KYTV (TV series)

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KYTV is a British deadpan satirical comedy series that aired on BBC2 from 1989 to 1993, adapted directly from the popular BBC Radio 4 spoof series Radio Active created by the same core creative team. The show parodied the chaotic, low-budget early era of commercial satellite television broadcasting that had just emerged in the UK at the end of the 1980s, centered on a fictional, ramshackle satellite TV station of the same name.

Key moments

12 May 1989Pilot episode first broadcast on BBC2, introducing the station's core cast of bumbling on-air personalities
3 May 1990First full 6-episode series premieres, focusing on absurdly low-quality original programming tropes
17 March 1992Second 6-episode series launches, expanding its parody to cover news and reality TV formats
September–October 1993Third and final 6-episode series airs, followed by a short special segment for the Children in Need charity telethon

Relevant Cultural Satire of 1980s Media Disruption

When the show entered development, Rupert Murdoch's new Sky satellite service had just launched in the UK, sparking widespread public and critical concern that the new wave of unregulated commercial satellite broadcasters would flood the market with cheap, low-effort, dumbed down content. KYTV leaned directly into that cultural anxiety, exaggerating tacky production values, unqualified presenters, and cash-grab programming formats to deliver playful but sharp commentary on the shifting media landscape.

Rare Successful Radio-to-TV Comedy Adaptation

Few British radio comedy properties successfully made the jump to television without losing their signature tone, but KYTV achieved this smoothly by retaining the entire original Radio Active cast, most of the already fan-vetted, polished scripts, and the same deadpan mock-broadcast format that made the radio series a hit.

Unexpected Modern Resonance

Though it never reached the mainstream popularity of bigger 1990s British comedy hits, KYTV maintains a loyal cult audience decades after its release. Its gags about overcommercialized, low-effort streaming content and underprepared on-air talent still feel surprisingly applicable to the 2020s era of short-form social media content and low-budget digital streaming outlets.

genre	Comedy
writer	Angus Deayton Geoffrey Perkins
director	John Kilby John Stroud
starring	Helen Atkinson-Wood Angus Deayton Michael Fenton Stevens Geoffrey Perkins Philip Pope
country	United Kingdom
language	English
num series	3
num episodes	19

History

first aired	May 12, 1989

last aired	October 22, 1993

The show was in effect the television 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, 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 episode 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 episode "Good Morning Calais". In the DVD commentary for The Micallef Programme, lead writer and performer Shaun Micallef cites the series as an inspiration for his series' format.

Angus Deayton as Mike Channel

Helen Atkinson-Wood as Anna Daptor

Michael Fenton Stevens as Martin Brown

Geoffrey Perkins as Mike Flex

Philip Pope simply as The Continuity Announcer (not named)

Format

KYTV combined irreverent sketches and variety elements (such as song-and-dance routines) 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 from BSETV. This is similar to BSkyB, composed from the three letters of BSB and the remainder from Sky. The third series featured parodies of the early idents and logo used by Carlton Television.

Each episode featured a central theme (for example, a terrorist siege, the Channel Tunnel, or a costume drama) around which sketches could revolve.

Comedic elements included:

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'. Flex always managed to arrange the questions in such a way that nobody's answer was ever quite right. ("Name That Tune": 'Beatles, Yellow Submarine!' 'Sorry, it was The Beatles, "Yellow Submarine". Bad luck.')

Episodes

Pilot

"Siege Side Special" (12 May 1989)

Series 1

Series 1 was released on DVD in October 2006.

1) "Launch" (3 May 1990)
2) "Big Fight Special" (10 May 1990)
3) "The Green Green Show" (17 May 1990)
4) "Those Wonderful War Years" (24 May 1990)
5) "It's A Royal Wedding" (31 May 1990)
6) "Challenge Anna" (7 June 1990)

Series 2

Series 2 was released on DVD in October 2006.