GEORDIE RACER STORY DETAILS

GEORDIE RACER

• Index     > Introduction     > The Plot     > Episode Listings     > Cast and Crew     > Theme Tune (download!)     > Video Clips (download!)     > Notes     > Links     > Picture Gallery • Geordieland Locations • Geordie Dictionary

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ON TV:	Not scheduled at the moment, but it will be repeated again in the next year - watch this space
ON VIDEO:	Not available on video or DVD, you'll have to tape it off TV yourself
> More information on the official BBC Schools Programme Guide

Introduction

Completely contemporary (to 1988) story set in Newcastle about the invigorating amateur sports of marathon running and pigeon racing, and the unsavory world of art theft, and about the Hilton family which manages to get itself embroiled in all three. Spuggy Hilton isn't a Runner like the rest of his family, but is a keen pigeon fancier and owns one of the bonniest birds in NewCAStle. He and his friend Janie observe some suspicious activity, and link a spate of local robberies with obscure messages they find on some of the pigeons, but find they have even more problems when they go to spy on the crooks.
A local radio DJ called Mickey Stone also helped Spuggy in the story and did the Wordy bits from his studio, while Derek Griffiths played a hilarious 'High-Powered DJ' in some of the songs.

EXTRA: Download the Geordie Racer story book
EXTRA: Geordieland location guide
EXTRA: Geordie dictionary


The Plot
WARNING! SPOILERS!   Reading this bit will give away the whole storyline and ruin your enjoyment if you haven't already seen/read it.

Young Richard Hilton, known as Spuggy, can't be bothered with the Great North Run (a sort of mini marathon thing that the rest of his family are taking part in), preferring to spend time at the local pigeon lofts with his favourite bird, Blue Flash. He meets a pigeon trainer called Baz and spends some time in his lofts, where he gets a look at several secret messages that Baz receives by pigeon. Spuggy and his friend Janie link the messages with a series of robberies that have been taking place. Learning of the next robbery from a message, they go to spy on the robbers and Spuggy is shocked to see that his unemployed dad (Kevin Whately) is working as their driver. When Spuggy eventually talks to his dad about this, he finds that dad didn't know they were actually commiting theft, he just wanted a job. The final, big robbery is due to take place during the Great North Run, but when Janie discovers the details she is (accidentally) imprisoned by Baz. She gets a message to Spuggy by sending off Blue Flash - who had been lost during a race and discovered by Baz, who planned to keep the bird for himself - with a message. Spuggy is able to summon the police and gets his sister to chase the villains and get their stolen money back. Well, chuck it all over the street anyway.


Episode Listings

1.	Runners and Fliers
	The Hilton family is in training for the Great North Run - with the exception of Spuggy. Racing pigeons are Spuggy's great love and he's sure Blue Flash will be a champion.
2.	Down in the Cellars
	Spuggy has managed to surprise his family with his sponsorship idea. Meanwhile a surprise of a different kind awaits the children in the gloomy cellars of Seaton Delaval Hall.
3.	Pigeon Post
	Baz shows Spuggy how he uses his pigeons to carry messages - but is the message Spuggy sees really just 'a racing tip'?
4.	'This Is Radio Newcastle'
	Spuggy's interview with Mickey goes well and Blue Flash is sponsored by the time he leaves for the big race.
5.	Race Day
	While Spuggy waits for Blue Flash to return from the big race, he puzzles over the message brought by Baz's pigeon. Is Baz up to something? Then Spuggy finds a second message...
6.	Light of St Mary
	Spuggy and Janie link the pigeon messages with the recent spate of burglaries and while hot on the trail they make an important discovery - but Spuggy gets a terrible shock...
7.	Lost Bird
	Spuggy spends a sleepless night worrying about his dad. Who can he turn to for help? Meanwhile Blue Flash has fallen into the hands of Baz Bailey who has great plans for him...
8.	'Have You Gone Daft, Man?'
	The photographs taken in the cellars give Spuggy and Janie the final proof of Baz's criminal activities, but Dad soon finds that Baz is not easy to outwit.
9.	'If Only We Knew When...'
	The police need more information before they can arrest Baz and Victor. Then, on the day of the Great North Run, Janie visits her dad's ship...
10.	Run!
	As the crowd cheer and the Great North Run gets under way, Janie is still trapped on the ship. Will her message about the raid get through? Can the crooks be foiled?

The casting of real-life husband-and-wife actors Kevin Whately and Madelaine Newton as Spuggy's Mam and Dad was a complete coincidence. Newton was originally cast at an audition session, and the following day the production team independently contacted Whately, who had previous experience in schools television, unaware of the relationship between the two. He was delighted to appear in Look And Read but had just one question: who had been chosen to play his wife?! Peter Rowell was a genuine Radio Newcastle DJ with a (then innovative) local issues call-in show just like Mickey Stone's. The writer and production team sat in on his programme (and were interviewed on-air!) while researching the storyline, and when it came to casting a local DJ for the story, he was a natural choice. The character was called Mickey Stone because - of course - Stone is a Magic E word. Rowell is now a senior newsreader at HTV West. CLICK HERE for information and pictures on the TV Ark website.

Cast and Crew

Written by Music by Assistant producer Producer	Christopher Russell Roger Limb David Meldrum Sue Weeks
'Bungo' supplied by Pauline Clift, pigeon advisers Jim Nicholson, Tom Young, lyrics by Rosanna Hibbert, Gordon Snell, reading consultant Mary Hoffman, film animation Richard Taylor, graphic designer Peter Wane, costume designer Dennis Brack, make-up designer Jean Speak, design Paul Munting, Katia Montillet, film cameraman Colin Munn, film editors Ian McKendrick, David Painter, sound Bob Roberts, Brian Clark, studio lighting Chris Townsend, studio technical co-ordinators Peter Granger, Michael Langley-Evans, CREW 5 Paul Kay, videotape editor Steve Knattress, video effects Dave Jervis, production manager Michael McDermott, location manager Terry Wright, assistant floor managers Angela de Chastelai Smith, Diana Barton, production assistant Susan Lawton
Narrator Starring Singers	Michael Heath Leon Armstrong as Spuggy Hilton Lien Lu as Janie Chung Lesley Casey as Cath Hilton Brian Hogg as Victor Madelaine Newton as Bev Hilton Fred Pearson as Baz Bailey Peter Rowell as Mickey Stone Kevin Whately as Ray Hilton Bungo as Plod Charles Collingwood as Wordy Katie Hebb as Wordy puppeteer Rachel Mackay as Bug-Bopper Mary Edwards as Bug-Bopper puppeteer Derek Griffiths Julie Stevens Colin Marsh

Theme Tune

The Geordie Racer theme tune, as sung by Derek Griffiths.

Flying free, flying high,
Flashing wings across the sky,
Geordie racer, Geordie racer.

On the road, in the street,
Hear the sound of pounding feet,
Geordie racer, Geordie racer.

Don't wait, don't stop,
You're heading home.
Don't rest, don't drop,
You're heading home.

In the air, on the ground,
See them moving all around.
Running hard, flying fast,
See them all go rushing past,
Geordie racer - fly!
music by Roger Limb, sung by Derek Griffiths
MP3 file: 48 seconds, 377 kb (very loud!)

> CLICK HERE for the Downloads section, including this and several other theme tunes.

Video Clips

• Clip 1 - Genuine Geordie
A naturalistic, everyday conversation between a Geordie dad and his two kids. Cath is going for a run. Spuggy offers to race her (on the bus)."Ye gan canny an all!"

	Download WMV file 36 seconds @ 30kbps = 136kb
	Download RM file (or click here to stream it) 36 seconds @ 34kbps = 156kb

• Clip 2 - The Mickey Stone Show
Spuggy goes on Mickey Stone's painfully boring local radio show to tell the DJ about his fundraising idea (getting people to sponsor Blue Flash in the big pigeon race). Stone proceeds to patronise, interrupt and laugh at the poor lad. "This IS Radio Newcastle."

	Download WMV file 114 seconds @ 30kbps = 430kb
	Download RM file (or click here to stream it) 114 seconds @ 34kbps = 493kb

• Clip 3 - Who is the driver?
Spuggy and Janie, having discovered where and when Baz's criminal gang plan to get their loot picked up, go to spy on them. Spuggy is shocked to discover the identity of the gang's driver: it's The Actor Kevin Whately (or Spuggy's dad if you prefer).

	Download WMV file 45 seconds @ 30kbps = 169kb
	Download RM file (or click here to stream it) 45 seconds @ 34kbps = 199kb

> CLICK HERE for more video clips from Look And Read stories.

Notes

Geordie Racer was the 21st Anniversary Look And Read story, and they knew it, going so far as to include a mock-up newspaper feature about '21st Birthday Celebrated In Geordieland' at the back of the teacher's notes. Producer Sue Weeks (pictured left with writer Christopher Russell, who also did Fair Ground! and Through The Dragon's Eye; Sue Weeks produced everything from 1974 to 1992) was quoted as saying that "'Look And Read' is watched by about one and a half million children" A special run of Look And Read T-shirts were produced for the occasion (pictured below right) and obviously proved so popular that another T-shirt - this time bright green - was made for the following story, Through The Dragon's Eye.

Here is a list of all of the broadcasts of this story on the BBC. Unless your teachers managed to get the video recorder to work, this is when you would have seen it in school. See the Air Dates section for precise dates and times.
      Spring 1988, BBC2
      Spring 1990, BBC2
      Spring 1991, BBC2
      Spring 1993, BBC2
      Spring 1995, BBC2
      Summer 2003, CBBC
      Autumn 2003, CBBC
      Spring 2004, CBBC
      Autumn 2004, CBBC
      Spring 2006, CBBC




Links

• Many pupils following the story got a visit from a pigeon fancier in their classroom to give them a first-hand introduction to the birds. There's a photo of this happening in the late 80s on the third row on this page.
http://www.fairlands.herts.sch.uk/museum/eighties.htm

• The second to last item right at the bottom of this page is an educational description of one school's wonderful extension of Geordie Racer and its Great North Run - they had the Great Playground Run.
http://www.standrews.dorset.sch.uk/prospectus/subject_policies/geography.htm

• You can download the original BBC Micro Geordie Racer game from the internet and play it on your computer through an emulator. See the 'Books, Videos and Stuff' page for details.
/trivia/stuff.html#games

• Ian Trembirth's Look and Read site has some nice Geordie Racer pictures and episode commentary.
http://www.trembirth.demon.co.uk/lookread/   (frameset)

> CLICK HERE for more general links about Look And Read and schools TV.

Picture Gallery

Spuggy, Dad, Mam, Cath, Mickey Stone, Plod, Victor and Baz

Blue Flash (right) and Perfect Lady (bottom left). Spot the difference.	A report on the front page said that valuable paintings had been stolen from a house in Jesmond. Janie and Spuggy looked at each other.

Spuggy knew he should tell the police everything he and Janie had found out. But would he be telling on his own dad?	Baz shook his head. 'Nobody's ganna understand that, are they, Ray? The best thing you can do is say nowt.'

		> See every Look & Read book cover in the Trivia section > Get complete books, including this one, from the Downloads section
Janie wrote a message and attached it to the pigeon's leg. 'If you are Blue Flash, fly home!' she cried. And she tossed the bird out of the porthole.	The pupil's pamphlet

Geordie Racer continuity slide	And another one	Geordie Racer resources

this site  the web

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