Crackanory


Crackanory is a storytelling television series aimed at adults, inspired by the popular children's series Jackanory and broadcast on the UKTV television channel Dave. Each episode features tales narrated by contemporary comedians and actors, containing a mix of live action, original music and animation, all read from the same oversized chair, in a set consistent and reflective of the story. The first series attracted widespread critical acclaim and over half a million viewers to Dave.
There are a number of reoccurring themes through the series, with the fictional company Tripec Plastics and "fat Nicola from accounts" being frequently referenced.

First series

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Live action actors in the series include Alex Macqueen, Cariad Lloyd, Katherine Jakeways, James Bachman, Martha Howe-Douglas, Nick Mohammed, Vera Filatova, Cassie and Connie Powney

Second series

A second series was broadcast in 2014, and featured comedian Rik Mayall, who recorded a story just before his death. Channel boss Steve North was quoted as saying that it was a "complete privilege" to work with Mayall.
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Live action actors in the second series include Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Rosie Cavaliero, Michael Fish, Alice Lowe, Elis James, Victoria Wicks, Lucy Montgomery, Dominic Coleman, Tom Meeten and Sara Pascoe.

Third series

The third series, commissioned by UKTV, was broadcast in December 2015 and was sponsored by the Amazon-owned digital audio service Audible. The guest story readers for the six-part series included Christopher Lloyd, known for his roles in long-running sitcom Taxi and as Doc Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy.
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Live action actors in the third series include Janine Duvitski, Amy Hoggart, Perry Fitzpatrick, Ray Panthaki, Kerry Howard, Alice Lowe, Martha Howe-Douglas, Marcia Warren, Kerry Godliman and Steve Oram.

Fourth series

The fourth series, also commissioned by UKTV, was broadcast in January and February 2017. Each of the eight half-hour programmes was dedicated to just one tale, rather than the two of previous seasons. UKTV commissioning executive Tanya Qureshi added: ‘We are thrilled to be bringing back the award-winning Crackanory for a fourth time on Dave. It has become one of our landmark brands and the ambitions of the show continue to grow with each new series. We’re hugely excited to see the storytelling format evolve into a single narrative per episode, and to reveal the talented narrators who will be taking a seat in the iconic Crackanory chair.’
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Live action actors in the fourth series include Moya Brady, Tom Bennett, Neil Bell, Matthew Steer, Sophia Di Martino and David Gant