My 70's TV Childhood

In this edition of the podcast dedicated to remembering life as a child in 1970's Britain and the part TV played in our lives, our host Oliver goes through some of the messages sent by listeners and puts right his error in omitting Roobarb from our 5 Minute Marvels episode. We also look back at Noah and Nellie , Roobarb's lesser known sequel. Following the recent passing of Rick Jones ,...

In this episode of the podcast dedicated to memories of growing up as a child in 1970's Britain and the part TV played in our lives, we remember the five minute slot before the BBC's early evening news which became home to many classic shows. From the sleeping arrangements in Hector's House , to the quite frankly bonkers Ludwig , we remember lots of five minute wonders. Who can forg...

Welcome back to the podcast celebrating growing up as a child in 1970's Britain and the central part that television played in our lives then. In this episode, our host Oliver wonders whether our society is more materialistic than in the 1970's and uses television schedules to compare and contrast. From Homes Under the Hammer , Cash in the Attic and Flog It! it appears that the schedules...

A warm welcome back to the podcast which remembers what it was like to grow up as a child in 70's Britain and the central role that television played in our society. This episode has been recorded by your host Oliver whilst he is on holiday in Jersey which gives an excellent link to a discussion on Bergerac . But before we get too carried away with thoughts of John Nettles , the Bureau des Et...

Welcome back to the podcast celebrating growing up in 1970's Britain and the central part that TV played in our lives then. In this episode we are going back to school. Traditionally, schools were shown in a good light on British TV without much in the way of realism. Mallory Towers and Dotheboys Hall were light years away from my school. All this changed in February 1978 when Grange Hill bur...

Welcome back to the podcast which remembers growing up as a child in 1970's Britain and the part that TV played in our lives. This week we remember William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and their huge output of cartoons which became the mainstay of 70's children's programming. From Touché Turtle and Yogi Bear through to Scooby Doo , Wacky Races and Help!...It's the Hair Bear Bunch!...

Welcome back to the podcast which provides a safe space for those who grew up in 1970's Britain to discuss their childhood's and the role that television played inn their lives. There's nothing here about how great the 60's were or how difficult it is to be a Millennial - no, it's just plain old childhood nostalgia with a 70's twist. Our host Oliver has been watching...

Welcome back to our podcast celebrating growing up in 1970's Britain and the huge part that TV played in our lives. We've had lots of comments on our 70's Sitcoms episode and we seem to have opened a can of worms as far as On the Buses is concerned. Whilst some listeners agreed with Oliver, who didn't find it very amusing, there are lots of you who loved it. We remember the fil...

Welcome back to the podcast which celebrates growing up as a child in 1970's Britain and the central part that television played in our and our families' lives. There were lots of things going on in the 70's which were, frankly, rather depressing. In a world dominated by three day weeks, power cuts and strikes, what we needed was a bit of comic relief which was often provided by sit...

Welcome back to the podcast which remembers what it was like to be a child in 1970's Britain and the huge part that television played in our lives then. In this episode we share memories of the gang we all wanted to be part of, The Double Deckers . How many of them can you remember? Why was it that 1970's British TV was so dire on Bank (Public) Holidays? Our host Oliver looks at listings...

Welcome back to the podcast which celebrates growing up as a child in 1970's Britain and the part that television played in our lives then. We've had lots of feedback from our previous episode, "FAB Virgil: Thunderbirds are Go!" including complaints that we've ignored Gerry Anderson 's live action series. This podcast puts that right as we remember the über cool Ed St...

Standby for Action - In the next half hour anything can happen! Welcome back to the podcast dedicated to remembering growing up as a child in Britain during the 1970's and the part TV played in our lives then. In this episode we look back to the puppet creations of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson remembering Fireball XL5 ,  Stingray , the slightly creepy Joe 90 and the darker Captain Scarlett and t...

Evenin' All . In the latest episode of the podcast celebrating growing up in Britain as a child during the 1970's and the part TV played in our lives then, we're looking at how the British Police were portrayed on TV. The US brought us glamour and style from Kojak , Columbo and Starsky and Hutch whereas at home we had the cosy Dixon of Dock Green and the grittier Z Cars . We remembe...

We're going back to 1977 in this episode of the podcast celebrating growing up in 1970's Britain and the television which accompanied our childhoods. The nation was united in celebrating the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II and there was even more to celebrate for our host Oliver as his family got a colour television set which even had a remote control! Find out which programme Olive...

Welcome back to the podcast celebrating growing up as a child in 1970's Britain and the part TV played in our childhood. It seems like not all of our listeners agreed with Oliver's choices of best TV ads of the 1970's so we're back with more commercials. They still feature plenty of alcohol, cigars, food and cleaning products but a few elements of personal hygiene are added. Jo...

In this episode of the podcast celebrating growing up as a child in the UK during the 1970's we look back at gameshows. From the ultimate professional that was Bob Monkhouse in The Golden Shot and Celebrity Squares to the unlikely Nicholas Parsons in  Sale of the Century we remember the unique British versions of US gameshows. Taking in The Sky's the Limit , Top of the Form and Screen Te...

In our latest trip back to Britain in the 1970's we remember the excitement and anticipation of television programmes aimed at schools . In the days before video recording, the logistics of getting the school tv to the right classroom, attaching the aerial and keeping your fingers crossed that the teacher could get it to work was a serious matter. Our host Oliver remembers Sam on Boffs'...

Welcome back to the podcast that celebrates growing up in Britain during the 1970's and the central role that TV had in our lives. In this episode, we look at how animals played a part in our lives and on the TV screen. Our host Oliver remembers a host of childhood pets including Flopsy the Rabbit , Henrietta the Hen (obviously), several goldfish and a host of cats. We also recall some of our...

If you think there's too much news available today with 24 hour rolling news channels, here's a chance to remember what TV News was like in the 1970's . As well as there being far less of it, it was something we all listened to and paid attention in case we missed something. We look at BBC and ITN news programmes and remember the heavyweight line ups fielded by both sides. Were you...

Welcome back to the podcast which celebrates growing up as a child in 1970's Britain and the central part television played in our lives then. This week, we're looking back to the BBC's Sunday Classic Serials where many of us got our first taste of Charles Dickens , Jane Austen , E Nesbit and even James Fenimore Cooper . Do you remember Arthur Lowe as Mister Micawber in David Copper...

Mr Benn is Fifty! This episode of the podcast celebrating growing up as a child in 1970's Britain and the TV that sustained us looks back at the adventures of the man from 52 Festive Road . Starting with the Red Knight, through adventures as a Caveman , a Cowboy , an Astronaut and many others, Mr Benn is an Everyman for our generation. Devised by David McKee and narrated by the wonderful Ray...

Like many other things we've discussed in this podcast, Sundays were a bit different in the 1970's. Shops were all closed, pubs only open for a few hours, if at all and the TV schedules had a range of religious programming including the BBC's Songs of Praise and ITV's slightly glitzier Stars on Sunday . There were also religious programmes for children. We're joined by the...

Does your choice of Saturday morning TV shape your future life? In Swap Shop or Tiswas? we look at how the BBC and ITV targeted their young audiences. Did you side with Noel Edmonds and Maggie Philbin or did you prefer Chris Tarrant and the lovely Sally James ? And why did groups of office workers from Dudley volunteer to be locked in a cage to be "flanned" by the Phantom Flan Flinger an...

This week, we go back to 1973 when not only did Oliver move house for the first time but we also met The Wombles who first graced our screens in February of that year. We also pay tribute to the great Bernard Cribbins , relive his success as a popstar, Jackanory host and generally all round good thing and ask why he hasn't received a knighthood yet. We also reflect on whether The Wombles were...

We continue our new season of the podcast dedicated to celebrating growing up in Britain in the 1970's and the part that TV played in our lives then by looking at what came between our favourite TV shows - the adverts. From Oliver's memories it seems like Britain spent the 1970's getting drunk, smoking and eating sweets and chocolates before buying lots of household cleaning product...