Early Children's ITV Continuity Captured

I’ve been digging through some Betamax tapes this weekend and, as luck would have it, the first one I pulled out of the box had an absolute gem on it. And it came in the form of a rare clip of Children’s ITV continuity.

New Print Article: The Birth of Teletext

A year on from my last published article, I’m back in the pages of Best of British with The Birth of Teletext.

Ever since I first laid eyes on Pages from Ceefax back in the mid-1980s, I’ve been a little obsessed with teletext. We didn’t actually get a teletext television set until 1997, so it always felt like an exciting world of information which was just out of reach. Sure, I used to see it at friends’ houses, as we caught up on the football news and played Bamboozle, but I couldn’t get my teeth stuck into it.

All the Slices of Archive TV Christmas Footage I've Found

Christmas television has always been a landmark event. Or, at least, it always was. These days, scanning through the Christmas issue of the Radio Times with a highlighter is more a novelty than a necessity. Times change, and so do our viewing habits. But, luckily, old video tapes full of home recordings offer up a fossilised view of the way it once was. And, as I've been scanning through old video tapes for seven years now, I've found more than my fair share of Christmas TV footage.

Now, I could show you the various repeats of the 1977 Christmas edition of The Morecambe and Wise Show alongside Blackadder's Christmas Carol and The Snowman, but they're currently all being shown 24/7 on some digital channel somewhere. So, instead, I've decided to gather together all the ephemeral slices of archive TV Christmas I've found over the years. Some are fascinating, all of them are intriguing, and it's unlikely you would have seen any of them since they were originally broadcast.

Philip Schofield's Final Day on Children's BBC

2023 was a disastrous year for Philip Schofield's television career and private life, and it remains to be seen whether he'll ever return to our screens again. However, back in 1987, life for Schofield was very different. Following two years presenting the Broom Cupboard sections for Children's BBC, he had quickly risen from an unknown into the hot future of British television. Going Live! was just around the corner and, by the 1990s, Philip would be cemented as part of the lineup of British television's primetime schedules. But what happened on his final stint in the Broom Cupboard?

Betamax Find: In Front of the Children (1983)

 

There’s not a person in the country who didn’t love at least one children’s programme on the BBC whilst growing up. It’s an impossible proposition, the quality of the output was simply too high. And, no doubt, it’s equally as high now but it’s been a few years since I last tuned in. My daughter, you seen, has since transitioned over to YouTube for her entertainment needs, so I have no idea what the Twirlywoos are up to these days. Or Sarah and Duck. But Curious British Telly isn’t, thank god, about the present. It’s about the past.



That’s why I was delighted to unearth this 1983 documentary on the first 60 years of children’s programmes on the BBC. Found on a Betamax tape, In Front of the Children is presented by the dependable John Craven, in a fetching jumper and tie combination, as he traces the origins of children’s programmes on BBC radio up to contemporary hits such as Postman Pat. Featuring interviews with those who were there in the early days, and have long since departed this mortal coil, it’s a treasure trove of insights and history.

The Book of Beasts - Out Now!

Beasts is one of the calling cards of 1970s British folk horror, and this is an unarguable fact. Unless, of course, you haven't watched it. And, in that case, you need to rectify this immediately. Each episode of Nigel Kneale's much lauded anthology series, which aired in 1976, is a chilling blend of intricate plotting, rich characters, social commentary and, of course, an atmosphere which causes the hairs on the back of your neck to spring to attention. It's a series which has been much discussed and pored over since it first aired, but there has never been a definitive tome on the series. Until now.

Betamax Find: Claire Rayner's Casebook (Homosexuality)

Every now and then, I come across something on an old video tape which strikes a chord with people. At the weekend, I dug up a 1983 edition of Claire Rayner's Casebook, a series which looked at the various problems and hardships people faced in their everyday lives. Episodes ranged from divorced parents through to alcoholics and couples who couldn't have children. Rayner, of course, is well remembered as a beacon of hope and advice, so I was delighted to unearth, on a Betamax tape, the 10th March 1983 episode of Claire Rayner's Casebook, which focused on homosexuality.

A King Rollo Comic Strip from July 1983

Digging deep into my collections of Buttons comics, most of which I picked up in a job lot off Ebay in 2021, I found this charming King Rollo adventure which I just had to share. It's from the 23rd July 1983 edition of Buttons and, as you can see, features King Rollo learning a lesson in gluttony.

New 'Old' Episode of Bric-a-Brac Emerges onto YouTube

In what can only be described as excellent news, Neil Miles (tape archaeologist extraordinaire) has captured a complete episode of Bric-a-Brac and uploaded it to YouTube. Starring the inimitable and highly charming Brian Cant, Bric-a-Brac focused on the wonder of phonetics and ran for two series in 1980 and 1982.