The show was in effect the TV version of Radio Active, which spoofed local radio stations, and was developed by the same team. It was written by Angus Deayton and Geoffrey Perkins, produced by Jamie Rix, directed by John Kilby and John Stroud, and with music by Philip Pope. The majority of the programme's scripts had already aired on Radio Active. The five key actors all performed various roles, some multiple, others on a single occasion. Their main characters as presenters were:
The pilot show was broadcast on 12 May 1989, and a series of six programmes began on 3 May 1990. A second series of six began on 17 March 1992, and a final six episodes were broadcast between 17 September and 22 October 1993, plus an additional Children in Need special, making a total of 19 episodes. In 1992 the series won the Silver Rose and the Special Prize of the City of Montreux at the Festival Rose d'Or for the "Good Morning Calais" episode. In the DVD commentary for The Micallef Programme, lead writer and performer Shaun Micallef cites the series as an inspiration for his show's format.
Format
KYTV combined irreverent sketches and variety elements with a broad-based satire of the public perception of UK satellite television - that of opportunistic entrepreneurs producing cheap, low quality television in order to exploit viewers. KYTV was a fictional low-budget satellite television station named after its owner Sir Kenneth Yellowhammer, and bore a suspicious similarity to Sky Television. In the second series KYTV merged with the fictional "BSE Television", just as Sky merged with BSB. The channel's new name was also KYTV, composed from the first two letters of KYTV and the last two of BSETV. The third series featured parodies of Carlton Television's early logos. Each episode featured a central theme around which sketches could revolve. Comedic elements included:
malfunctioning equipment
rolling news channels with little content or analysis
lavish "showcase sequences" compared to shoddy, makeshift visuals or unfinished sets
endless repeats of imported or old programmes as an attempt to fill yawning gulfs of airtime
relentless commercial intrusions, including plugs for shopping channels
A regular feature was "Mike Flex's Master Quiz", in which contestants typically had to answer one question correctly to win "a château in the Loire". Mike Flex always managed to arrange the questions in such a way that nobody's answer was ever quite right.
