How 2 is an informative children's programme produced by TVS between 1990 and 1991, and STV Productions (Scottish Television) from 1992 to 2006.
The original show (How) was produced by Southern Television from 1966 up until 1981 when the company lost its franchise to TVS, which was a regular fixture in the ITV schedules.
History[]
The show began in 1966 as How; a series popular in the 1970s. It was designed to provide answers to questions beginning with the word "How". Each episode began with the presenters all raising one hand and saying "How" simultaneously (playing on the stereotypical Native American greeting). Common topics covered included science, history, mathematics, and simple puzzles. The series came to an end in 1981 when Southern Television lost its ITV franchise, but was revived as How 2 in 1990 by TVS. In 2006 the final series was broadcast, having waited more than a year for transmission. The show was rebroadcast on STV in late 2009 as part of their weekend strand Wknd@stv broadcasting series 14 and 15. Repeats of the rebroadcasts on the weekend strand were also shown on the CITV Channel in October Half-Term 2009.
A similar CITV show to appear a few years later was The Big Bang, presented by How 2's own Gareth Jones and Violet Berlin. The Big Bang had a more scientific slant, focusing on performing fun experiments involving simple physics and chemistry. Other similar British television series included Don't Ask Me. Fred Dinenage was the only presenter to appear in both incarnations of How, presenting the shows for a total of 31 years. On 6 January 2013, as part of CITV's Old Skool Weekend (a televised event celebrating the strand's 30th anniversary), the first episode of 1995 series was shown. Prior to this, a How 2 segment was featured on the 30 Years of CITV documentary that aired on ITV on 29 December 2012 and featured interviews with Dinenage and Jones.