ONE of CITV’s best-known former stars has spoken out about the channel’s closure.
CITV will be taken off air forty years after it was first launched in 1983 and will make way for new children’s streaming service ITVX Kids.
CITV is closing down after forty years on air
Michael Underwood CBBC stars unrecognisable as they reunite for former presenters wedding,
Michael Underwood, 47, became known to millions when he landed a gig presenting Jungle Run on CITV back in 1999.
The star, who is now a primary school teacher and a radio presenter, reflected on his past fame on the network on Twitter after hearing the news.
He said: “So #CITV is closing on 1st Sept. I suppose it was inevitable, but that doesn’t make it any less sad.
“I had so many memorable moments on @ChildrensITV and was fortunate enough to present on the legendary #JungleRun.
“It was easily one the best experiences I had on children’s TV.”
His tweet sparked a flurry of comments about the beloved kids’ show, and one viewer told him: “This was my childhood but I’d be lying if I said those monkeys didn’t scare the f**k out of me!”
Another shared: “One of the all time greats this!”
Michael has now been teaching for five years at Surbiton High Boy’s Prep School in south-west London, teaching Year 4, who are eight and nine years old.
Michael started out as a presenter on CBBC but later in his career he was a reporter on The One Show, Good Morning Britain and This Morning, as well a competitor on Dancing On Ice in 2008.
But after he stopped making enough money from TV gigs, Michael returned to teaching in February 2018 as a Key Stage 2 Drama Teacher at Surbiton High School.
From September 2019, he became the Year 4 Form tutor too.
“The phone stopped ringing. It’s just not a nice place to be in. I needed to make a decision,” Michael told the Mirror.
Luckily he was already a trained teacher as he did a four-year BEd teaching degree before landing his big break on television – on the advice of his mum.
Michael explains: “It was my mum who actually said: ‘Why don’t you think of doing drama as a teaching degree, specialise in that and you’ve got something to fall back on if the acting doesn’t work out.'”
CITV also had huge success with shows including Press Gang, Art Attack, Danger Mouse and Rainbow, before launching as a channel in its own right in 2006.
His big break came when he was working at a local radio station and spotted an ad from the BBC to be a children’s television presenter.
“I never grew up wanting to be a television presenter,” he said.
“Acting’s what I loved but my family could never afford to send me to drama school.”
Michael has been married to TV presenter Angellica Bell, who co-presents The Martin Lewis Money Show, for 12 years.
They share two children Elijah, 11, and Keziah, eight.
Michael has been working as a teacher for five years after his TV work dried up
He hosted his own shows on CITV
He is married to TV presenter Angellica Bell
