The Fix

The Fix was a children's television programming block broadcast on TV3 from 9th October 1990 to 31st December 2010, and had it's own digital television channel. It had a similar format to CBBC & CITV in that the presenters were situated in a studio and introduced the programmes, held competitions and linked ad breaks from there. It was originally known as Club3 from 1990 to 2003 & C3 from 2003 to 2005.

In addition to TV3, the block was also screened on sister channel TV4 (previously Channel 4 & ZTV), where it was known as Club4 & C4 in tandem with Club3 & C3, however, The Fix did not have an alternate name, due to the name being channel-neutral.

On 9th October, 2020, the 3C channel broadcast a marathon known as "Fix30" and aired every show aired on The Fix from it's launch to closure.

History
In 1990, children's programmes on the three main channels (what are now ETV1, Network 2 and TV3) was a basic affair linked with the channel's normal presentation.

However, TV3 chief executive Eddie Mitchell belived that a specially made slot for children could work, based on the model used by the BBC, ITV and SSVC Television in the UK. Therefore, the channel hired two children's and youth TV figures from ERTV - Jackie Arnold, who had been a producer for the local version of Play School, and Andrew Jones, who had experience in children's programming for an older audience, producing ERTV Saturday morning show Saturday Scene.

Original children's programmes were commissioned, including Roundabout, a programme for young children broadcast in the morning schedule on TV3, and Transmission, a weekend programme for a teen audience.

Club 3 officially began on 9th October 1990, featuring in vision continuity from Andy Crane, flown over from the UK, and Jane Hamilton, a former presenter for Play School, who'd been enticed by Jackie to defect to the other side.

Initially presented from a small presentation studio (used for small scale programmes like Feedback and Film on TV) it later moved to it's own dedicated studio in Euro City's Television Centre for the autumn of 1991. During this period, there were two separate parts of the studio - one part of the studio was used for preschool programmes, consisting of a pink sofa, with children's drawings and paintings on the wall. The other side of the studio, used for introducing programmes for older children, featured a red sofa, neon lights and nine stacked CRT TV screens

In 1993, the 10am morning slot was moved to 3:30pm, and the strand was extended by 15 minutes, coinciding with two major new programmes for Club 3 - the school drama Davidson Park and thrice-weekly children's news programme The Rundown which initially ran on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Roundabout switched to a twice weekly format on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, with new preschool programmes running between 3.30pm and 3.50pm on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

Jackie Arnold and Andrew Jones left Club 3 together in February 1995 to create new shows for the strand, with Jackie Arnold devising The Toy Train and Andrew Jones becoming the producer and director for Friday Funk. Replacing them was Tom Davenport, a former producer for Play School, Blue Peter, Roundabout and Transmission that had progresed into the producer and director of Club 3's continuity and presentation from 1993.

His belief was in providing a full service for children, with programmes comparable to those on prime time television in terms of quality and variety, as well as establishing a strong connection between the brand and the viewer by giving them a say in aspects of the strand, launching more interactive programmes based around the audience, inviting children and parents to the studios with a tour, launching a club dedicated to the strand and more merchandise and items related to Club 3 for viewers to buy and own.

Speaking in 2021, Tom Davenport said: "I wanted Club 3 to truly feel like TV3 but catered to and by children, as opposed to an extension to the main channel - a full variety of programmes for different moods and tastes. Everything including comedy, music, cartoons, learning, music, documentaries, news, sports, preschool output, horror and game shows would be part of the lineup. I truly wanted viewers to feel Club 3 was theirs, with competitions, tours, programmes reflecting their lives, a Club 3 fan club, magazines and events with the brand."

Andy Crane and Jane Hamilton left Club 3 in July 1995 with Andy returning to the UK. As a result, over the summer of 1995, for the first and only time, the strand went on break, with children's programmes introduced by the regular TV3 announcers until Club 3 returned on Monday 4th September 1995.

Replacing Andy was a team of four all new presenters, Max Adams - the son of ERTV news presenter David Adams, Rosie Winters - an 17 year old who made her TV presenting debut, Benji Cook - a primary school teacher turned Play School presenter and Sue Dixon, the puppeteer of Pufty in Roundabout.

David Adams and Rose Winters became the primary hosts of the afternoon strand, and unlike the previous style of splitting the presenting by preschool and pre-teen/teen, David and Rosie presented the main slot together.

Co-inciding with the new look were new shows for the Autumn 1995 schedule, designed to showcase Tom's vision for a more varied, interactive and exciting lineup.


 * In the Mix - a factual edutainment/magazine show, which aimed to fill the void left by the Euroish version of Blue Peter which was axed by ERTV the previous year.
 * Behind the Classroom - a fly-on-the-wall documentary series set in a secondary school in the Faulkshire town of Holmesford.
 * Thrill Seekers - an entertainment show in which presenters Nick Walker, Melissa Jordan, Trevor Bates and Judi North tried out exciting and at times dangerous challenges.
 * The Secret World of... - a fantasy drama series.
 * Funk - an energetic Friday afternoon entertainment show comprising of comedy sketches, celebrity interviews, phone-in's and music performances.
 * Don't Look Under the Bed - a gritty horror anthology series, with stories always involving children experiencing horrifying things and being kidnapped, mutilated, transformed or killed off outright by the end of the episode.
 * Goal - a kids' football magazine show, featuring news and reports from young fans, interviews with famous footballers and the best bits of recent matches.
 * Seriously Wild (unaired*) - one of the first reality competition shows, featuring ten children and young teenagers between the ages of 9 and 15 sent out for the ten weeks to a jungle in South Africa to build a community. *This series was unaired as two contestants had to leave after contracting a serious disease with symptoms spreading across the others, causing production of the show to be called off and all contestants sent home after just three and a half weeks.
 * The Rundown went 5 days a week, with extra editions on Thursday and Friday afternoons and daily morning updates launched in November with weekend editions and spin-offs from 1996.

New acquired series that debuted in September and October included Fantomcat, The Ink Thief, Julia Jekyll and Harriet Hyde, Oakie Doke, The Caribou Kitchen, Cone Zone, The Slow Norris, William's Wish Wellingtons, The Magic Adventures of Mumfie and Molly's Gang.

At the same time, two Club 3 magazines were launched. Club 3 Weekly was a title aimed at the 7-12 demographic whilst Club 3 Playbox targeted audiences under the age of 7. A Club 3 fan club was also established, which in addition to a subscription to both Club 3 Weekly and Club 3 Playbox, also included exclusive merchandise and goodies.

The launch of Channel 4 in October 1995 saw the inceptions of two new preschool slots on the new channel, one in a morning slot and another in a lunchtime slot, which Benji Cook and Sue Dixon co-presented each day.

Play School returned each day at 11am, followed by another half hour slot at 1.30pm in which Roundabout reverted to a daily slot, daily at 1.40pm, preceded by a ten-minute programme (or two five-minute programmes) each day. Initally, these programmes were:


 * Monday - Tots TV
 * Tuesday - Johnson and Friends
 * Wednesday - The Family Ness and Christopher Crocodile
 * Thursday - Wizadora
 * Friday - The Caribou Kitchen

These programmes were then repeated on TV3 at 3.40pm.

With the launch of digital television throughout the Euro Republics in March 1996, Club 3 was expanded beyond just being strands on TV3 and Channel 4 into a fully fledged digital channel in it's own right broadcasting from 5am to 8pm, although it continued to simulcast the breakfast slot with Channel 4 and the majority of the TV3 afternoon slot. It was also stated at the time that the main place for Club 3 would be the morning and afternoon slots, with the channel mainly providing repeats and spin-off programming, which included Funk Plus and The Showbiz Rundown.

The digital channel also included specially branded programming strands, including Mission Control - a teenage slot with the likes of Home and Away and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and an unbranded preschool slot with the likes of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends and Tots TV, which notably ran without ad breaks, with edutainment segments from in-vision presenters Benji Cook and Sue Dixon instead.

Transmission, one of the first shows to air on Club 3, ended for the last time in April 1996, and was replaced in September (after the summer Saturday morning show, Get Set for Summer ended, also for it's last series) by Around About Saturday, which initially aimed to be more "adult" than Transmission with a more edgy atmosphere, although this didn't do very well and was deemed "ill-suited" for children's TV, and the programme was retooled in Series 2 with a return to the infotainment style of Transmission.

Replacing Get Set for Summer in 1997 was Tricky, which aimed to be ground-breaking by using animation, live and in real time. Despite high hopes, the new show was poorly received by viewers (with some of it's negative reviews even ending up in Club 3 Weekly) and was ditched in 1998, in favour of a Funk spin-off for Saturday mornings, Funk Goes Large.

With the launch of digital radio in February 1997, Club 3 expanded into radio with Club 3 Radio, which mainly played pop, rock and dance geared towards an audience between the ages of 6 and 13, with short news updates supplied under the brand name of The Rundown, alongside celebrity news, phone-in's and competitions, stories, jokes and interviews during breakfast, afternoons, drivetime and evenings.

There was also selected content for younger children under the brand Roundabout Radio weekdays from 10am to 12pm and weekends from 6am to 8am, including nursery rhymes, stories from Wiggly Park (repeated from BBC Radio 5 in the UK and predating the TV series) and radio adaptions of TV programmes, including The Toy Train, The Caribou Kitchen and Postman Pat. Whilst some of these stories were lifted from TV episodes, others were new stories made for Club 3. Radio adaptions for Timbuctoo, Animal Stories and Rosie and Jim were later launched.

In February 1998, You and Me launched as a new mid-morning brand for preschool programmes on Channel 4 and the Club 3 digital channel.

In September 1998, after Sue Dixon announced she was stepping down, she was replaced by English television presenter Alex Lovell, in her first television role. At the same time, another UK television presenter, Nigel Mitchell, joined Club 3, whilst Andrea Wood and Andy Collins - who had presented a magazine show for Club 3 called Delicious, alongside Jasmine Harwood - a local radio DJ, also joined.

Roundabout Radio was expanded into it's own station that was launched on Monday 1st February 1999. The station's playlist was based around nursery rhymes and children's party songs, with educational features in between from Club 3 presenters. Most of Club 3's originally made preschool output was adapted for radio alongside the existing radio episodes of Wiggly Park, The Toy Train, Postman Pat, Timbuctoo, Animal Stories, The Caribou Kitchen and Rosie and Jim. The station's overnight output (10pm-5am) was made up of lullabies and ambient noise.

Soon after, in April 1999, Club 3 launched The Clubhouse, a brand to separate the "younger" and "older" elements of Club 3. The Clubhouse was presented by Alex Lovell, Rosie Winters and Benji Cook, who would share presenting roles, whilst Nigel Mitchell, Max Adams, Andrea Wood and Jasmine Harwood continued presenting the "main" slot.

As the internet began to become more widely available in ER homes and across schools during the mid to late 90's - Club 3 launched it's first website on Monday 6th September 1999, club3.tv. The website included a full weekly schedule, flash games, competitions, fan mail, and a show page for every programme that was currently shown on Club 3 at the time of it's launch.

Notably, all of the show pages remained online until the very end of The Fix in December 2010, including programmes that were no longer being shown by then.

Roundabout came to an end in July 2000, with it's budget allocated to funding new preschool programmes for Club 3, although the brand continued as a radio station until 2003 and repeats of the programme continued regularly until 2005.

Around About Saturday ended in April 2000, with Funk Goes Large following in September, with the debut of TV, a Euroish adaption of the British Saturday morning children's programme  with an identical format, and was Club 3's first Saturday morning show to run all year round. It's more sketch based approach and cheeky humour proved very successful with younger and older viewers alike.

Tom Davenport announced he was to leave C3 in March 2001 to join Channel 4 as it's new controller, overseeing it's rebrand as the music oriented ZTV before returning. Nigel Chapman took over as Club 3 controller at the same time.

It was announced in December 2002 that Club 3 would be renamed from March 2003 as simply C3, though it would have little impact on the programming. The rebranding took place on the morning of Monday 3rd March 2003. The rebranding of Club 3 as C3 was intended to give the strand a "more mature" flavour, akin to the way CBBC in the UK had been rebranded the previous year.

The flagship show of the new look channel was to be a full series of Studio 4, an interactive factual entertainment/game show including celebrities, music, comedy and games. Two series had aired on Club 3 over the summer holidays of 2001 and 2002.

The new schedule also included a daily drama hour on the C3 digital channel, which included a repeat run (from episode 1) of Davidson Park and the comedy-drama series 111 Park Avenue.

C3 was not the mass success that Nigel Chapman and TV3 were hoping for, leading to Nigel Chapman leaving in January 2004 to join ETV to boost the fledgling children's department there, to gear it towards a more teenage demographic.

After a brief four-month interim period in which Justin Naughtie - executive producer of SM:TV, had the post of acting controller, Tom Davenport rejoined from ZTV in April 2004, quickly announcing another new schedule reshuffle. He announced a new drama commision based on the Warriors book series, and a string of spin-offs for In the Mix.

The rebrand of C3 as The Fix was announced in March 2005 for a September launch. As part of schedule changes, there would be three hours of preschool-focused content in the afternoons on ZTV between 4pm and 7pm, whilst TV3 would focus on pre-teen and teenage content. Both channels would still showcase either sides with TV3 broadcasting preschool content from 3.30pm to 4.00pm and ZTV airing pre-teen and teenage content at breakfast.

SM:TV was axed to be replaced with a new Saturday morning show, and Funk broadcast it's last edition three weeks after the rebrand announcement was made - although spin-off music show Hotshots continued. Goal was to be rebranded as The Sports Rundown retaining the same features, presenters and production team.

The rebrand took effect fully on Monday 5th September 2005. The first rebranded week included the debut of the Warrior Cats miniseries, new Saturday morning show Live and Dangerous, preschool show Knock Knock and the children's sitcom Lunch Club.

The launch of The Fix also emphasised the preschool element of the schedule to a greater extent with the launch of a weekday preschool afternoon slot on ZTV, as an alternative to the older skewing TV3 afternoon slot, and a 'bedtime hour' on ZTV every night at 6pm with calmer, more relaxed programmes.

The Fix was ditched in June 2010 when EuroMedia announced that it would be replaced by a new children's brand, 3C, in January 2011.

The Fix closed down on 31st December 2010. The old website remains archived online to this day, albeit now at the address "eroom.er/archives/thefix" since 2013. The archived website features heavy promotion for 3C, and the Flash files no longer work.

Weekday afternoons on TV3

 * 1990-1993: 10:00am to 10:30am; 4:00pm to 5:15pm
 * 1993-2001: 3:30pm to 5:30pm
 * 2001-2003: 3:20pm to 6:00pm
 * 2003-2013: 2:30pm to 5:00pm

Weekday mornings on Channel 4/ZTV/TV4
Starting in 1995, a breakfast edition of Club 3 launched on Channel 4, in addition to the main block on TV3.


 * 1995-1998: 6:00am to 8:30am
 * 1998-2000: 6:00am to 11:00am
 * 2000-2010: 6:00am to 11:30am

Schedules
These only include listings for the digital TV channel of The Fix. For listings of the TV3 and TV4 strands, please go to their respective schedules.


 * The Fix/September 1996

0-9

 * 111 Park Avenue (2003-2008)
 * 24Seven (2001)
 * 3 Non-Blondes (2004-2007)
 * 50/50
 * 64 Zoo Lane (2002-2010)
 * 8 Simple Rules (2003-2006)

A

 * Aaron Stone
 * Abadaba (1994-2000)
 * The Adventures of Paddington Bear
 * Albie (2003-2008)
 * All Out Champions (2006-2010)
 * Alphablocks (2010)
 * Andy Pandy (2003-2008)
 * Angelmouse (2000-2005)
 * The Angry Beavers (1998-2004)
 * Animaniacs (1993-2005)
 * (1998-2007)
 * Around About Saturday (1996-2000)
 * Art Attack (1990-2010)
 * Arthur (1997-2010)

B

 * (2003-2010)
 * Batman: The Animated Series
 * Behind the Classroom (1995-1999)
 * (2010)
 * Bernard's Watch
 * (2004-2010)
 * The Big Top 40 (1996-2009)
 * Bill & Ben (2002-2007)
 * Bimble's Bucket (1996-1999)
 * Bits and Bobs (2002-2010)
 * (1997-2005)
 * Blue Owl (1995-2006)
 * Bob the Builder (1998-2010)
 * Boy Meets World (1996-2004)
 * (1990-2007)
 * (2003-2008)
 * (2002-2010)
 * The Book of Pooh
 * Brilliant Creatures

C

 * (1997-1998)
 * (1995-2004)
 * Charlie Karma and Company (1999-2008)
 * (1991-2002)
 * Christopher Crocodile (1993-2000)
 * (1990-2010)
 * (2002-2009)
 * (1996-1999)
 * (1994-2008)
 * (1998-2003)
 * (2007-2010)

D

 * Dappledown Farm
 * Dani's House
 * Danger Mouse
 * Davidson Park (1993-2010)
 * Dawson's Creek (1998-2005)
 * Dennis the Menace (1996) (1996-2009)
 * Dennis the Menace (2009) (2009-2010)
 * Delicious (1996-2001)
 * The Disney Club (1992-2001)
 * Don't Eat the Neighbours (2002-2003)
 * Do Something Different (2006)
 * (1990-1998)
 * (1999-2006)
 * Don't Look Under the Bed (1995-2003)
 * Double Dare
 * (1999-2002)

E

 * Earthworm Jim (1996-1999)
 * Engie Benjy (2002-2010)
 * Eve (2004-2007)

F

 * The Fairly OddParents! (2003-2010)
 * The Family Ness (1990-2002)
 * Feodor (2000-2010)
 * Fiddley Foodle Bird (1993-1997)
 * Fifi and the Flowertots (2008-2010)
 * Fimbles (2003-2010)
 * Fireman Sam (1989-2009)
 * FM (1997-2002)
 * The Fresh Prince of Bel Air (1996-2010)
 * Fun House (1994-2002)
 * Funk (1995-2005)
 * Funk Goes Large (1998-2000)

G

 * Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet (2005)
 * Get Set for Summer (1991-1996)
 * Get Your Own Back (1996-2004)
 * Goal (1995-2005)
 * Grange Hill (1990-2009)
 * The Greedysaurus Gang (1994-2000)
 * Grounded for Life (2002-2008)

H

 * Havakazoo (1997-2001)
 * Heartbreak High (1996-2002)
 * Hey Arnold (1997-2004)
 * Hi-5 (2001-2010)
 * Hilltop Hospital (2000-2010)
 * (1997-2003)
 * (1996-2010)
 * (1996-2004)
 * Horrible Histories (2001 series) (2002-2003)
 * Horrible Histories (2009 series) (2009-2010)
 * Horrid Henry (2007-2010)
 * (2001-2010)
 * Hotshots (1996-2010)
 * How 2 (1991-2004)
 * Hububb (1997-2004)

I

 * In the Mix (1995-2010)
 * (2007-2010)
 * Inside the Classroom (1995-1999)
 * Internet Interesting (2005-2010)

J

 * Jay's World (1996-2001)
 * Jimbo and The Jet Set (1990-1999)
 * (2000-2010)
 * Julia Jekyll and Harriet Hyde (1996-2003)

K

 * Kerwhizz (2009-2010)
 * Kipper (1998-2004)
 * Knock Knock (2005-2008)
 * Kyle XY (2007-2010)

L

 * The Lampies (2001-2005)
 * LazyTown (2004-2010)
 * LazyTown Extra (2008-2010)
 * The Likeaballs (2006-2010)
 * Listen Up Class (2010)
 * Live and Dangerous (2005-2009)
 * Looney Tunes
 * Lunar Jim
 * Lunch Club (2005-2009)
 * Looney Tunes

M

 * Mad for It (1998-2001)
 * Maisy (1999-2003)
 * Malcolm in the Middle (2000-2009)
 * The Magic House (1994-1997)
 * The Magic Key (2001-2007)
 * Magma Eye (1998-2003)
 * Making the Most of It (1997-2002)
 * The Mask: Animated Series
 * Max Steel
 * MechaNick (2003-2009)
 * Mega Babies
 * Metal Match (2002-2007)
 * Meeow! (2000-2005)
 * Merlin the Magical Puppy
 * Merrie Melodies
 * Mickey Mouse Works
 * Moesha (1998-2007)
 * (1999-2010)
 * The Mr. Men Show (2008-2010)
 * (1999-2010)

N

 * (1996-2010)
 * Noah and Saskia
 * Not The Rundown (2008-2010)
 * Numbertime (1994-2000)
 * Numberjacks (2006-2010)

O

 * Ozzie the Owl (1996-2000)

P

 * The Parkers (2000-2006)
 * Penny Crayon (1990-2004)
 * (2004-2010)
 * Pingu (1992-2010)
 * (1990-2004)
 * Play School (1995-2010)
 * Pokémon franchise (1999-2010)
 * Polterguests
 * (1990-2010)
 * Power Rangers franchise (1994-2010)
 * Press Gang (1990-1994)
 * Prime Minister (2008)
 * Pump It Up (1999-2001)

Q

 * The Quick Trick Show

R

 * Raven (2003-2010)
 * Ready and Go (1994-2000)
 * The Really Wild Show (1990-2010)
 * Recess (1998-2005)
 * The Riddlers (1990-1999)
 * (2002-2009)
 * (2007-2010)
 * Rotten Ralph
 * Roundabout (1990-2005)
 * (1996-2003)
 * Round the Twist (1990-2005)
 * (1990-2004)
 * Run the Risk (1995-1999)
 * The Rundown (1993-2010)
 * Rugrats (1991-2006)

S

 * Sabrina The Teenage Witch (1997-2004)
 * Safari TV (1998-2006)
 * Salty's Lighthouse
 * The Secret Show
 * The Secret World of... (1995-1996)
 * Sergeant Stripes
 * Seriously Wild (1995; unaired)
 * Shaun the Sheep (2008-2010)
 * Shark Infested Custard (2004-2009)
 * Sheeep
 * The Showbiz Rundown (1996-2010)
 * (2002-2010)
 * The Singing Kettle
 * Sir Gadabout: The Worst Knight in the Land (2002-2009)
 * SMart (1994-2010)
 * SMarteenies (2002-2008)
 * Smile, It's Sunday (2002-2010)
 * TV (2000-2005)
 * Something Special (2004-2010)
 * Sonic Underground
 * Sooty Heights
 * Sooty & Co. (1993-2000)
 * Space Cadets (2005)
 * (2001-2010)
 * Spooked Away (2004-2007)
 * The Sports Rundown (2005-2010)
 * Starship (2003-2010)
 * The Story Corner (1994-1999)
 * The Story of Tracy Beaker (2002-2010)
 * (2002-2010)
 * Studio 4 (2001-2009)

T

 * Tales of the Tooth Fairies
 * Taz-Mania
 * Teddybears (1998-2003)
 * (1997-2010)
 * That '70s Show (2000-2007)
 * The Television Show (1990-2010)
 * The Toy Train (1996-2000)
 * There's a Viking in My Bed
 * Thrill Seekers (1995-2009)
 * (1990-2010)
 * Thumbs Up! with Cheryl Baker (1997-1998)
 * (1998-2004)
 * Total Wipeout Kids (2010)
 * Transmission (1990-1996)
 * Tricky (1997)
 * Trigger Happy TV (2001-2007)
 * The Treacle People (1996-2006)
 * (1999-2010)

U

 * Uncle Dad (2007-2010)
 * Untalkative Bunny (2002-2008)

V

 * The Very Good Show (2007-2010)

W

 * Warrior Cats (2005 miniseries) (2005-2010)
 * Warrior Cats (2007 series) (2007-2010)
 * (2009-2010)
 * Welcome to The Weekend (2009-2010)
 * Who Wants to Be A Mini Millionaire? (2001-2008)
 * (1998-2006)
 * (1993-2000)
 * The Wombles (1998-2002)
 * The Worst Witch (1999-2005)
 * (UK dub) (2007-2010)

Y

 * Yoho Ahoy (2002-2004)
 * Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto! (2003-2010)

Z

 * Zot the Dog (1997-1999)
 * ZZZap! (1993-2009)