After 42 years of entertaining young audiences, CITV is reportedly coming to an end. The ITV programming block, which launched in 1980 as Watch IT before being rebranded as Children's ITV, became a staple of British childhoods with shows such as Tots TV, Fraggle Rock, Art Attack and My Parents Are Aliens.
CITV originally aired in the late afternoon on ITV, timed for children returning from school. After that slot was axed in 2006, the brand moved to its own Freeview channel and later to ITV weekend mornings. In 2023, the Freeview channel was closed and replaced by an ITVX Kids hub on ITV's streaming service, with the weekend block relocating to ITV2.
On Friday 3 April, a media account claimed that the ITV2 block will end on 10 April, effectively signalling the end of the CITV brand. Rival children's programming strand CBBC is expected to acquire some of its shows, while the remainder will remain available on ITVX Kids. Presenters who launched their careers on CITV include Holly Willoughby, Cat Deeley and Stephen Mulhern.
Fans reacted with sadness to the news, with many describing the channel as a key part of their childhood. One wrote: 'This channel was my childhood, it will be missed,' while others called it the 'end of an era'. Other notable shows that aired on CITV included Wizadora, Press Gang, Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids, It's a Mystery and ZZZap!.
