Series synopsis
Crackanory is a British comedy drama television series that premiered on U&Dave on November 13, 2013. It ended on February 9, 2017. It stars Alex Macqueen, Cariad Lloyd, Katherine Jakeways and James Bachman.
Crackanory is a storytelling television series aimed at adults, inspired by the popular children's series Jackanory. Each episode features two 15-minute tales narrated by contemporary comedians and actors, containing a mix of live action and animation and all read from the same oversized chair.
Premise
Crackanory is a storytelling television series aimed at adults, inspired by the popular children's series Jackanory. Each episode features two 15-minute tales narrated by contemporary comedians and actors, containing a mix of live action and animation and all read from the same oversized chair.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Alex Macqueen as Various
- Cariad Lloyd as Various
- Katherine Jakeways as Various
- James Bachman as Various
- Martha Howe-Douglas as Various
- Nick Mohammed as Various
- Vera Filatova as Various
- Cassie Powney as Various
Supporting cast
- Connie Powney as Various
- Simon Farnaby as Various
- Rosie Cavaliero as Various
- Michael Fish as Various
- Alice Lowe as Various
- Elis James as Various
- Victoria Wicks as Various
- Lucy Montgomery as Various
- Dominic Coleman as Various
- Tom Meeten as Various
- Sara Pascoe as Various
- Janine Duvitski as Various
Guest cast
- Rachael Evelyn as Actress
- John Willie Hopkins as The Landlord
- Kevin Hudson as Buzz
- Jack Dee as Self
- Sally Phillips as Self
- Rebecca Front as Self
- Kevin Eldon as Self
- Harry Enfield as Self
- Sarah Solemani as Self
- Sharon Horgan as Self
- Charlie Higson as Self
- Richard Hammond as Self
Episodes
This series spans 4 seasons with 26 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 6 | November 13, 2013 | December 18, 2013 |
| Season 2 | 6 | September 24, 2014 | October 29, 2014 |
| Season 3 | 6 | December 7, 2015 | December 12, 2015 |
| Season 4 | 8 | January 30, 2017 | February 9, 2017 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Bitter Tweet & What Peebee Did Next Are you sitting comfortably? Jackanory gets a reboot as famous faces read comic tales. Jack Dee and Sally Phillips narrate stories about a Twitter addict and a dead toymaker. |
November 13, 2013 |
| 2 |
Fakespeare & What Do You Say? Rebecca Front reads a story about a hack writer who discovers a lost Shakespeare play. Kevin Eldon then narrates the tale of an ungrateful man driven to insanity. |
November 20, 2013 |
| 3 |
The Teacup Has Landed & Pleasure Dome Twisted tales read by Harry Enfield and Sarah Solemani. An office worker takes on a high-street coffee chain and a downtrodden librarian gains access to a CIA military drone. |
November 27, 2013 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
In Space No One Can Hear You Clean & the Weather Man A cleaner is accidentally launched into space and a weatherman finds that he can control the weather in darkly comic tales read by Vic Reeves and Rik Mayall. |
September 24, 2014 |
| 2 |
Man's Best Friend & Return to Sender A scientist creates the perfect wife - using his dog's brain and a prisoner escapes from jail by posting herself out in two twisted tales read by Ben Miller and Sue Perkins. |
October 1, 2014 |
| 3 |
The Surprise & the Crisis Plan David Mitchell and Katherine Parkinson read two dark tales in which a group of party guests fear for their lives and the survivors of an earthquake contemplate cannibalism. |
October 8, 2014 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Uncivil War & Dread and Breakfast Things get out of control at a historical re-enactment group when evidence suggests history may have taken a different course. A young couple check into a mysterious B&B. |
December 7, 2015 |
| 2 |
The Catchment Area & the Frogbeast of Pontfidd A couple desperate to get their 'gifted' daughter into the best local school move into a makeshift camp. In 1901, a photographer attempts to prove a deadly beast doesn't exist. |
December 8, 2015 |
| 3 |
The Zombie That Roared & the Sat Nav Did It When his friend Craig is attacked by zombies, Brian swears to pick them off one by one. In the second tale a disgraced police detective thinks his Sat-Nav is possessed. |
December 9, 2015 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
A Close Slave In the household of a playwright in Ancient Rome, a slave helps his master to finish writing his latest opus. Little does the slave know that he has effectively conceived his own death. |
January 30, 2017 |
| 2 |
Living with a Lie A frustrated writer invents an elderly relative as an excuse to get time off work so that he can start work on his novel. When the doorbell rings and he comes to face-to-face with "Aunt Janet" he discovers that his lie has come to life. |
January 31, 2017 |
| 3 |
The Despot of Tea An out of work actor agrees to take part in making an advert for tea in an isolated former Soviet-bloc country. Years later he returns to the country to discover that his character Sir Slurpington-Boots has become a national treasure. |
February 1, 2017 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | U&Dave |
|---|---|
| First aired | November 13, 2013 |
| Last aired | February 9, 2017 |
| Runtime | 30 minutes |
| Status | Ended |
| Schedule | Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday at 22:00:00 |