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.

Swashbuckle
Presented byGemma Hunt
Opening themeSwashbuckle
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes208
Production
Executive producersTony Reed (series 1)
Vanessa Amberleigh (series 2–5)
Sid Cole (series 6)
Yvonne Jennings (series 7-8)
Production locationEngland
Running time22 minutes
Production companiesBBC In-House Children's Production
BBC Children's Productions
BBC Studios Kids & Family
Original release
NetworkCBeebies
Release6 July 2013 (2013-07-06) –
present

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

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

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. ^ a b "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.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  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.