Rapido (TV series)

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Rapido was a British‑French music television programme hosted by Antoine de Caunes. It began in 1987, and after BBC executive Janet Street-Porter saw it, an English-language version was commissioned for BBC2’s DEF II.

The English edition ran from 1988 to 1992, usually airing on Wednesday evenings (some first‑series episodes were shown after Question Time on BBC1 in late 1988). The show featured reports from up‑and‑coming bands, European acts like Françoise Hardy and Violent Eves, and established stars such as Robert Plant, Jeff Beck, the Grateful Dead, John Lee Hooker and Randy Newman. In the BBC version, reports were narrated by Lisa I’Anson and connected by de Caunes standing in front of a large Rapido sign on a white background. The reports were directed in France by Bernard Faroux, and the main titles were designed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino. The last BBC edition aired on 25 March 1992 as part of DEF II, with reports on The Cure, Annie Lennox, The Verve, The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy and Rosie the Raving Granny. Rapido was shown in more than 14 countries and inspired the production company Rapido TV (later Planet Rapido), which created the late-night Channel 4 show Eurotrash. De Caunes is remembered for his distinctive, lightly French-tinged English.