 1993.
The 'pushy dads' item became a success in 1999. Jenna-Louise Jones who was featured singing on the show following pressure from her 'pushy dad,' Wayne Jones, is now starring in a West End show!
In its nine and a half year run The Big Breakfast has only had three days off. This was due to 'September 11th' where Channel 4 felt the shows style was inappropriate.
Zig & Zag facts
Zig & Zag's brightly coloured 'dangly bits' are called Zog-a-bongs.
Zig and Zag the aliens from the planet Zog were the longest running presenters on the show, right from September 1992 through until January 1999. They then returned for the final month of the show in February 2002 with their original slot 'The Crunch.'
Zig & Zag actually emailed us at 'A Load Of Bow Locks' in 1998 saying that they were upset they didn't feature on the site. 'The boys are watching you!' proclaimed the email.
Popular belief has it that the Xmas shows were all prerecorded. This wasn't always the case. The actual date of the first Big Breakfast not to be broadcast live was Monday December 27th 1993. Meaning the 1992 Xmas shows were actually live.
The leader of the house band - Harry & The Playmates has played piano for Prince Charles.
Prince Charles reveled himself a fan of the show when he sent a letter to the house on the final day claiming that people will mourn the passing of The Big Breakfast like the loss of a friend.
My-Lenny-Um-Gnome which has graced the garden since 1999 was delivered to the Channel 4 London HQ on the morning of the final show. He conveyed a message from The Big Breakfast's production team - a two finger salute!
On April 1st 1998 The BIG Breakfast got into trouble with various authorities for pulling an April Fools stunt showing video footage of the Millennium Dome on fire.
In 1996 the Big Breakfast House was transformed into a 1920's Art Decco pad but this gave the show a very sterile studio feel a far cry from the bright but cosy lockkeepers cottages of before. The new hosts Rick Adams and Sharon Davies again failed to fill the gap left by Chris and Gaby. In fact the only good bit about the new Big Breakfast was its jazzed up theme tune and new weather girl Denise Van Outen.
The house has had a total of 5 external looks. The original brick, the white 1920's style artdeco look, then went bright yellow, for a while it was painted a dull orange colour and finally the painted on brick work.
The Big Breakfast was almost forced off the air on October 30th 2000 when the house was flooded. Regaurdless the crew battled the water and Richard Bacon donned wellies and presented the show anyway!
When Liza Tarbuck guested on Room 101 she chose a moment from The Big Breakfast to go in. Yes the famous 'snot' incident was consigned to Paul Merton's room of horrors.
Robbie Williams spent a week hosting the show - his first official TV appearance after leaving Take That.
In 1996 the Labour Party's literacy guru, Professor Michael Barber, claimed that the frantic pace of the show left children unable to concentrate when they got to school.
On St. Patricks Day - March 17th 1993 The Big Breakfast was forced off air by transmitter trouble. After 10 minutes C4 cut back to Chris switching on an Electric socket proclaiming "Damn Leprechauns, it was the little fella!"
In May 1994 the Big Breakfast caused national mayhem when it ran a competition to win an exact replica of the Big Breakfast house being built in Telford. Gillian Baker from Grimsby who won the house spent a two week holiday there before selling it for £64,000. It has now been converted into three flats.
Keith Chegwin also had a frosty reception when he made an early-morning call on Sarah Greene and Mike Smith for Down Your Doorstep. The couple reported Cheggers to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission.
The BB once poked fun at Blue Peter during the Tracy Island mania. The Brekkie showed viewers how to build their own Marineville from Stingray - all you needed was £29 and a good Toy Store...
In 1993 the show's pet chickens, Lucky, Lisa and Alfred Hitch, were eaten by a fox despite being guarded by Group 4 security. Happily a new trio arrived and were christened Paxo, Sage and Onion. A later pet - a talking Mynah Bird also died under mysterious circumstances.
The first prize given away on the show was a Pink Big Breakfast telly complete with toast popping out the top. Nowadays the most sought after prize is a Big Breakfast Mug - if your very lucky you could get hold of a teapot stating on it's side 'I've been on The Big Breakfast'
A Woman was involved in an accident while being chauffeured to the show to talk about Peter the sick bat whom she had nursed back to health in her bra. She threatened to sue when Peter died days later.
Cricketer Graham Gooch shaved his moustache off and sold it on the show for £500.
When Zoe Ball made her big entrance on her first show she tripped falling through a sheet of false glass. But she actually had worked on The Big Breakfast for a lot longer - she was a researcher for 'Family Of The Week'.
One Dad from a 'family of the week' was recognised by the police who had a warrant for his arrest.
The show was relaunched (again) in September 1997 with new hosts Denise Van Outen and Johnny Vaughan. The Art Deco style house was returned back to its original cosy lock keepers cottage look on the inside but the outside was painted bright yellow.
In 1998 the BB was almost sued by Casio after JV and Denise repeatedly played the Demo on one of their Keyboards, it was dubbed The Basildon Sound Machine and saw a watery grave when it was buried in the pond. The lyrics 'building castles in the sky' which JV & Den made up bore an uncanny resemblance to the later Will Smith hit 'Just The Two Of Us.' Perhaps this was the real reason for the keyboards burial. Not to worry it reappeared on Den's last show Jan 1st '99.
Gaby Roslin returned to The Big Breakfast - as a guest on the show in May '98. See the return of 'Mummy Breakfast' on Youtube.
In 1999 the show caused a huge fad - the You Beauty signs. Demand was so high Planet 24 printed a copy in The Sun newspaper. Wimbledon was swamped with the signs. One even made it to the cover of The Times. The Big Breakfast tried to repeat the craze in 2000 but for whatever reason the Big Breakfast Wimbledon Kazoo didn't quite match up to the You Beauties!
Dom Joly of Trigger Happy TV made his first major television appearance on The Big Breakfast in summer 1999 - but he wasn't welcome. Dressed as a carrot he wrestled past security and slammed against the French Windows as Johnny was talking to camera. Security dragged him away as Johnny screamed 'Come On Then, Do You Want Some!?!' A few months later Dom appeared on The Big Breakfast to promote the new 'Trigger Happy TV' and revealed he was infact that mystery carrot. He also shared the news that his stunt had lead him to spend a day in the local police station!
The May 2000 garage remix of David Arnold's BB theme tune was actually created by The Artful Dodger.
The bulldog in the May 2001 credits was not Johnny's dog Harvey (why most think this is unknown) You see Harvey doesn't have dark patches on his face unlike the Bulldog seen in the credits.
Denise Van Outen once interviewed John Prescott in The Big Breakfast helicopter.
Mark Lamarr the original roving reporter on 'Down Your Doorstep' resigned after one winter of waking up Britain gave him pneumonia.
It was The Big Breakfast that prompted 50s throwback Mark Lamarr to shave off his famous quiff when he returned to the show in January 2000 - all in the name of charity. Who had the honours? Miss. Donna Air of course!.
Out of the 2482 shows only 34 haven't been broadcast from the Bow Lock's house. 30 were during the summer of 1996 when the hosue received it's make over into an art deco villa. Instead the show was hosted from a boat touring the UK. 2 were hosted from Dublin for St. Patrick's Day 1998. The Big Breakfast after Princess Diana's death was broadcast from a shopping centre with a very sombre atmosphere while the remaining one was from Barnsley in Yorkshire in September 2001 following a competition where you could 'win' The Big Breakfast.
One of the fondest memories of JV on the show was during an interview with a Young Fogey. Frank Murphy guested on the show 13th October 1998 as the youngest member of the George Fornby society. Frank refused a George Fornby waistcoat opting instead for a Playstation. Johnny just cracked up and couldn't stop laughing for almost 5 minutes. "We honestly thought he'd have the waistcoat" After the show the producers presented young Frank with the waistcoat anyway!
The Big Breakfast's official website was launched on October 4th 1998. Until then the Channel 4 forum used to advertise THIS site for people who kept asking for photo's of Johnny & Denise. This site is actually one of the oldest BB site's going - it launched in February 1998.
A Load of Bow Locks concerned a number of fans on April 1st 1999 when it ran a story that the house had suffered a fire shortly after going off air completely gutting the living room.
Sadly this April fool turned out to be a stunning prediction. On 8th November 2002 a real fire broke out in the disused Big Breakfast house damaging the roof and gutting the first floor. It was suspected to be an act of arson and at the time of writing the house still stands in its damaged state with blue plastic sheeting covering the hole in the roof.
The Big Breakfast house was put on the market in June 2002 for £1 Million. The estate agent boasted that this former TV studio could be an excellent residential house complete with spacious rooms and swimming pool. It is still unconfirmed as to whether the house was ever sold.
smeg_head, the editor of this website appeared on The Last Ever Big Breakfast as one of the shows 'Superfans'
Andy Halligan appeared on the show in March 2000 claiming to be the shows biggest fan. When tested on his knowledge he failed miserable not even getting the More Tea Vicar song right! He blamed nerves and Live TV for the misfortune. (Johnny later admitted that he talked with him in the canteen and was amazed by his insight into the show)
The Big Breakfast's replacement 'Ri:se' was a ratings disaster. It has already been completely relaunched just nine months after it's launch. Since then it has scored a 'zero rating.' A first for Channel 4 breakfast shows.
In August 2020 Channel Four announced that the show would receive a revival as part of it's Black to Front week scheduled for 2021.