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Louisa Mellor Sep 9, 2016

31 years ago, Cbbc's Broom Cupboard opened its doors. We salute some of its most memorable moments...

On the afternoon of the 9th of September 1985, UK children were introduced to their new big brother. Phillip Schofield, a vision in a side-parting, a geometric print jumper and a beaming smile, arrived in the Children’s BBC Broom Cupboard to babysit the nation’s kids for an hour and a half every weekday.

Schofield’s job was to ferry us through the post-school slump and drop us off at Neighbours no later than 5.35pm. He let us watch cartoons, wished us happy birthday, praised our felt-tip drawings of Jimbo and the Jet Set, and never once told us off for eating too many packs of salt and vinegar Chipsticks before tea.

After Phillip came Debbie Flint, who was awesome because her earrings didn’t match, and then Andy Crane, who...

To mark Cbbc’s thirtieth birthday, we delve into the Broom Cupboard to salute some cherished childhood memories…

On the afternoon of the 9th of September 1985, UK children were introduced to their new big brother. Phillip Schofield, a vision in a side-parting, a geometric print jumper and a beaming smile, arrived in the Children’s BBC Broom Cupboard to babysit the nation’s kids for an hour and a half every weekday.

Schofield’s job was to ferry us through the post-school slump and drop us off at Neighbours no later than 5.35pm. He let us watch cartoons, wished us happy birthday, praised our felt-tip drawings of Jimbo and the Jet Set, and never once told us off for eating too many packs of salt and vinegar Chipsticks before tea.

After Phillip came Debbie Flint, who was awesome because her earrings didn’t match, and then Andy Crane, who taught...

Jake Quickenden lolling seductively in the surf, Nadia Forde beaming in a red bikini, and poor Edwina Currie kissing a koala called Rogue before he urinated all over her - these are just some of the cheesiest pre-jungle photoshoots.

Unbelievably, cheesier and even more staged snapshots of former I'm a Celebrity contestants over the years exist, and we've found them.

Let's celebrate with 13 of the silliest and seriously staged shoots from before and after the jungle below:

1. Edwina Currie

Everyone knows the old showbiz adage - never work with children or animals. But that didn't hinder former politician Edwina Currie - confirmed for her jungle debut tonight - who happily puckered up to a koala aptly named Rogue as he urinated all over her top. Currie took part in the shoot at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary in Queensland yesterday (November 19).

2. Nadia Forde

Irish model Nadia Forde attempts to look casual by...

Whatever happened to the children's TV presenters of our youth? Where did they go when the Broom Cupboard was shut down and when Edd the Duck went back to his pond? Digital Spy has hunted down 9 classic faces of '90s children's television on Twitter to answer those questions.

1. Dave Benson Phillips @DaveBensonPhill

Famous For: Playdays, Get Your Own Back, Wake Up in the Wild Room

Sample Tweet:

So, it begins... pic.twitter.com/bxWkD2tSsI

— Dave Benson Phillips (@DaveBensonPhill) November 18, 2013

And lots of chat about his appearance in Cinderella at the Palace Theatre, Mansfield.

2. Andy Crane @andycrane64

Famous For: Cbbc's Broom Cupboard (1987-1990), Motormouth, Bad Influence! and What's Up Doc?

Sample Tweet:

Heard of the Golden Flannel awards? They celebrate dreadful management speak - examples to use on the radio today would be very welcome!

— Andy Crane (@andycrane64) January 6, 2014

He's now a radio presenter for the BBC. And only occasionally veers into Partridge-isms.

Joey Essex and Amy Willerton are flirting up a storm on I'm a Celebrity, with fellow camp-mates commenting on their sizzling sexual tension.

First, the model was teaching the Towie star how to tell the time, the next she was giving him a tender massage.

Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington joked: "I can't take the sexual tension anymore. I feel like I'm watching porn with my parents."

But obviously these two aren't the first contestants to strike up a connection in the jungle, as we recall the chemistry between other camp-mates of years gone by in the jungle by below:

1. A Whole New World...

The answer to love's young dream - or so we had hoped - Katie Price and Peter Andre meeting on I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here in 2004. Who could forget the moment Katie slapped Peter's wandering busy, busy hands while the pair were enjoying a cuddle in a hammock?...

Fancy watching some poor punter getting a back, sack and crack from Rustie Lee? Want a waxing from Helen Flanagan? Is Arg from Towie delivering pedicures what you've been waiting for all these years? Well, wait no more people. Celebrity Super Spa has arrived.

I've already had the joy of watching episode one of Super Spa. I've seen the awkward and cringeworthy hosts. I've seen Helen Flanagan prancing around without any trousers on. I've seen Rustie Lee cackling. 867 times.

And I'll probably watch it all over again tonight (September 13) when it airs on Channel 5. Firstly, because I'm a glutton for terrible television. Secondly, because I'm fairly convinced it may be the most desperate celebrity reality show ever concieved. Even by Channel 5's late night standards, this is awful. It makes The Bachelor look like The Sopranos.

So where does the show fit in the history of degrading and embarrassing celebrity reality shows?...

Priscilla Presley and Toby Anstis are planning their fourth date in Los Angeles. The 67-year-old actress - who enjoyed a romantic dinner with the former BBC children's TV presenter last week - is heading back to the Us later this month after her run in the pantomime production of 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' at the New Wimbledon Theatre, in south west London comes to an end. But Toby, 40, is keen to carry on seeing her and they plan to reunite when he covers the Oscars in February for UK radio station Heart FM. A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: 'They have a very fun, flirty friendship and Toby hopes to reconnect once Priscilla's stint in...

Priscilla Presley and Toby Anstis are planning their fourth date in Los Angeles. The 67-year-old actress - who enjoyed a romantic dinner with the former BBC children's TV presenter last week - is heading back to the Us later this month after her run in the pantomime production of 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' at the New Wimbledon Theatre, in south west London comes to an end. But Toby, 40, is keen to carry on seeing her and they plan to reunite when he covers the Oscars in February for UK radio station Heart FM. A source told the Daily Mirror...

Priscilla Presley has denied rumors of a romance with UK television presenter Toby Anstis. Reports earlier this week alleged that the 67-year-old former wife of Elvis Presley and 42-year-old Anstis had begun dating last month after meeting during a theatre show of Snow White. Friends alleged that the pair had swapped numbers and gone on at least three dates in Wimbledon, where photographers snapped the couple embracing. A spokesperson for Presley has now told the Daily Mail that she and Anstis are friends, and (more)...

Priscilla Presley is dating a British TV presenter 27 years her junior. The 67-year-old star - who married late musical legend Elvis Presley in 1967 - has taken her romance with TV personality Toby Anstis public, and the pair were recently spotted sharing a kiss as they left San Lorenzo restaurant, which is close to where Priscilla has been appearing as the Wicked Witch in a pantomime production of 'Snow White' in Wimbledon, South London. A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: 'They have mutual pals in the States and a friend suggested they meet up. Toby has a thing for older women and is a big fan of Elvis so they hit it off immediately. 'After swapping numbers, Priscilla...

Priscilla Presley is dating a British TV presenter 27 years her junior. The 67-year-old star - who married late musical legend Elvis Presley in 1967 - has taken her romance with TV personality Toby Anstis public, and the pair were recently spotted sharing a kiss as they left San Lorenzo restaurant, which is close to where Priscilla has been appearing as the Wicked Witch in a pantomime production of 'Snow White' in Wimbledon, South London. A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: ''They have mutual pals in the States and a friend suggested they meet up. Toby has a thing for...

London, Jan 3: Elvis Presley's former wife Priscilla was seen tenderly embracing former kids' TV presenter Toby Anstis - 27 years her junior - after a romantic dinner at San Lorenzo restaurant in Wimbledon on Wednesday.

Priscilla, who married Elvis in 1967 aged 21, first met the former presenter of BBC1 kids' show 'The Broom Cupboard' last month, after he watched her star as the Wicked Witch in 'Snow White' at a nearby theatre, the Mirror reported.

A source said that the couple have mutual pals in Us and a friend suggested that they meet up.

The source disclosed that Anstis has a thing for older women and is a big fan.

Priscilla Presley is reportedly in a romance with UK television presenter Toby Anstis. The 67-year-old former wife of music icon Elvis Presley and ex-cbbc presenter were spotted sharing an embrace after a recent romantic date at the San Lorenzo restaurant in Wimbledon, according to The Mirror. Presley apparently met 42-year-old Anstis in December after he saw her starring in a theatre production of Snow White. Sources close to the pair claim: "They have mutual pals in the States and a friend suggested they meet up. Toby has a thing for older women (more)...

The Saturdays will switch on the Christmas lights on Oxford Street this year. The 'My Heart Takes Over' singers will push the plunger outside Marks & Spencer on November 1, and will also perform their new single live during the event, which will be hosted by Heart's Toby Anstis. Jace Tyrrell of event organiser New West End Company added: "London's iconic Oxford Street Lights will capture the imagination of the tens of millions of visitors over the Christmas period to the West End, including international shoppers coming from as far as China, Russia, Japan, Brazil and Thailand for a quintessentially British Christmas." Marks & Spencer's Head of Retail Steve Rowe (more)...

Some Digital Spy Icons earn their title by merit. Others win it with sheer persistence. Toby Anstis comes firmly in the latter category. The chirpy Northampton TV presenter's career started brightly with his incessant chatter, spiky hair and perkiness a perfect match for the Cbbc Broom Cupboard. He also established himself in a solid double act with Otis The Aardvark, which was useful because next to the irritating bargain basement version of Roland Rat, Anstis looked like a star in the making. Sadly once outside of the Broom Cupboard, Anstis's career failed to spark in the way it did for Schofield or Andi Peters. While things never quite slipped into the Simon Parkin or Andy Crane fall-from-grace territory, a string of reality TV appearances (more)...

Dancing On Ice judge Robin Cousins has landed a role in the West End production of Grease. Cousins, who is a former Olympic champion, will guest star as Teen Angel from March 29 at London's Piccadilly Theatre. The British skater, who retired from the rink in 2000, has previously appeared in productions of Cats, The Rocky Horror Show and Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. He will take over from DJ Toby Anstis, who is (more)...

Former children's TV presenter Toby Anstis has signed up to star in West End musical Grease. Anstis, who is currently a DJ at Heart FM, will play Teen Angel for a limited run from January 25 to March 20. The DJ started out his career at the BBC with shows including The O-Zone, Electric Circus and Live & Kicking. More recently, he has appeared on Britain's Next Top Model, National Lottery Live and I'm A Celebrity.... "I'm absolutely (more)...

Lucy Mangan on the people in the headlines

Prison break

Jane Andrews

You know all those jokes about open prisons? Turns out they're all true. You can just walk out. Even if you're serving the final stretch of a 12-year prison sentence for murder.

Andrews, former personal assistant to the Duchess of York, became a guest of Her Majesty (insert lightly ironical joke here) when she killed her lover Thomas Cressman after he refused to marry her. She went on the run for three days before being arrested by police at a Premier Inn near the prison in Kent. They had been hot on her trail ever since they were called by a taxi driver who had recognised her. It looks like minicabs have just become the fourth emergency service.

Task forced exit

Katie Price

A far more important bid for freedom was made this week of course by a...

It’s official. It happened. It actually frickin’ happened. Nicolas Cage – Oscar-winner, ace actor, huge movie star and marvellous eccentric – actually switched on the Christmas lights in his adopted hometown of Bath last night.Cage, who has owned several properties in and around the beautiful Somerset town (just a stone’s throw from Hot Fuzz’s Wells) for a few years now, was asked to turn on the lights – usually the domain of C-list celebs and the town’s Mayor – by a local resident, Emma Samways, who popped a letter through his front door.Cage readily agreed and last night, sporting a long coat, swept-back hair and a snow-white goatee, he appeared on stage in front of thousands of screaming fans (or neighbours) and, egged on by the event’s presenter, professional twonk Toby Anstis, pressed the plunger that turned on the shiny display. Ooh, shiny.“Thank you citizens of Bath,...

On Tuesday November 3 London will be brought to life with three sensational free concerts in The City, Regent Street and Oxford Circus, before the World Premiere of Disney’s ‘A Christmas Carol‘, in association with Morrisons, in Leicester Square.

Today the line up was announced of performers helping the stars of Disney’s’A Christmas Carol’ light up London as part of London’s biggest ever coordinated Christmas lights switch on and celebration, London’s Christmas Carol.

At Oxford Circus, where they will be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Christmas lights, girl group The Saturdays, and the UK number one artist Taio Cruz will entertain the crowds before Jim Carrey turns on the dazzling lights. Completing the line up will be the stars of the hit West End musical Sister Act which opened at the London Palladium in June 2009.

London indie pop rock band The Noisettes and MTV Europe...