Crackanory
Adult storytelling series inspired by Jackanory.
Crackanory is an adult storytelling television series that takes its inspiration from the children's programme Jackanory. It airs on the UKTV channel Dave. In each episode, a contemporary comedian or actor narrates a tale, which is brought to life through a combination of live action, original music, and animation. The narrator reads from a single oversized chair, and the set is designed to match the story's setting. The first series received critical praise and brought in over half a million viewers for Dave.
Recurring elements across the series include the fictional company Tripec Plastics, the town of Specsham, and a character known as "Fat Nicola from accounts".
The first series featured eight stories spread across four episodes. Episode 1 included Jack Dee reading "Bitter Tweet" by Nico Tatarowicz and Sally Phillips reading "What Peebee Did Next" by Toby Davies. Episode 2 had Rebecca Front reading "Fakespeare" by Toby Davies and Kevin Eldon reading "What Do You Say?" by himself. Episode 3 featured Harry Enfield reading "The Teacup Has Landed" by Nico Tatarowicz and Sarah Solemani reading "Pleasure Drone" by Ali Crockatt and David Scott. Episode 4 included Sharon Horgan reading "The Translator" by Laurence Rickard and Charlie Higson reading "The Road to Hell" by Jeremy Dyson. Episode 5 had Richard Hammond reading "Becoming Zoe" by Simon Judd and Alex Carter and Jessica Hynes reading "My Former Self" by Holly Walsh. Episode 6 featured Hugh Dennis reading "Head In the Clouds" by Jason Cook and Stephen Mangan reading "The Newsreader" by Jane Bussmann and Naisola Grimwood. Live action actors in the first series included Alex Macqueen, Cariad Lloyd, Katherine Jakeways, James Bachman, Martha Howe-Douglas, Nick Mohammed, Vera Filatova, and Cassie and Connie Powney.
A second series aired in 2014. It featured comedian Rik Mayall, who had recorded a story before his death; he had previously performed George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl on the original Jackanory. Channel boss Steve North described working with Mayall as a "complete privilege". Episode 1 of the second series included Vic Reeves reading "In Space No-one Can Hear You Clean" by Nico Tatarowicz and Rik Mayall reading "The Weatherman" by Tony Way. Episode 2 had Ben Miller reading "Man's Best Friend" by Alexander Kirk and Sue Perkins reading "Return to Sender" by Melissa Bubnic. Episode 3 feature
- field
- Television
- country
- United Kingdom
- network
- Dave (UKTV)
- first_aired
- First series
- number_of_series
- 3
Lore & Background
Crackanory first aired on Dave with a series of four episodes (each containing two stories, totaling eight stories), narrated by comedians and actors such as Jack Dee, Sally Phillips, and Harry Enfield. The first series attracted critical acclaim and drew more than half a million viewers. Recurring elements include the fictional company Tripec Plastics, the town of Specsham, and the character 'Fat Nicola from accounts'.
Reader's Guide
A second series broadcast in 2014 featured comedian Rik Mayall, who had recorded a story prior to his death; channel boss Steve North called it a 'complete privilege' to work with Mayall. The third series, commissioned by UKTV and broadcast in December 2015, was sponsored by Audible and included guest readers such as Christopher Lloyd. The fourth series, broadcast in January and February 2017, changed format to one story per half-hour episode. The show became a landmark brand for Dave, with each series evolving the storytelling format.
Did You Know?
- The first series attracted more than half a million viewers to Dave.
- Recurring elements include Tripec Plastics, Specsham, and 'Fat Nicola from accounts'.
- Rik Mayall recorded a story for the second series prior to his death.
- The first series consisted of four episodes, each containing two stories, for a total of eight stories.
More in Dave original programming 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record