Crackanory

Crackanory is a storytelling television series aimed at adults and inspired by the popular children's series Jackanory. It is broadcast on the UKTV 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, the town of Specsham, and "fat Nicola from accounts" being frequently referenced.

First series

Episode 1

• Jack Dee "Bitter Tweet" by Nico Tatarowicz
• Sally Phillips "What Peebee Did Next" by Toby Davies

Episode 2

• Rebecca Front "Fakespeare" by Toby Davies
• Kevin Eldon "What Do You Say?" by Kevin Eldon

Episode 3

• Harry Enfield "The Teacup Has Landed" by Nico Tatarowicz
• Sarah Solemani "Pleasure Drone" by Ali Crockatt and David Scott

Episode 4

• Sharon Horgan "The Translator" by Laurence Rickard
• Charlie Higson "The Road to Hell" by Jeremy Dyson

Episode 5

• Richard Hammond "Becoming Zoe" by Simon Judd and Alex Carter
• Jessica Hynes "My Former Self" by Holly Walsh

Episode 6

• Hugh Dennis "Head In the Clouds" by Jason Cook
• Stephen Mangan "The Newsreader" by Jane Bussmann and Naisola Grimwood

Live action actors in the series included 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 had recorded a story prior to his death. (He had performed George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl on the original Jackanory.) Channel boss Steve North called it a "complete privilege" to work with Mayall.

Episode 1

• Vic Reeves "In Space No-one Can Hear You Clean" by Nico Tatarowicz
• Rik Mayall "The Weatherman" by Tony Way

Episode 2

• Ben Miller "Man's Best Friend" by Alexander Kirk
• Sue Perkins "Return to Sender" by Melissa Bubnic

Episode 3

• David Mitchell "The Surprise" by Toby Davies
• Katherine Parkinson "The Crisis Plan" by Holly Walsh

Episode 4

• Johnny Vegas "Self Storage" by Alexander Kirk
• Meera Syal "The Obituary Writer" by Katherine Jakeways, original story by David Crow and Oliver Maltman

Episode 5

• Warwick Davis "The Untangler" by Toby Davies
• Emilia Fox "Murder He Wrote" by Nico Tatarowicz

Episode 6

• Simon Callow "Let Me Be the Judge" by Kevin Eldon
• Ruby Wax "I'm Still Here" by Ali Crockatt and David Scott

Live action actors in the second series included 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.

Episode 1

• Paul Whitehouse "Uncivil War" by Nico Tatarowicz
• Carrie Fisher "Dread and Breakfast" by Nico Tatarowicz

Episode 2

• Catherine Tate "The Catchment Area" by Holly Walsh
• Richard Ayoade "The Frogbeast of Pontfidd" by Toby Davies

Episode 3

• Jimmy Carr "The Zombie That Roared" by Alexander Kirk
• Christopher Lloyd "Di Sat Nav" by Melissa Bubnic

Episode 4

• Robbie Coltrane "The Last Laugh" by Toby Davies
• Sarah Millican "Abbatnoir" by Dafydd James

Episode 5

• Morgana Robinson "The Truth About Suz" by Edward Easton and Kiri Pritchard-McLean
• Greg Davies "The Vexed Message" by Tony Way

Episode 6

• Simon Bird "Unlucky for Sam" by Kevin Eldon
• Tamsin Greig "Bob's House" by Holly Walsh

Live action actors in the third series included Janine Duvitski, Amy Hoggart, 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 eight half-hour episode contained one, not two stories, unlike in previous series. UKTV commissioning executive Tanya Qureshi stated that, "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."

Episode 1

• Dara Ó Briain "A Close Slave" by Tony Way

Episode 2

• Sheridan Smith "Living with a Lie" by Nico Tatarowicz

Episode 3

• Bob Mortimer "The Despot of Tea" by Arnold Widdowson

Episode 4

• Anna Friel "The Survivor" by Alexander Kirk

Episode 5

• Mel Giedroyc "Proxy Lady" by Katherine Jakeways

Episode 6

• Doc Brown, "Devil's Haircut" by Sarah Morgan

Episode 7

• Mackenzie Crook, "The Disappearance" by Toby Davies

Episode 8

• Miriam Margolyes, "Pickled" by Kevin Eldon

Live action actors in the fourth series include Moya Brady, Tom Bennett, Neil Bell, Matthew Steer, Sophia Di Martino and David Gant

References

External links

• Crackanory at IMDb
• Crackanory at The British Comedy Guide Series and Episodes
• Harry Enfield returns with a twisted spin on Jackanory storytelling classic
• Website