Mop & Smiff: When Pets Became Television Stars

One of the earliest programmes I featured on Curious British Telly was Mop and Smiff, a BBC preschooler's show from the mid-1980s. The reason it featured so early on was because, back when I was first starting to watch television, I was a huge fan.

I also managed to get in touch with Mike Amatt, one of the show's stars. This allowed me to find out more about the series was produced, and Mike had plenty of memories to share. Accordingly, this is why I've chosen to feature Mop and Smiff in my latest video.

New Article in Best of British

Yes, I’ve managed to secure another printed article and, as ever, it’s an absolute thrill to announce it. It’s in the October 2026 edition of Best of British and it’s all about the launch of the full BBC daytime service in October 1986.

99% of my writing is a hobbyist venture, so it’s always exciting to get something actually in print which requires me to invoice someone. Also, heading into WHSmith (I refuse to call it by its new name as I consider it an affront to our cultural heritage) and seeing my work in there feels incredible. Like many of you, I spent hours in WHSmith reading the magazines as a child. But I never imagined that something I had written would be in there.

So, if you’re interested in finding out more about how Kilroy made it onto the airwaves, you know where to look.

Scragtag: The Scruffy Cat Who Hosted Children’s TV

Yes, it's time for another Curious British Telly video and today it's Scragtag: The Scruffy Cat Who Hosted Children’s TV. 

Erasmus Microman - Rare Footage From the Forgotten Series

The time has finally come for Curious British Telly videos. It's an idea I've toyed with over the years, but always put off as it felt more exposing than simply writing away fairly anonymously. And today, it's time to look at Erasmus Microman - Rare Footage From the Forgotten Series.

New Book: 172 Forgotten British Children's TV Shows From The 1980s

After a few weeks of fiddling with margins and tabs in Word documents, wrestling with anxiety over font sizes and being driven up the wall by Amazon, the paperback version of 172 Forgotten British Children's TV Shows From The 1980s is now available at Amazon.

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, Danger Mouse, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, and they're still discussed today whenever someone of that generation gets a little nostalgic. But there was so much else being broadcast. Some of it was amazing, some completely baffling and some of it was truly abysmal. Most importantly, however, it was broadcast. This means it's part of our televisual history and should be preserved.

It's my third print book - following The Curiosities of British Children's TV and More Curiosities of British Children's TV - and it may well be my favourite. Am I biased? Yes. Is it simply self-promotion to say it's my favourite? Probably, but I genuinely find it fascinating. It's the type of book I wish I could have got hold of 14 years ago when I started Curious British Telly. Sitting here, flicking through the proof copy, it's forgotten programme after forgotten programme. Heaven.

Standing Room Only Episode Turns Up

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.

Stop-Go Episode Emerges on YouTube

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 to be as rare as hen's teeth. In fact, very few have surfaced at all. Neil Miles managed to unearth an episode a decade ago and, aside from that, I've seen little more than a clip or two over the years. Even the BFI Archive came up empty-handed. Fortunately, another episode has recently turned up online.

Inside Greenwich Cablevision News

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, if not non-existent.

Luckily, thanks to a kind donation to Curious British Telly, we can take a closer look at what was happening with Greenwich Cablevision in the early 1980s. This intriguing glimpse into the past comes in the form of 10 editions of Greenwich Cablevision News, a promotional magazine for the service, which date from late 1982 to early 1984.

Archive Tape Digging: April 2026

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 ancient Betamax tapes, so let's take a look at what I discovered.