WELL-MEANING BUT effortlessly patronising daytimers, aimed at housewives “working to a budget”. PENNYWISE (nothing to do with the biscuit range) was fronted by a pair of terrifying Scottish middle-aged matriarchs, one possibly called Morag, resembling the bastard children of Two Fat Ladies and Rab C Nesbitt. Money-saving ideas always included building a set of shelves out of some planks of wood and bricks. Food suggestions never really rose above what to do with those leftovers (bread and butter pudding, a kind of meat-stew-casserole thing). Every idea was followed by a stiff animation of a penny dropping into a piggy bank, accompanied by generic money-tinkling sound effect. Memorably satirised by Victoria Wood (“and with these leftover bricks, you can make…a lovely pair of earrings”). BAZAAR was your late 80s recession-busting revival fronted by irritating Honeybun-woman JUDI SPIERS, later usurped by Nurse NERYS HUGHES.
Richard16378
August 14, 2015 at 12:15 am
Bazaar also featured Aled Jones pst voice break, not sure if just as a guest or as a regular presenter.
It was one of those shows you would catch the last few minutes of before CBBC started.
Andrew Barton
October 17, 2021 at 12:11 pm
Janice Long was a presenter on Bazaar.
Looking at BBC Genome listings on Bazaar, the same series producer was kept on throughout the whole run, which is why it looked pretty dated later for the 1990’s. Clearly she wasn’t going to make any changes, so the only way to get rid of her was to axe the show.