Zip-Zip

For the French animated series, see Zip Zip.

Zip-Zip was a Portuguese talk show broadcast by RTP presented by Raul Solnado, Fialho Gouveia and Carlos Cruz, which was a key milestone for television in Portugal.^[1]

History and format

The program emerged in April 1969 per a decision of the then-new RTP president Ramiro Valadão, who suggested the idea of a weekly talk show to the three presenters, after rejecting an initial idea for a daily program.^[1]

The first edition was taped on May 24, 1969,^[2] and was seen on May 26,^[3] with Almada Negreiros as its main guest, obtaining immediate success.^[4][5] It was the first Portuguese talk show, being taped on Saturdays, at Teatro Villaret, in front of a live audience, and was shown on television the following Monday evening.^[6]

Major Baptista Rosa abandoned its production team after the first edition, after noting incompatibilities with other members of the team. From the second program, a few modifications had to be made, including in its intro.

Among the members of the live audience was a PIDE agent. The airing of the content had to be negotiated with the Portuguese censorship commission between Saturday (taping day) and Monday (airing day).^[1][7]

José Nuno Martins also collaborated in the program, bringing young talents to the stage.

The last edition was broadcast on December 29, 1969,^[8][8] with the three presenters disguised as old men.^[9][10][11]

RTP has little footage of the program, due to wiping policies, but still preserves the final episode in full.^[12]

On March 27, 1970, the radio program Tempo Zip produced by Organizações Zip-Zip premiered on Rádio Renascença.