Fully Booked
| Fully Booked/FBi | |
|---|---|
| Presented by |
Zoë Ball (Series 1) Grant Stott (Series 1-3) Sarah Vandenbergh (Series 2-3) Paul Brophy (Series 1-3) Gail Porter (Series 4) Chris Jarvis (Series 4-5) Tim Vincent (Series 4-5) Kate Heavenor (Series 5-6) Keith Duffy (FBi- Series 6) Vernon Kay (FBi- Series 6) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | BBC Queen Margaret Drive, Glasgow, Scotland |
| Running time | 120 mins (Series 1-2), 150 mins (Series 3-4), 180 mins (Series 5-6) |
| Production company(s) | BBC Scotland |
| Release | |
| Original network |
BBC1 (1995) BBC2 (1996–2000) |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 22 April 1995 – 23 September 2000 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Parallel 9 |
| Followed by | Live & Kicking |
Fully Booked/FBi was a magazine show for children produced by BBC Scotland and broadcast from 22 April 1995 to 19 September 1999, and in revised form as FBi between 22 April 2000 and 23 September 2000. The show was a summer-time replacement for Live & Kicking, which would normally not broadcast over the summer months. However, only the first series of Fully Booked and FBi actually went out on Saturdays, with all other series broadcast on Sundays.
The show launched in spring 1995 as a replacement for Parallel 9. The show was presented by Zoë Ball and Grant Stott, and was set in a fictional hotel. The presenters were joined by actor Paul Brophy, who appeared as a series of comic characters (such as 'Jan Van der Vall', 'Les Vegas' and 'Wee Alistair McAlistair'), and by a large puppet, a talking Highland cow named Morag who was the hotel's receptionist.
In 1996, the show returned in its new Sunday morning slot, with Zoë Ball having been replaced by ex-Neighbours star Sarah Vandenbergh, with Stott, Brophy's characters and Morag all returning. This series was not broadcast live but was 'recorded as-live', meaning that it was recorded in one session and broadcast as if it were a continuous live show (though without any live interactivity). This format was also used for the show's third series in 1997.
Due to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in the early hours of Sunday 31 August 1997, the edition of Fully Booked recorded for broadcast that morning was postponed, ultimately airing as part of the CBBC morning schedule on BBC Two on Tuesday 2 September.
Fully Booked was revamped for its 1998 series. A new logo, title sequence and set were introduced, along with a remix of the theme music. The presenters and characters of the show's previous incarnation were all removed, with a new presentation team consisting of Chris Jarvis, Gail Porter and Tim Vincent. The show continued to use the magazine format, with guests, games, features, inserts and music; however, the 'hotel' gimmick was largely dropped in favour of relatively straightforward magazine presentation.
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