UP2U

Overview

UP2U was a summer Saturday morning children's magazine show produced and screened by the BBC in 1988 and 1989. It aired during the late summer of each year, the early summer having been taken up by On The Waterfront. These two shows taken together formed the annual summer break replacement for Going Live! over those two years. UP2U was broadcast live from Manchester; the first series from a dedicated studio and the second from the programme's own production office. The programme was presented by Tony Dortie, Anthea Turner and Jenny Powell. The programme featured a mix of entertainment features, location reports, guest interviews and 'things-to-do' guides, with the title "UP2U" referring to the fact that, like in Blue Peter, viewers could write in to suggest subject matter for features and articles, and also vote by telephone during the live show for features, inserts and music videos to be shown. Each week, two of the presenters would be in the studio/office presenting the bulk of the show, with the third on location providing reports linked into the show at various points. During one of the location reports, from the Royal Tournament, Turner was injured when a pyrotechnic display exploded in her face whilst she was giving a piece to camera during a motorcycle stunt. The incident was broadcast live on-air and has more recently been uploaded onto video-sharing sites such as YouTube by those who had been recording the programme. The incident was later blamed on a miscommunication between programme staff and stunt organisers, coupled with an unplanned last-minute change in the location from which Turner gave her report.