Swashbuckle (TV series)

Swashbuckle
Presented by	Gemma Hunt
Opening theme	Swashbuckle
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of episodes	208
Production
Executive producers	Tony Reed (series 1) Vanessa Amberleigh (series 2–5) Sid Cole (series 6) Yvonne Jennings (series 7-8)
Production location	England
Running time	22 minutes
Production companies	BBC In-House Children's Production BBC Children's Productions BBC Studios Kids & Family
Original release
Network	CBeebies
Release	6 July 2013 (2013-07-06) – present

Swashbuckle is a television show on CBeebies aimed at young children which started airing on 6 July 2013.^[1][2] The show takes the format of a game show where children control a group of pirates. The show is one of CBeebies's most watched shows.^[3] It won the 2015 British Academy Children's Awards for Entertainment and was nominated in 2018.

Format

The show takes place on the site of the shipwreck of the Scarlet Squid, in which three "naughty pirates" – a captain and her hapless shipmates – have stolen and hidden Gem's five jewels. Four children (known as Swashbucklers) compete in a series of games to try to win back the jewels, under the watchful eye of the ship's parrot Squawk. After two games, any remaining jewels are hunted against the clock as the children try to find them hidden within the shipwreck.

If the children successfully retrieve all of the jewels then a wheel is spun to determine which of the three pirates must walk the plank into the gunge-filled Ship's Mess. The children do not win in every episode, however.

Since Series 5, there was a new section added to the wheel with 3 hats on it, known as the “Triple Slop Drop”. If it lands on there, then all 3 pirates must walk the plank.^[1]

Main characters

Character	Actor	Seasons
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Gem	Gemma Hunt	Main
Squawk	Conor McNamara	Main
Captain Sinker	Ella Kenion	Main			Recurring	Does not appear
Cook	Joseph Elliot	Main						Does not appear
Line	Richard David-Caine	Main						Does not appear
Captain Captain	Jennie Dale	Does not appear			Main		Does not appear	Main
Captain HeyHo	Sophia Nomvete	Does not appear					Main	Does not appear
Sandy Toes	Ian Kirkby	Does not appear						Main
Seaweed	Tyler Collins	Does not appear						Main

Cast

Presenters

• Gem – Gemma Hunt (series 1 onwards)
• Squawk – Conor McNamara (series 1 onwards)

Pirate captains

• Captain Sinker − Ella Kenion (series 1-4)
• Captain Captain − Jennie Dale (series 4-5, 7 onwards)
• Captain HeyHo − Sophia Nomvete (series 6)

Pirates

• Cook – Joseph Elliott (series 1-6)
• Line – Richard David-Caine (series 1-6)
• Sandy Toes – Ian Kirkby (series 7 onwards)
• Seaweed – Tyler Collins (series 7 onwards)

Awards and nominations

Swashbuckle won the 2015 British Academy of Film and Television Arts award for Children's Entertainment^[4] and was nominated for that award, but did not win, in 2018.^[5]

References

1. "Pirates and preschoolers star in new CBeebies commissions". Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
2. Children, youth, and international television. Debbie C. Olson, Adrian Schober. Abingdon, Oxon. 2022. ISBN 978-1-003-24327-4. OCLC 1273727476.
3. Bartlett, David (5 June 2015). "Cbeebies Swashbuckle: Behind the scenes at the hit TV show". Liverpool Echo. Archived from the original on 14 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
4. "2015 Children's Entertainment | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Archived from the original on 14 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
5. "2018 Children's Entertainment | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Archived from the original on 15 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.

External links

• Swashbuckle on cBeebies − BBC
• Swashbuckle at IMDb