TFI Friday, the chaotic, watershed-defying Nineties entertainment show, is returning to Channel 4 – with long-time host Chris Evans back at the helm.
TFI Friday – which stood for “Thank Four it’s Friday” – aired on Fridays at 6pm from 1996 to 2000, where it featured an always unpredictable mix of celebrity interviews, live music and competitions.
But in recent years, the TFI Friday format moved to YouTube in the form of TFI Friday Unplugged, hosted on Virgin Radio where Evans, 60, began hosting the breakfast show from BBC Radio 2 in 2019.
On Monday (13 April), Channel 4 announced that it had acquired six episodes of TFI Friday Unplugged, bringing the series back to its original broadcasting home once more.
The first episode of TFI Friday Unplugged on Channel 4 will air on Friday 17 April, with guests including singers Sam Ryder, Shreya Ghoshal and Jack Savoretti, comedian Sindhu Vee and actors Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo.
Speaking about the acquisition, Channel 4 commissioning editor Cimran Shah said: “TFI Friday was doing stripped-back, personality-led chat long before visualised-podcasts were a twinkle in our eyes! I’m thrilled that this deal brings TFI back to Channel 4, reimagined in a way that feels fresh, immediate and perfectly suited for a new generation wherever they watch Channel 4.”
A flagship Channel 4 property in the Nineties, TFI Friday was known for its anarchic feel and regular breaching of broadcasting guidelines. Many of the country’s biggest musical acts, like Blur, Oasis and David Bowie would perform, while regular segments included games like “Fat Lookalikes” or “Freak or Unique?”.
Due to the 6pm pre-watershed airtime, guests were required not to swear, which caused a problem for Happy Mondays frontman Shaun Ryder and later Ewan McGregor.
Evans, who had recently finished his stint hosting The Big Breakfast, was in the driving seat for the first five series of TFI Friday. In its final series, the programme was hosted by a range of celebrity guest presenters, including the Spice Girls, Davina McCall and Elton John.
The show was originally written by Danny Baker between1996 to 2000, with Evans taking over in addition to presenting in later versions.
The format has been revived multiple times in the past: on ITV briefly in 2005 under the name “OFI Sunday” and for a Channel 4 anniversary special in 2015. The later reboot spun off into a new series with guests including Justin Bieber, U2 and Stanley Tucci, but it was canned after one season.
TFI Friday Unplugged, meanwhile, was revived by Virgin Media this year, with guests having included James Corden, Danny Dyer, Bono and Kate Mara.
