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The block debuted on Channel 5 on 31st March 1997 and is currently broadcast on weekdays from 05:40 to 09:15 and weekends from 05:40 to 09:55 (09:50 on Sundays). The block has a number of presenters and features a range of children's programming.
Programmes for older children also aired from 1997 to 2002 and again from 2007 to 2016 on spin-off block Shake!, which, in its time, ran on weekends after Milkshake!.[1][2]
On 6 July 2017, Channel 5 announced a rebranding of Milkshake! that launched on 24 July, including updated branding, a new studio, and the launch of a YouTube channel that would feature digital content related to the block.[3]
TV channel
In November 2008, Channel 5 had been set to launch a new children's channel based on its pre-school programming block. This was a response to the BBC launching the CBBC channel and CBeebies in 2002 and ITV launching the CITV channel in 2006,[4] but plans to launch a standalone preschool channel were put on hold indefinitely while the broadcaster awaited a buyer.[citation needed]
Milkshake! on 5Star
When Five Life launched in 2006, Milkshake! was shown on the channel between 9am and 1pm each day. By April 2011, the channel had reduced its broadcast hours and the block was replaced by teleshopping. On 21 August 2017, Milkshake! relaunched on 5Star, where it aired from 09:15 to 11am, before a 2nd removal in 2018.
In-vision continuity presenters have been utilised by Milkshake! since the show began on 31 March 1997. The original presenters were Lucy Alexander and Konnie Huq. Huq was replaced by former Nickelodeon presenter Eddie Mathews when she left the show to join the BBC as a Blue Peter presenter. The longest-serving presenter is Kemi Majeks, who has presented the block for over 25 years. Relief and freelance presenters have also anchored Milkshake! continuity links, including presenter Ellie Harrison and deaf presenter Gary Evans. After Beth Evans & Naomi Wilkinson left in 2010, they continued to do British Sign Language interpretation for the other hosts until August 2011. Evans made 1 more appearance in a pre-recorded "Handshake" segment on the Milkshake! website in 2012.
^"Slugterra premieres on Channel 5". Toy World Magazine | The business magazine with a passion for toys. 15 August 2013. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
