The Slammer (2006)

Country

United Kingdom

Length

7 seasons, 83 episodes

Rating

4.7 of 10 from 6 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A children's talent show set in a prison where young performers compete by singing or dancing to win their release. The acts are judged by a panel and the audience.

upbeatplayfulenergeticlightheartedfunwhimsicalsilly

What happens

The Slammer (also known as The Slammer Returns for its final two series) is a talent show for children that was broadcast on CBBC from 22 September 2006 until 26 July 2014. Set in a fictional prison, HMP The Slammer, the programme follows a variety show format in which "prisoners" who have been arrested for "showbiz related crimes" compete, by performing to an audience, to decide which act should be released. The series is produced by Steve Ryde, who also produced CBBC's Dick & Dom in da Bungalow and its spin-off, Harry Batt. It was based on an item from Dick and Dom called "The Strangely Talented", a game in which contestants performed their specialised acts in front of the "Bungalow Heads" to try to win the title of "Strangely Talented Champion". Some of the supporting cast of Dick and Dom in Da Bungalow appear in The Slammer: Dave Chapman, Ian Kirkby, Lee Barnett and Melvin Odoom. The show returned, after a two-year absence, to CBBC in October 2013, under the new name of The Slammer Returns. Special editions of the show, including The Slammer by the Sea, aired during the revived series. On 2 June 2016, Ian Kirkby announced that the new series had ended, stating: "[U]nfortunately CBBC have retired the Governor and Mr Burgess, probably for good...but, never say never!" (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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