Yes, I have a new e-book out: 172 Forgotten British Children's TV Shows From The 1980s. As you can probably guess from the title, it's an almost-encyclopaedic look at forgotten British children's television from the 1980s. We all remember Pigeon Street, Saturday Superstore, Dangermouse, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe , and they're still discussed today whenever someone of that generation…
England, predictably, crashed out of the World Cup this week in their trademark blaze of tactical insanity and, well, an inability to win which is entrenched in their DNA. But it's not all bad news for English football. In fact, I have some fantastic news: I've managed to procure an episode of Standing Room Only . For those of you who don't know, Standing Room Only was football television for…
Stop-Go is one of those vintage, forgotten programmes which has proved frustratingly elusive for me over the years. Part of the See-Saw lunchtime children's schedule, Stop-Go ran for two series and concerned itself with, as the wonderfully jazzy theme informed us, the fact that "wheels go fast, and wheels go slow!" Stop-Go was repeated several times throughout the 1980s, yet home recordings seem…
Greenwich Cablevision was Britain's first cable television channel and launched in 1972 , but it only ran as a full service until 1974. However, this was far from the end for Greenwich Cablevision. It continued as an intermittent, community production until the mid-1980s when it had morphed into Greenwich TV. Footage and information regarding this curious corner of British broadcasting is scant,…
There's no need to rummage in the dirt on all fours to dig up the past. Instead, you can exhume dusty old videotapes from the comfort of your sofa. It's one of my favourite past times, but the constraints of time and life have meant it's been on the backburner for a while - hence this is the first Archive Tape Digging article in some time. Fortunately, I recently found time to go through some…
Yes, it’s that time of year again: the annual plea for readers of Curious British Telly to donate their old video tapes. For those new here, the purpose of this is simple. I dig through these dusty tapes for fleeting glimpses of long-forgotten British television . I’m talking about programmes that haven’t seen the light of day since their original broadcast, in-vision continuity announcers…
I’ve been busy on the Curious British Telly Substack this week. Normally, I don’t mess about with cross-promoting across my various platforms, but a couple of these pieces have turned out exactly as I hoped for. Here’s a quick guide to them. And please click through if you fancy a proper read: 1. We Need to Talk About the Decline of British TV Television was once patient, calm and, most…
Just a quick reminder, for those newly arrived at Curious British Telly, that there are two Curious British Telly books to be found on Amazon . Both The Curiosities of British Children’s Television and More Curiosities of British Children’s Television rummage through the attic of children’s television. In particular, they focus on programmes that time has politely forgotten or that were barely…
The number of obscure, forgotten British television shows from the distant past still boggles my mind. I've been writing Curious British Telly for close to 15 years and I'm still being knocked sideways by the obscurities which suddenly present themselves. Monkey Business is yet another oddity which deserves to be held up and examined with modern eyes. Over the last couple of years, numerous…
The path to manhood is a troublesome one, particularly when the male ego weighs heavy on your shoulders. And there's no beating about the bush: sex is crucial in reaching true manhood. Social constructs mean that men simply have to have sex to be considered a man. Better yet, being highly skilled in the old art of the bedroom Olympics will only enhance your manliness. Agree or roll your eyes as…
For many children of the 1970s and 80s, Christopher Lillicrap is an instantly recognisable name. Starting off with Playboard in 1975, Lillicrap would go on to front other series such as We’ll Tell You a Story, Flicks and Busker , whilst also writing for Rainbow and Fimbles . So surely I, of all people, should have been aware of him. But I wasn’t. Somehow, as a child devotee of all things…
Camberwick Green ran for a single series of 13 episodes in 1966, but did you know that this wasn't the end of life in Camberwick Green? This extended universe was contained within the pages of the Pippin in Playland comic and remained forgotten by almost everyone. Until today. These continuing adventures for Gordon Murray’s finest came several years after Chigley aired in 1969, a fact which…
Pinoy Tongits stands as a popular Filipino card game which serves as a test of players' timing skills and strategic abilities and their capacity to make quick decisions. Mobile play has become more popular which enables players to access Pinoy Tongits through various Tongits app platforms. Players require advanced knowledge of game mechanics which extends beyond basic rules for achieving success…
Ah, the regional oddity of British television! Is there a more obscure area of programming to delve into and feast upon its barely remembered content? I doubt it, and Curious British Telly has always delighted in sniffing out such peculiarities. These programmes are often so obscure, in fact, that even finding a title for the show and a brief description is a miracle in itself. Fortunately, I…
Competitions don't quite seduce as they once did. The age of fiendish tiebreakers, solving riddles worthy of the finest pub bore and stockpiling empty crisp packets to win a Teasmade or a damp weekend on the Isle of Wight has vanished. Instead, the internet has demanded a need for instant gratification. Hence, competitions are now reduced to little more than scanning QR codes. Luckily, I Like…
If it's Christmas time, it's surely time to dust down The Box of Delights for another watch. First airing in 1984, the BBC's adaptation of John Masefield's fantasy classic has delighted viewers for over forty years. And, if you want to take a really deep dive into The Box of Delights , Philip W. Errington's extraordinary compendium Opening The Box of Delights is the perfect ally. First published…
Due to when I was born, I was never in the perfect position to enjoy Noggin the Nog as a child. The final series aired a few months before I was born, and, along with the original 1959 - 65 run, wasn’t repeated on British television again until the early 1990s. Nonetheless, it entered my sphere of interest a few years ago for one simple reason: the dream team of Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin.…
Tongits Go GCash Guide: How to Cash Out Your Winnings When the phrase “ Tongits Go GCash ” pops up in search bars, many players hope for a simple answer: can they cash out through GCash? Unfortunately, the answer isn’t that straightforward. The first thing to understand is that “Tongits Go” isn’t just one game. There are two completely different titles using the same name, and that distinction…
I'm sure many readers of Curious British Telly are aware of Film is Fabulous but, if this particular marvel has slipped past your peripheral vision, let me tap you on the shoulder and point you in their direction. Founded in 2023, Film is Fabulous is a charitable trust set up by film and television enthusiasts in league with De Montfort University's resident film experts. Their aim is simple:…
One of London's more affluent corridors, Chiswick is a leafy, picturesque area boasting beautiful, historic buildings, green spaces which conjure up Ray Davies compositions and a wealth of coffee shops. It’s the last place you’d expect a full-scale riot to break out. But architect Brian Stebbings (Hywel Bennett), with his diet of television news, knows better. Checkpoint Chiswick aired on 18th…
Since running Curious British Telly, I've developed somewhat of an obsession (in the best possible way) with the 1980s. In particular, I'm intrigued by exactly what life was like as we all know it wasn't all pastel pinks, leg warmers and oversized mobile phones. Now, I was alive for 8/10ths of the decade, but I was really too young to truly take in society and culture for most of it. However, it…
There they were in my hands, two video tapes packed full of video recordings of children’s programmes from the mid-1980s. I was going to be reunited with Mop & Smiff , Bric-a-Brac and Hokey Cokey . It was a fantastic moment in the history of Curious British Telly, and all it required was a five-hour round trip. Yes, utter madness, but it had to be done. Doing things to a ridiculous extreme has…
Pusoy Dos Ranking: Suit Hierarchies of Every Version When you first learn Pusoy Dos, the Pusoy Dos ranking system can be surprisingly confusing. Most card games like poker or blackjack have a universal order that players can memorize easily, but the Pusoy Dos ranking changes depending on where you’re playing. In one country, spades may dominate as the trump suit. In another, diamonds could rise to…
To my utter delight, another couple of Let's Pretend episodes have recently popped on YouTube, so it's time to dissect one of these in a way that most people would consider utter madness. This particular episode of the long-running series hails from December 1984, a period of British life most famous for Do They Know It's Christmas? and Last Christmas battling it out for the number one spot. Oh…
The very first programme featured on Curious British Telly was Sebastian the Incredible Drawing Dog , which had a young Michael Barrymore at the heart and centre of it. It aired a few months before the first series of Strike it Lucky turned Barrymore into a household name, but Strike it Lucky wasn't his first game show. Two years before, in 1984, Barrymore had presented Get Set Go on BBC1.…