CD:UK Hotshots
| CD:UK | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Presented by |
Ant & Dec (1998–2001) Cat Deeley (1998–2005) James Redmond (2001-2002) Tess Daly(2001-?) Brian Dowling(2001-?) Dave Berry (2005) Holly Willoughby (2005) Myleene Klass (2005–06) Lauren Laverne (2005–06) Johny Pitts (2005–06) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Blaze Television |
| Location(s) |
The London Studios (1998–2003) Riverside Studios (2003–06) |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Original release | 29 August 1998 – 1 April 2006 |
CD:UK (CountDown:United Kingdom), stylised as cd:uk, was a British music television programme. Originally run in conjunction with SMTV Live, the programme first aired on ITV on 29 August 1998 to rival the BBC's Live & Kicking and was the replacement for The Chart Show, which had been airing on the network for nine and a half years.
In contrast to its predecessor, which only showed promo videos, CD:UK was broadcast live on Saturday mornings with a studio audience and featured live performances, as well as star interviews and competitions. It also featured the Saturday Chart, which although was unofficial, usually reflected the new chart positions a day before the official chart was announced on Radio 1. This made the BBC's long-running Top of the Pops, which aired only the night before, seem very out-of-date broadcasting the previous week's chart. CD:UK later utilised an interactive chart based on viewers' votes, called the MiTracks Countdown. From 1999 to 2003, the show was sponsored by Tizer and Ribena.
In 2002, the programmes was criticised for showing "raunchy" performances in a slot aimed at children, sparked by a performance of "Dirrty" by Christina Aguilera. In response, a spin-off programme entitled CD:UK Hotshots, featuring music videos which could be considered unsuitable for daytime viewing, was launched in January 2003 and broadcast overnight.
CD:UK was originally fronted by the same presenting team for SMTV Live - Ant & Dec and Cat Deeley. Ant & Dec left both programmes on 1 December 2001 and were replaced by former Hollyoaks actor James Redmond, former MTV presenter Tess Daly and Big Brother winner Brian Dowling. Redmond was dropped the following year and eventually Dowling and Daly also left leaving Deeley as solo presenter.
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