Ridgey Didge

*Ridgey Didge*
Ridgey Didge
Genre	Children's television series
Presented by	Jared Robinsen; Rebecca Hetherington; Simon Watt; Danny Carretti; Chris Harriott; Ashley Paske
Theme music composer	Chris Harriott
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	39
Production
Executive producer	Ian Fairweather
Producer	Penni-Anne Smith
Production locations	TEN Studios, North Ryde, New South Wales
Running time	52 minutes (excluding commercials)
Original release
Network	Network Ten
Release	7 September 1987 –; 24 February 1989
Related
	Off the Dish; Double Dare Australia;

Ridgey Didge was a popular Network Ten magazine television program for children in Australia. The name is an Australian slang term meaning honest, true or the real thing.

Format

A long-running series of 52-minute programs, each studio-based episode was intended to be an entertaining voyage of adventure and discovery for the viewers, constantly covering new topics reflecting Australian life and culture. Location segments added to the mix. One episode recorded sealing a time capsule to commemorate Australia's bicentennial in 1988; the capsule was opened in 2001.

Presenters

A team of presenters hosted each program:

Jared Robinsen
Rebecca Hetherington (daughter of Norman Hetherington)
Simon Watt
Danny Carretti
Chris Harriott
Ashley Paske

They were joined by puppet characters

Shorn Sheep (operated by Danny Carretti)
Buzz the Blowfly (operated by Simon Watt)
Buzzle the Blowfly

Other presenters of regular segments:

Dr. Glenn Singleman (medicine)
Dean Taylor (art)

Catchphrase

The lyrics in the signature tune repeated the words ridgey didge several times which became a catchphrase amongst the target audience. This was accompanied with a hand gesture. The three middle fingers of the right hand were closed, leaving the thumb and little finger extended; the hand was then twisted from side to side in time with the rhythm of the music.

Transmission

The show aired between 1987 and 1989, Monday to Friday at 4 p.m. on Network TEN!

The competition

Wombat — Seven Network
C'mon Kids — Nine Network
Play School — ABC Television

Production crew

Produced by the in-house production department based at the TEN studios in North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia:

Executive producer — Ian Fairweather
Producer — Penni-Anne Smith
Production manager — Dawn Aronie
Writers — Tammy Burnstock, Simon Watt
Location director — Lou Petho
Production assistant — Michael Carrington
Production assistant — Deborah Kingsford