Stuart G. G. Francis (born 30 January 1948 in Bolton,[1]Lancashire, England) is a British comedian with a camp style of delivery who achieved celebrity as lead presenter on the children's television programme Crackerjack (1980–1984). His principal "co hosts" were initially the Krankies and later, on alternating editions, Basil Brush and The Great Soprendo. He went on to host Ultra Quiz in 1985 and Border TV's Crush a Grape in 1987, a children's game and variety show in a similar vein, if not carbon copy, to his era of Crackerjack. He also released a single in 1983 (rereleased in 1985) called "Ooh! I could crush a grape".[2][3]
After attending Brownlow Fold Junior School and Smithills Base School, both in Bolton, he worked as a bluecoat entertaining guests at holiday camps. He then switched to comedy and appeared in summer seasons at clubs and in theatres.
Francis had numerous catchphrases on Crackerjack, mostly based on his prolific "Ooh! I could crush a grape!!". Other variations included: "I could pop a balloon", "I could rip a tissue", "I could jump off a doll's house", "I could wrestle an action man", "I could duff a daffodil", "I could test drive a Tonka", "I could pummel a peach", and "I could eat a whole sausage roll".
Another catchphrase was "There's points to be won, and there are penalties to pay!" used on Crackerjack's final game Take A Chance, where the "penalty" was a gunging to either an unfortunate celebrity and/or to Francis himself.
francis, canadian, comedian, stewart, francis, stuart, francis, born, january, 1948, bolton, lancashire, england, british, comedian, with, camp, style, delivery, achieved, celebrity, lead, presenter, children, television, programme, crackerjack, 1980, 1984, pr. For the Canadian comedian see Stewart Francis Stuart G G Francis born 30 January 1948 in Bolton 1 Lancashire England is a British comedian with a camp style of delivery who achieved celebrity as lead presenter on the children s television programme Crackerjack 1980 1984 His principal co hosts were initially the Krankies and later on alternating editions Basil Brush and The Great Soprendo He went on to host Ultra Quiz in 1985 and Border TV s Crush a Grape in 1987 a children s game and variety show in a similar vein if not carbon copy to his era of Crackerjack He also released a single in 1983 rereleased in 1985 called Ooh I could crush a grape 2 3 After attending Brownlow Fold Junior School and Smithills Base School both in Bolton he worked as a bluecoat entertaining guests at holiday camps He then switched to comedy and appeared in summer seasons at clubs and in theatres Contents 1 Catchphrases 2 Television 3 References 4 External linksCatchphrases EditFrancis had numerous catchphrases on Crackerjack mostly based on his prolific Ooh I could crush a grape Other variations included I could pop a balloon I could rip a tissue I could jump off a doll s house I could wrestle an action man I could duff a daffodil I could test drive a Tonka I could pummel a peach and I could eat a whole sausage roll Another catchphrase was There s points to be won and there are penalties to pay used on Crackerjack s final game Take A Chance where the penalty was a gunging to either an unfortunate celebrity and or to Francis himself Television EditTelevision appearances include Jokers Wild Ultra Quiz 1985 Live from Her Majesty s 1985 The Comedians 1971 Crackerjack hosted 1980 1984 guest 2020 Cheggers Plays Pop 1983 episode 6 7 CiTV 1983 Presenter 1983 1985 The Keith Harris Show 1986 episode 3 5 Stupid Punts 2004 Our Survey Says The Ultimate Game Show Moments 2005 Sooty 2013 Series 2 episode 14 Cow Capers References Edit Variety is the spice of this Crackerjack legend s life Bolton News 19 September 2013 Retrieved 29 September 2021 Stu Francis Ooh I Could Crush A Grape via www 45cat com Parsons Tony 1985 Singles NME 2 February 1985 p 14External links EditStu Francis at IMDb Interview with Stu This article about a British comedian or humourist is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Stu Francis amp oldid 1104710455, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
