Evacuation (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Evacuation is a television series broadcast on CBBC
in the UK.
It is a reality show for children, in which six boys and six girls, all aged 12, from cities all over the UK are taken back to wartime Britain for two weeks, to live just as evacuees in World War II
would have done.
The show is presented by former Blue Peter
presenter Matt Baker, who in Series One occasionally steps in to speak to and/or help the children when no other adults are there and also sometimes interacts briefly with the adults during his pieces to camera. However, in Series Two, there is a slight change in the format: Matt mainly does pieces to camera (still occasionally interacting with the adults) and stays very much in the background.
Although it is a reality TV show, all the adults in the series are actors, and the children must refer to them by their character's name. (To maintain the illusion that the characters were real people, the closing credits never named the actors who played the parts.)
School teacher Miss Young is the only one of the characters to appear in both Series One and Two. Fortunately, as Evacuation is a reality TV show and not a drama, continuity between both series does not exist; the fact that she appears to be teaching both at Castle Farm and Pradoe Hall at the same time can therefore be safely overlooked.
on BBC One at 16:30, 4 September 2006. The children were 'evacuated' to Castle Farm.
The children who were 'evacuated' to the farm were:
The adults were:
on BBC One at 17:00, 17 January 2008. This time, the children were 'evacuated' to a posh country estate called Pradoe Hall, and learned about the difference in wartime social classes. The Lord and Lady lived upstairs, and the evacuees lived downstairs with the servants.
The children who were 'evacuated' to the manor house were:
The adults were:
In both series, the children lived exactly as wartime evacuees would have done: they ate 1940s food, attended 1940s school lessons, and – if they misbehaved – got a 1940s-style punishment. In the first episode of both series, the children had to hand over all of their 21st century items (mobile phones, i-Pods, jewellery, make-up, hair straighteners etc.) and these were only returned when they went home at the end of the series. They were all given 1940s-style haircuts, as well as clothing of the period – a school uniform, a Sunday best, pyjamas and work clothes – which they would wear over the next two weeks, and when outside had to carry gas masks and ID cards. The children had a go at wartime tasks and activities – such as building an Anderson shelter, pheasant-shooting, rounding up sheep, attending the village fete and disposing of an unexploded (replica) incendiary bomb to name but a few.
Even when the cameras weren't rolling, the adults still stayed in character and the children still behaved as evacuees.
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
in the UK.
It is a reality show for children, in which six boys and six girls, all aged 12, from cities all over the UK are taken back to wartime Britain for two weeks, to live just as evacuees in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
would have done.
The show is presented by former Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
presenter Matt Baker, who in Series One occasionally steps in to speak to and/or help the children when no other adults are there and also sometimes interacts briefly with the adults during his pieces to camera. However, in Series Two, there is a slight change in the format: Matt mainly does pieces to camera (still occasionally interacting with the adults) and stays very much in the background.
Although it is a reality TV show, all the adults in the series are actors, and the children must refer to them by their character's name. (To maintain the illusion that the characters were real people, the closing credits never named the actors who played the parts.)
School teacher Miss Young is the only one of the characters to appear in both Series One and Two. Fortunately, as Evacuation is a reality TV show and not a drama, continuity between both series does not exist; the fact that she appears to be teaching both at Castle Farm and Pradoe Hall at the same time can therefore be safely overlooked.
Series one
The first series of Evacuation began transmission on CBBCCBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
on BBC One at 16:30, 4 September 2006. The children were 'evacuated' to Castle Farm.
The children who were 'evacuated' to the farm were:
- Luke Burton
- Natalie Travers (who only appeared in the first three episodes; she left due to feeling very homesick)
- Felix Chancellor-Burton
- Harry Cracknell
- Richard Hall
- Charlie McCutcheon
- Josh Opoku
- Laura Adegoke
- Natalie Hancock
- Tia Hatton
- Joanna Lau
- Chelsea Thompson
The adults were:
- Mr. and Mrs. Rivett, who own the farm (the evacuees were allowed to call them Uncle Brian and Aunty Sue later in the series)
- Miss Young, the school teacher
- Mr. Storey, the local ARP Warden
- Mr. Patrick, an elderly gentleman who works for Mr. Rivett as a farmhand
- Mr. Graham, the local air-raid shelterAir-raid shelterAir-raid shelters, also known as bomb shelters, are structures for the protection of the civil population as well as military personnel against enemy attacks from the air...
expert - Miss Victoria, a member of the Women's Land ArmyWomen's Land ArmyThe Women's Land Army was a British civilian organisation created during the First and Second World Wars to work in agriculture replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the WLA were commonly known as Land Girls...
- Matthew, the ploughman
- Home GuardsmanBritish Home GuardThe Home Guard was a defence organisation of the British Army during the Second World War...
Private Pickard - The local vicar (never named on-screen)
Series two
The second series, subtitled "To the Manor House", began transmission on CBBCCBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
on BBC One at 17:00, 17 January 2008. This time, the children were 'evacuated' to a posh country estate called Pradoe Hall, and learned about the difference in wartime social classes. The Lord and Lady lived upstairs, and the evacuees lived downstairs with the servants.
The children who were 'evacuated' to the manor house were:
- Nishith "Nish" Hegde
- Jack Smith
- Samir "Sam" Sayah
- Sean Williams
- Scott Dunstan
- Daniel Rushton
- Shaaron Somasanduram
- Olivia Barry
- Rachel Hardy
- Mary Ellen Jones
- Jade Hitchmough
- Annabella Jacobs
- Sade Philpotts (who only appeared in the final four episodes)
The adults were:
- Lord and Lady Olstead, who own the manor house
- Miss Young, the school teacher
- Mr. Henderson, the butler
- Mrs. Dobinson, the housekeeper
- Cook (never named on-screen)
- Mr. Goodall, the gamekeeper
- Miss Victoria, the kitchen hand
- Sergeant Rae
- Nurse Durkin
- Colonel Fanthorpe, of the Home Guard
- Mr. Lewis, the ARP Warden
- Mr. Jackson, the Fire Warden
- Mr. Pugh, the shepherd
- Mr. Ward, the farmer
In both series, the children lived exactly as wartime evacuees would have done: they ate 1940s food, attended 1940s school lessons, and – if they misbehaved – got a 1940s-style punishment. In the first episode of both series, the children had to hand over all of their 21st century items (mobile phones, i-Pods, jewellery, make-up, hair straighteners etc.) and these were only returned when they went home at the end of the series. They were all given 1940s-style haircuts, as well as clothing of the period – a school uniform, a Sunday best, pyjamas and work clothes – which they would wear over the next two weeks, and when outside had to carry gas masks and ID cards. The children had a go at wartime tasks and activities – such as building an Anderson shelter, pheasant-shooting, rounding up sheep, attending the village fete and disposing of an unexploded (replica) incendiary bomb to name but a few.
Even when the cameras weren't rolling, the adults still stayed in character and the children still behaved as evacuees.