It'll Never Work

It'll Never Work was a television programme for children showcasing new inventions and developments in scientific technology. Produced by Roy Milani for BBC Children's, the show ran for seven series between 9 November 1993 and 23 August 1999 on weekdays within the Children's BBC, later CBBC, strand on BBC One. It'll Never Work was presented throughout its run by children's television presenter Sally Gray, who would go on to present children's quiz 50/50, Jez Nelson, who would go on to front the related primetime BBC technology series Tomorrow's World, and science presenter Angela Lamont. This team was augmented during later series by presenters Adrian Johnson and Rick Adams.

For each episode the presenters travelled worldwide to discover new gadgets and to test out whether new inventions worked or not, hence the show's title. Depeche Mode's 1984 hit single "People Are People" was used as the theme music.

The show was critically and commercially lauded, winning the 1994 BAFTA TV Award in the category of 'Best Children's Programme' for Roy Milani, and nominated again in the same category the following year. The series moreover achieved ratings of up to four million viewers.