How 2
| How 2 | |
|---|---|
| Presented by |
Fred Dinenage Gareth Evans Carol Vorderman (1990–96, 1998) Siân Lloyd (1997) Gail Porter (1999) Gail McKenna (2000–06) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 15 |
| No. of episodes | 198 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
TVS (1990–91) STV Productions (1992–2006) Lion TV (2004-2006) |
| Running time |
30 minutes (later 15 minutes) (inc. adverts) |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV Network (CITV) |
| Original release | 26 September 1990 – 1 September 2006 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | How (1966–1981) |
How 2 was an informative children's programme produced by TVS between 1990 and 1991, and STV Productions (Scottish Television) from 1992 to 2006.[1]
The original show (How) was produced by Southern Television from 1966 up until 1981 when the company lost its franchise to TVS, which was a regular fixture in the ITV schedules.
History
The show began in 1966 as How; a series popular in the 1970s. It was designed to provide answers to questions beginning with the word "How". Each episode began with the presenters all raising one hand and saying "How" simultaneously (playing on the stereotypical Native American greeting). Common topics covered included science, history, mathematics, and simple puzzles. The series came to an end in 1981 when Southern Television lost its ITV franchise, but was revived as How 2 in 1990 by TVS. In 2006 the final series was broadcast, having waited more than a year for transmission. The show was rebroadcast on STV in late 2009 as part of their weekend strand Wknd@stv broadcasting series 14 and 15. Repeats of the rebroadcasts on the weekend strand were also shown on the CITV Channel in October Half-Term 2009.
A similar CITV show to appear a few years later was The Big Bang, presented by How 2's own Gareth Jones and Violet Berlin. The Big Bang had a more scientific slant, focusing on performing fun experiments involving simple physics and chemistry. Other similar British television series included Don't Ask Me. Fred Dinenage was the only presenter to appear in both incarnations of How, presenting the shows for a total of 31 years. On 6 January 2013, as part of CITV's Old Skool Weekend (a televised event celebrating the strand's 30th anniversary), the first episode of 1995 series was shown. Prior to this, a How 2 segment was featured on the 30 Years of CITV documentary that aired on ITV on 29 December 2012 and featured interviews with Dinenage and Jones.
Series overview
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 September 1990 | 23 November 1990 | 10 |
| 2 | 23 September 1991 | 25 November 1991 | 10 |
| 3 | 7 September 1992 | 9 November 1992 | 10 |
| 4 | 6 September 1993 | 13 December 1993 | 15 |
| 5 | 5 September 1994 | 12 December 1994 | 15 |
| 6 | 4 September 1995 | 11 December 1995 | 14 |
| 7 | 9 September 1996 | 16 December 1996 | 151 |
| 8 | 1 September 1997 | 15 December 1997 | 2163 |
| 9 | 5 January 1999 | 6 April 1999 | 13 |
| 10 | 10 January 2000 | 11 April 2000 | 13 |
| 11 | 22 January 2001 | 16 February 2001 | 20 |
| 12 | 11 February 2002 | 22 February 2002 | 10 |
| 13 | 10 January 2003 | 14 March 2003 | 10 |
| 14 | 4 June 2004 | 27 August 2004 | 13 |
| 15 | 5 May 2006 | 1 September 2006 | 13 |
- Notes
1 The last episode of the series was a 30th anniversary special.
2 Before that, there was "The Best of How 2" which aired on 18 August 1997.
3 The last episode of the series was a Christmas special.
How Goes 2
There was no series aired in 1998 but there was a spin-off series called How Goes 2, which aired from 25 February to 15 April 1998.
References
External links
- How 2 at itv.com/citv – now defunct.