Community hub
Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Noel's House Party
Noel's House Party is a BBC light entertainment series that was hosted by Noel Edmonds. Set in a large house in the fictional village of Crinkley Bottom, leading to much innuendo, it ran from 23 November 1991 to 20 March 1999 on BBC One and was broadcast live on Saturday evenings for eight series. The show, once described by a senior corporation executive as "the most important show on the BBC", was cancelled in February 1999 due to declining ratings, although two further compilation specials were shown in March 2000.
In 2010, Noel's House Party was voted the best Saturday night TV show of all time. In August 2022, an episode of the show, the tenth episode of the first series (originally broadcast on 1 February 1992), was repeated on BBC Four. This marked the first time since 2000 that the show had been broadcast on the BBC. In July 2024, it was announced that the show would get another repeat on BBC Four, on 3 August, showing the nineteenth episode of the third series (originally broadcast on 5 March 1994).
Noel's House Party was the successor to The Noel Edmonds Saturday Roadshow, carrying over some of its regular features such as the 'Gunge Tank', the 'Gotcha Oscar' and 'Wait Till I Get You Home'.
The show had many celebrity guests posing as residents of Crinkley Bottom, including Frank Thornton and Vicki Michelle. It gave birth to Mr Blobby in the Gotcha segment. There was also a contrived rivalry between Edmonds and Tony Blackburn. One-off celebrity appearances included Michael Crawford as Frank Spencer, who came in to find the whole audience dressed as Frank after comedian Stuart Henderson had performed as Frank singing The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There" and Ken Dodd in a highwayman's outfit—"going cheap at the Maxwell sale"—as Noel's long-lost 'twin', Berasent Edmonds (a play on Bury St Edmunds).
After several changes, the show began to decline in popularity. Its theme tune was changed in 1996, and set redesigns followed. The episode due to be broadcast on 3 January 1998 had to be cancelled after a disagreement between Edmonds and the BBC. The budget had been cut by 10%, with the money saved being used to help fund the BBC digital switchover. Edmonds reportedly walked out, claiming the show was "of a poor standard and cobbled together".
The BBC cancelled the show in February 1999 after ratings plummeted from a high of 15 million to 8 million. Edmonds closed the final episode of House Party on 20 March 1999 by saying:
It's an overworked expression when people say 'it's the end of an era', but for BBC Television for the entertainment department, for me, and possibly you, it really is the end of an era. I hope your memory will be very kind to us after 169 [episodes]... bye.
In a statement, Edmonds said:
Hub AI
Noel's House Party AI simulator
(@Noel's House Party_simulator)
Noel's House Party
Noel's House Party is a BBC light entertainment series that was hosted by Noel Edmonds. Set in a large house in the fictional village of Crinkley Bottom, leading to much innuendo, it ran from 23 November 1991 to 20 March 1999 on BBC One and was broadcast live on Saturday evenings for eight series. The show, once described by a senior corporation executive as "the most important show on the BBC", was cancelled in February 1999 due to declining ratings, although two further compilation specials were shown in March 2000.
In 2010, Noel's House Party was voted the best Saturday night TV show of all time. In August 2022, an episode of the show, the tenth episode of the first series (originally broadcast on 1 February 1992), was repeated on BBC Four. This marked the first time since 2000 that the show had been broadcast on the BBC. In July 2024, it was announced that the show would get another repeat on BBC Four, on 3 August, showing the nineteenth episode of the third series (originally broadcast on 5 March 1994).
Noel's House Party was the successor to The Noel Edmonds Saturday Roadshow, carrying over some of its regular features such as the 'Gunge Tank', the 'Gotcha Oscar' and 'Wait Till I Get You Home'.
The show had many celebrity guests posing as residents of Crinkley Bottom, including Frank Thornton and Vicki Michelle. It gave birth to Mr Blobby in the Gotcha segment. There was also a contrived rivalry between Edmonds and Tony Blackburn. One-off celebrity appearances included Michael Crawford as Frank Spencer, who came in to find the whole audience dressed as Frank after comedian Stuart Henderson had performed as Frank singing The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There" and Ken Dodd in a highwayman's outfit—"going cheap at the Maxwell sale"—as Noel's long-lost 'twin', Berasent Edmonds (a play on Bury St Edmunds).
After several changes, the show began to decline in popularity. Its theme tune was changed in 1996, and set redesigns followed. The episode due to be broadcast on 3 January 1998 had to be cancelled after a disagreement between Edmonds and the BBC. The budget had been cut by 10%, with the money saved being used to help fund the BBC digital switchover. Edmonds reportedly walked out, claiming the show was "of a poor standard and cobbled together".
The BBC cancelled the show in February 1999 after ratings plummeted from a high of 15 million to 8 million. Edmonds closed the final episode of House Party on 20 March 1999 by saying:
It's an overworked expression when people say 'it's the end of an era', but for BBC Television for the entertainment department, for me, and possibly you, it really is the end of an era. I hope your memory will be very kind to us after 169 [episodes]... bye.
In a statement, Edmonds said: