ITV's CITV Ends Broadcasts After 42 Years

After 42 years of entertaining generations of children with beloved shows and launching the careers of prominent television personalities, ITV's iconic children's programming strand CITV is set to end its broadcast run on April 10. The closure marks the final chapter for the brand, which began in 1980 and has evolved from a daily afternoon block on ITV to a dedicated channel before shifting to streaming platforms.

CITV, originally launched as Watch IT and later rebranded as Children's ITV, targeted schoolchildren with after-school programming. It featured a lineup of memorable series such as Art Attack, hosted by Neil Buchanan; My Parents Are Aliens; Tots TV; Fraggle Rock; Horrid Henry; and Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids. Other notable programs included the fantasy series Wizadora, the cult-favorite Press Gang—created by Steven Moffat and starring Julia Sawalha and Dexter Fletcher—and mystery anthology It's a Mystery, which explored tales of UFOs and ghosts. The strand also introduced young audiences to innovative formats like ZZZap!, which used a giant comic strip to transition between segments.

The programming helped propel presenters including Holly Willoughby, Cat Deeley,...