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

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 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.

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.

Help Save Britain’s Forgotten TV!

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 introducing films, regional news reports and, of course, that true blast of nostalgia: the advert break. A fine example of what I can uncover is this Anglia closedown from 1985.

The Curious State of British Television

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 importantly, better. Or was it? Nostalgia can easily cloud our judgement, and this is never more evident than under YouTube clips of Little & Large. But the truth is that British TV isn't in decline. It's just a world away from what we grew up with.

2. What Modern British TV Is Missing

Yes, British television is now very different. The quality, however, remains. Nonetheless, there are certain elements that I miss. Each loss chips away at intimacy and delight. It's unlikely that they'll ever come back, but it's important we remember them and what they added to the viewing experience.

3. When Television Said Goodnight — And Meant It

Once, British television had a bedtime. Screens faded to black, announcers quietly sent us off to bed and programmes had breathing space to settle in your mind. Then we shifted to 24 hour broadcasting. The ritual of the closedown is no more, but we have much more convenience and choice. So, are we better off? Or did we need that full stop to the day?

The Books of Curious British Telly

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 written about in the first place.

This means, yes, there are chapters on not only Codename Icarus and Rowan’s Report but also that grand oddity which is Treasures of the Mindlord. Many sound so improbable you might assume they’re invented, yet every one of them genuinely flickered across British screens for the nation’s curious young eyes.

Best of all, I managed to track a surprising number of the people involved, so this means the books are peppered with first-hand insights from such luminaries as Derek Griffifths, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Bill Oddie and Joy Whitby. It lends the books a pleasing authority, and also demonstrates the strength of their memories for work they completed several decades ago.

I don’t plug the books very often these days, and it’s unlikely I’ll write any more, but do have a look and, if tempted, consider taking one home.

First Impressions: Monkey Business

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.