I Didn't Know There Was So Much in It: A Weekend to view from the TV Times - 14th and 15th of April 1984

Welcome back to another look at the TV Times from the past, this time we go back to April 1984 and the weekend of the 14th and 15th of April. One which would turn out to eventful for reasons which no-one could for tell. With this being 1984, for the first time in our look backs at times past that we have Channel Four listings as well. The channel in its infancy with Jeremy Isaacs at the helm, alongside ITV. But as such, being neighbours of ITV itself, meaning that the channel as well as being its own self, that also it takes some programming which ITV would have shown previously. 

Anyway onto the listings and starting with Saturday 14th April, 1984 means that TV-AM is one year old and breakfast television on ITV had arrived. So at 6.25am, Good Morning Britain presented by Henry Kelly and Toni Arthur, the former having left Game For a Laugh and the latter had been working for TVS in such programmes as 'Watch This Space'. They came together for a lighter version of TV-AM's magazine programme with a more relaxed approach. 

During the programme, with this being Saturday, sport plays a big part in it. At 7.15am, George Best talks to Henry Kelly and Toni Arthur about the weekend's football. But of course, this wasn't to be the first footballer for TV-AM to use. With Jimmy Greaves, also a part of the team, but reviewing television in later years. Though Best's role was similar to what he'd been doing for TVS' "The Saturday Match" and "Sunday Sportshow", but how often George turned up at this early hour each week was up for consideration. 

Though Rusty Lee was in the kitchen cooking up some more tasty treats and give culinary ideas for the viewers to try at home, plus there was a preview of a new feature to start seven days hence as Harry and Sarah Greene offer up more DIY tips in doing up the TV-AM 'Dream Home'. The emphasis on hobbies, was right for weekend viewers encouraging them to try new skills at home. Much like the programme turning to a more tabloid style after its rocky start at the beginning of 1983.

Saturday morning means programming for children, at 8.40am there's Data Run presented by Edwina Lawrie, the sister of Lulu. This contained a combination of pop music and various features for its core audience, alongside Data Run was S.P.L.A.T. in 1984, known as this because of the acronym made from Soaps, Puzzles, Laughter and Talent. Introduced by future Wide Awake Club presenter James Baker, both of these could be seen to of the same family of the later Wide Awake Club and Wacaday as well.

So after breakfast television has finally been removed off the table, because this a North-Eastern edition of the TV Times, it means that Tyne Tees' listings that we'll be looking at for ITV this week and their day starts with an odd little programme called 'Morning Glory' at 9.25am with the children of Grangetown Primary School play Whistling Rufus. The song itself is of African-American origin and was composed Frederick A. "Kerry" Mills in 1899, It is typically described as a march, and can be used effectively as a two-step, polka or cakewalk. An example of its popularity is given on the first page of the music sheet: "No cakewalk given in the Black Belt district of Alabama was considered worth while attending unless 'Whistling Rufus' was engaged to furnish the music. Unlike other musicians, Rufus always performed alone, playing an accompaniment to his whistling on an old guitar, and it was with great pride that he called himself the 'one-man band'." Although not verified, this quote is likely from Kerry Mills as he was both the composer and publisher of the song.

It was more then likely, to go in an awkward five minute slot which on weekdays was filled by the North-East news headlines and most probably counted towards their religious quotation as it also fills up the same slot on Sunday morning. Though, it maybe quite apt to have a song from the deep south of America before at 9.30, an edition of Little House on the Prairie which was based in Walnut Grove, Minnesota around the same time that Whistling Rufus was written. But with each region scheduling its own programmes, meant what they thought was appropriate children's programming usually was what you would describe as programming for the whole family.

Following this at 10.30am is the last on the series of 'The Saturday Show' from Central and it is the last of the programme in its current form with the programme coming back as 'Saturday Starship' in the Autumn. The presenting team of Tommy Boyd, Isla St. Clair, Jimmy Greaves and David Rappaport had been there since the beginning in the Autumn of 1982, but the original plan was to have wrestler Big Daddy to be a ringmaster of sorts for the programme with his name on the show itself, even with Look-In in June 1982 previewing the show with a small article in the magazine. However owing to health related problems, Big Daddy pulled out and the show dropped his name out of the titles and opening titles where edited to take virtually any references to the wrestler.

So having Jimmy Greaves come into the show, as he already was part of the Central sports team working on Star Soccer and other sport related programmes and segments for the company. His big personality helped filled the gap where Big Daddy was to be and it gave Tommy Boyd someone to talk about sport and broadening the show's range by having sporting guests on the programme. Meanwhile David Rappaport was there as 'Shades', a somewhat smaller version of The Fonz but also taking some of the presenting duties off Boyd and St. Clair as well as being a bit of a comic foil as well with his character. 

After a morning of fun, Tyne Tees has the first local news of the day at thirteen minutes past midday followed by an afternoon of sport introduced by Dickie Davies in World of Sport. Today, the sports anthology covered Rollerskating with the World Gala from Bury St. Edmunds, as the best skaters show off their skills on the skates of the wheeled variety to music, highlights from Augusta of the first two days play at the US Masters golf, followed by the first ITN news of the day at 12.45pm.

Following the news, World of Sport continues with On the Ball with Ian St. John and with Jimmy Greaves chipping in from up in Birmingham. There's an ITV Six from Thirsk and Ayr where the feature race of the day is the Scottish Grand National from Ayr, also there's horsepower of a different kind as England face the United States in the first speedway test plus also with grapple time with a bill of wrestling from Blackburn. So in just that one edition Anglia, Yorkshire, Scottish Television, Central Television and Granada all pooled their coverage to the London Weekend television studios to make this edition possible, which is a massive undertaking, but they did on a week in, week out basis to get the programme on the air.

And as a bonus, here some footage from World of Sport on that day. On the top the Scottish Grand National won by Androma and below that nearly twenty minutes of the England vs USA Speedway Test Match.

Anyway, moving along from sport for a while after the ITN News and a round up from of local news from Tyne Tees starting at Five o'clock in the afternoon, the evening's entertainment starts on ITV with a trip to Fraggle Rock, as the TVS made series was at its peak and had become and international success for both Jim Henson and Television South as well. The early Saturday evening slot was a good one for the programme, like many other crossover shows for both children and adults, the early evening slot was ideal as had been proved by many shows before it. But to add variety, there's American import Whiz Kids made by CBS, following four young amateur detectives using their computer skills to help them solve crimes.

Although this made the show run into trouble with stories of young computer hackers gaining access to sensitive information, meaning that the network bosses had asked for storylines to be changed to seem like the young detectives were doing their sleuthing by legal means and that other adult characters such as a police detective and a local newspaper reporter were introduced, meaning the young characters would have people to look to for guidance on certain issues relating to what they were doing.

After all that action, LWT bring a sense of fun to proceedings with an edition of 'Child's Play' with Michael Aspel as your host, where members of the public and their celebrity playing partners have to work out a group of young primary schoolchildren are describing. This was the last but one edition of this series, though we do not have any information as to who the celebrity playing partners are in this edition, but we can bring you an edition during that 1984 series to show you what the programme was like and how it actually played as a game. 

Following Child's Play at 7pm, Candid Camera returns with a look back some of their most popular jokes and pranks, looking as the title suggests "Candid Camera: The Difference Between Men and Women" to show each of the sexes would react in a certain way to a Candid Camera sketch. Though it is interesting to note that as well as Game for a Laugh, also Noel Edmonds' Late Late Breakfast's Hit Squad had been going over some of the same territory. But it is not surprising to learn that Peter Dulay had a hand in both.

Dulay himself had come from a show business family even with his father Benson Dulay had been a comedy magician of note on the music hall stage. But Peter Dulay had broken into television co-writing Roamin' Holiday with Eric Sykes for Max Bygraves in 1961, though after working regularly for comedy show on Independent Television, he had moved into the producing side of the industry such with 'Comedy Bandbox' for ABC-TV and also television specials for the likes of Frankie Howerd and Bruce Forsyth.

But in 1969, Peter Dulay moved to Yorkshire Television to become writer/producer on Sez Les, the new at that time vehicle for the comedy talents of Les Dawson, meanwhile in London he scripted for Leslie Crowther in London Weekend's 'The Leslie Crowther Show' and even scripting for Larry Grayson in 1972 for his 'Shut That Door' showcase for ATV and his last producing work was of producing a series for Tommy Cooper in 1978 called funnily enough "Just Like That" after Cooper's catchphrase.

After all the fun and pranks at eight o'clock comes American cop action as T.J. Hooker bursts onto the screen and with the real life events of the ITN News at 9pm bring all the latest national and international news to ITV viewers.

At 9.15pm, the first of Saturday night's movies is 1967's 'Wait Until Dark' starring Audrey Hepburn as a young blind woman, Alan Arkin as a violent criminal searching for some drugs with also Richard Crenna, Jack Weston, Julie Herrod and Efrem Zimbalist Jnr co-starring as well about a tale of drugs, intrigue and murder. After a quick five minute community service announcment, the second movie appears of the night. This time is it home grown comedy with the film series of Granada Television's sitcom 'The Lovers' starring Richard Beckinsdale and Paula Wilcox as Geoffrey and Beryl, a young courting couple. From the pen of Jack Rosenthal who had previously also written 'The Dustbinmen' for Granada as well during his time there. So at 1am Tyne Tees closes down for the night, but what exactly was Channel Four showing on the same day?

They opened up at 1.50pm with 'Some Mothers by Daughters' from the Moving Picture Company, as we will see in quite a lot of Channel Four's listings during this week a lot of independent production companies, some familar and some not so. Following this at 2.15 is the film 'The Sign of the Cross', produced and directed by Cecil B. Demille in 1932 about Marcus Superbus, a Roman solider under Emperor Nero who falls in love with a young woman and converts to Christianity for her. Taking many of the same themes as used in Quo Vadis, but staying faithful to the stage play of which this adaptation comes from itself.

At 4.35, there's another edition of Mama Malone, with the titular Ms. Malone being the host of a live cookery show from her fourth floor apartment in Brooklyn, the CBS sitcom had actually only been running in America for about two weeks previously before Channel Four started showing the first edition on 14th of April. Though the show was only to have a one series run, finishing in July of 1984 in America. Though doubtless, the programme would also have finished in the UK a few weeks after that.

Though as you'll see in the show's opening credits above, the show had a catchy theme tune or catchy enough to put people coming back each week to see the show it seems.

But from home spun wisdom, American style to home spun wisdom, Scouse style with this week's Brookside omnibus as in the previous Tuesday's episode that Sheila feels guilty over what has happened to Matty and Paul receives an invitation to a reunion at PetroChem. Meanwhile in the previous Wednesday's episode that Annabelle is embarrassed when she doesn't realise that the potential buyers she has to show around Heather's house are a gay couple. So a lot going on in Brookside Close during the previous week there and we will coming to this week's episodes a bit later on.

At Six o'Clock, Gary Crowley presents another edition of Ear' Say, with pop music for the kids on a Saturday night, but sees one of the first Action Time productions on the screen with the later to go on to bigger and greater successes as a production company during the 1990's. As they say, from humble beginnings and all that, but the show was important enough to show that Channel Four could also do pop music as well alongside what The Tube was doing for Tyne Tees themselves. 


After the Channel Four News headlines and weather at 7pm is a documentary from Granada Television called 'The War of the Springing Tiger' looking at the 40,000 men who deserted the Indian Army to fight for the Japanese against the British for an independent India during World War Two. Led by Subhas Chandra Bose who rejected Gandhi's non-violent campaign against the British Army, the documentary looks at the Indian National Army which had been revived by Bose in 1943 and why Indian Prisoners of War decided to join up with the Indian National Army, also its role in the Burma and Imphal Campaign and its role in the Indian Independence Movement.

At 8pm, there's a look at the political week in '7 Days' from Yorkshire Television follow by Four American Composers, directed by Peter Greenaway famous for directing films such as 'The Draftsman Contract', 'The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover' and 'Prospero's Book'. This week's film looks at the musical works of Phillip Glass accompanied by some of his compositions, made by Trans Atlantic Films for Channel Four, the other programmes in the series concentrates on the composers Meredith Monk, John Cage and Robert Ashley. 

Drama at 9.35pm with a another showing for The Avengers from ABC-TV, during the early years of Channel Four, Chief Executive Jeremy Isaacs used archive programming such from ABC and ATV to reshow on the forth channel. The popularity of repeats of The Avengers and also The Prisoner gained a whole new audience who were too young to see the programmes when they originally went out on ITV during the 1960's, but also with an eye to viewers who appreciated a re-showing of them as well. 

To round off the evening is the second visit to the Augusta National Course for live coverage of The US Masters at 10.40pm for the Third Round of the tournament, at this stage after two rounds of golf that Mark Lye, a player playing in his first Masters Championship was leading by three strokes from Tom Kite with Ben Crenshaw, a further stroke behind in third place at that stage. Though with any live sporting event, it is difficult to tell how long it will last for, so the TV Times puts an approximate Closedown at 12.35am.


Sunday morning on ITV starts with TV-AM featuring Rub-a-Dub-Dub with Dick King-Smith at 7.30am and Good Morning Britain at 8.30am. Tyne Tees comes onto the air at 9.25am with some more 'Morning Glory' again featuring Grangetown Primary School, followed by Central's programme for the disabled 'Link' at 9.30am. The Morning Worship is presented by TVS at 10.00am with afterwards, a look around at some of the events taking place in the Tyne Tees area in Lookaround at 11am.

At five past eleven, there's film fun with Laurel and Hardy in One Good Turn, as Stan and Ollie are victims of The Great Depression and are begging for food, when a friendly old lady gives them some sandwiches but as they eat them they overhear that the lady is about to be thrown out of her house because she has been robbed and cannot pay the mortgage. Though Stan and Ollie don't know that the old lady is rehearsing a play. So in kind hearing about her plight, Stan and Ollie decide to sell their car to pay so she can remain in her home. Though during the auction of selling the car, a drunken man puts a wallet in Stan's pocket and Ollie thinks that Stan has robbed her but when they return to the old lady's house they learn the truth about what has happened and Stan takes revenge on Ollie for accusing him of doing such a thing. 

Following Laurel and Hardy at 11.30am is the last in the series of 'Me and My Camera' from Yorkshire, where they looked at all aspects of photography and how to take better pictures with hints and tips from the experts. 

After the North-East News Headlines at two minutes to midday, Brian Walden introduces this week's edition of Weekend World looking at the scene politically both here and abroad, also including the ITN News as well. But what was happening in the news during this week? On Sunday, the USSR performed a nuclear test in what is now Eastern Kazakhstan and Alexander Trocchi, Scottish Writer died as well. During Tuesday, an event which was to change the whole week's tone occurred when PC Yvonne Fletcher was shot dead outside the Libyan Embassy during demonstrations there, Wednesday saw the Challenger space shuttle arrive back at Kennedy Space Centre after a mission. Though an event later on Sunday evening was to overshadow all of this. 

This week's edition of University Challenge, presented by Bamber Gascoigne is at One o'clock followed by Farming Outlook introduced by Stuart Seaton, as we saw last week he was the presenter of Farming Outlook for ABC-TV and nearly twenty years on, he was doing the same job although by now it was a Tyne Tees production instead. Following all the latest for farmers and those interested in in country pursuits at 2.00pm, there's a chance to relive Tinseltown's golden age with a compilation of some of its most popular musicals in 'That's Hollywood'.

At 2.30pm, an afternoon of sport starts with The Big Match as Brian Moore introduces one of that weekend's FA Cup Semi Finals between Everton and Southampton, which Everton won one-nil at Highbury and coverage of a Second Division match from Tyne Tees' own patch as promotion chasing Newcastle United lost to Sheffield Wednesday one-nil as well. Though the sport takes a more local theme at 3.15, when Derek Thompson introduces Extra Time with a look horse racing, golf and also at the weekend's football. 


Meanwhile Channel Four starts the day at 1.45pm with Irish Angle from Iona Productions looking at issues from an Irish perspective followed by the Sunday afternoon matinee, The Eddy Duchin Story at 2.15pm which is a biopic about band leader and pianist Eddy Duchin starring Tyrone Power and Kim Novak. Following Anything We Can Do at 4.30pm is Book Four from LWT, hosted by Hermione Lee with the latest reads from the world of literature.

On Tyne Tees at 4.50pm from Central, its Bullseye with Jim Bowen and Tony Green with contestants hoping to win big on Bully's Prize Board. After the latest ITN news at 5.20, part three of Jesus of Nazareth is shown. The multi-million production directed by Franco Zeffirelli starring Robert Powell as Jesus with a supporting cast of Olivia Hussey, Ernest Borgnine, Anne Bancroft, James Mason, Laurence Olivier, Anthony Quinn and Peter Ustinov to name but a few. The other parts had been shown in the lead up to Easter Day with the fourth one shown on 22nd April 1984. 

Over on Channel Four at 5.45pm, there is a more cerebral quiz as Ray Alan asks 'Where in The World', where two teams and their guests try to identify well known places from around the world from pictures, objects and the food of that country. Ray is able assisted by former Countdown hostess Beverley Isherwood and also by the team captains John Carter of the Holiday programme and latterly Wish You Were Here plus John Julius Norwich, travel writer and editor of such books as Great Architecture of the World and The New Shell Guides to Great Britain. Following the Channel Four News headlines at 6.15, there's the first of two live visits to the US Masters Golf introduced by Steve Rider before an edition of The World at War from Thames, as the landmark series gets a repeat show on the Fourth Channel. Which is little wonder as Jeremy Isaacs was the producer on the series itself, comissioned in 1969 by Thames Television, the series took a total of four years to produce at a cost at the time of £900,000. Itself a record amount of money spent on a British television programme, which would equate to over twelve million pounds today.

On Tyne Tees, Chas and Dave presented another edition of 'Knees Up' combining the best music and also the best comedy around including Jeff Stevenson and also Lonnie Donegan who had been a fan of Chas and Dave's musical work for a long time. The original idea for Knees-Up had come from a Christmas Special broadcast on Christmas Day that Chas and Dave had done for LWT, when that show was such a success, that executives decided to commission a weekly series of shows for the ITV network. Also on this programme were appearances from Renee and Renato as well as a young Brian Conley as well.

With this being Sunday night, LWT held the tiller for most of the programming for the evening. At 7.45pm, the network went live to Her Majesty's Theatre, London as Jimmy Tarbuck introduced 'Live From Her Majesty's'. The bill that evening featured Les Dennis and Dustin Gee, Donny Osmond and also an appearance for Tommy Cooper. Though no-one was to know what was going to follow, whilst performing his act on the stage, Cooper had a heart attack and was seriously ill. Meaning after this had happened, the programme cut to an advertisement break but afterwards when it came back, the show continued with Cooper receiving CPR behind the curtain. It was announced later that Cooper had died on arrival at hospital. For Les Dennis, this same experience was to strike again a few years later when also lost his double-act partner Dustin Gee to the same thing.

The ITN news updated viewers with the latest news at 8.45pm, but the palpable shock had been felt across the country when one of Britain's best loved entertainers had been seen to collapse in front of live television cameras. Cooper had not done much performing on television for a while and this was seen as a special treat, especially as host Jimmy Tarbuck had known him so well.

This was followed by an edition of The Professionals at 9pm As Bodie and Doyle try to find out why an organisation is hiring people to kill seemingly normal members of the public. On Channel Four at 8.15 was another chance to see Staying On, a drama from Granada Television which had been shown on ITV on the previous Tuesday. Based on Paul Scott's award-winning novel and filmed on location in India, this is the postscript to the story of The Jewel in the Crown. As when in 1947, when India gained independence from British rule, most of the British Raj returned home. But some elected to stay on in India post-1947 and this drama is about the experiences of Tusker and Lucy Smaller recalling their memories of that time as the last English residents of Pankot.

On Tyne Tees at 10pm was the latest edition of Spitting Image with the promise of Tony Benn, Len Murray, Fidel Castro and Bernard Levin being lampooned by the programme, the programme which had been broadcast since late February had not quite caught on with the public at this point after the show had got 7.9 million viewers for its first episode, those numbers slowed slipped away and so much to the point that the series which was to have been thirteen episodes long, was reduced back to twelve with the show nearly being cancelled owing to such a drop in viewing figures and also with the cost of the shows to make totally up to £2.6 million, double the amount of any other prime time series at that time.

Following this at 10.30pm was this week's edition of The South Bank Show as Melyvn Bragg introduced Professor Sir Ernest Gombrich, art historian and author examines the effect of eyes in our imagination both in art and life giving a lecture on this subject, meanwhile over on Channel Four at 9.55pm is Jesus The Evidence, in the start of Easter week, this programme looks at recently found evidence that Jesus may have been very different to the one which who's image had been portrayed in both fact and fiction. Questioning this traditional image and asking if he had influenced by the Jewish faith and the context it has on Jewish history.

After the South Bank Show, there's the last in the series of a repeat run of the Irish RM, the series which had been made in co-production by Ulster Television and Radio Telefis Eireann and first shown on Channel 4 in 1983, adapted from the books of Anglo-Irish novelists Somerville and Ross concerning the life of an Irish ex-British Army officer resident magistrate appointed to this position in Ireland in the days when Ireland was a whole before the creation of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. 

Peter Bowles played the role of The R.M. Major Yeates, much like the creation in the books leading to the stories being played as comedy drama reflect the situation in Ireland with its culture and people at that time.

On Channel Four at 10.55pm is live coverage of the final round of the US Masters golf as Steve Rider presents with Ben Crenshaw hoping for his first win at the Augusta National course and it was Crenshaw who won by two strokes from two time Masters winner Tom Watson, the coverage of the Masters tournament had been with ITV and Channel Four for the past couple of years before switching to the BBC in future years.

And to round off the night at 12.30am on Tyne Tees, the The Eskdale and Skinningrove Male Voice Choir sing 'The Donkey' before closedown.

I've you enjoyed this look at the weekend of the 14th and 15 of April 1984, brief as it maybe. Next week, we'll be back to normal looking at a whole week via the TV Times as we once again say 'I Didn't Know There Was So Much in it'.

I Didn't Know There Was So Much in it: A look at this week through the TV Times - Sunday 5th April to Saturday 11th April 1964

Once again we flick through the pages of the TV Times, going back to 1964 with the TV Times, but with the TV Times being only seen in certain regions and the other regions having their own listing guides. The TV Times was seen in the London, North, the Anglia area, for Border, Grampian and for Southern Television. So the Northern edition with ABC and Granada in their pan-North region is the one we are looking at this week and the way the listings are structured are different as well. But more about that in a while, the cover in this week features Maureen Pryor and Bill Owen who appeared in the first of a new series of plays under the banner of 'Love Story'. The first week's play was called 'Three Piece Suite' when Pryor's character dreamt of extra furniture but with that came a new romance for her.

With the new feeling of youth in the country as a whole, 'Ready Steady Go!' looked forward to their Mod Ball on Wednesday night, with an article of how the broadcast was planned from the hiring of the Empire Pool, Wembley and the biggest names in British pop music at that time. The comparable idea of the Mod Ball would be against the Chelsea Arts Ball, one of the former most colourful social events on the calender. 

The announcement of the event came in March 6th edition of the programme with people asked to apply for tickets through the Variety Club of Great Britain, who's charities would benefit. Just three days after the announcement, 14 sacks of applications for tickets had arrived to fill up the number of tickets available. With a fortnight later, full time secretaries were still dealing with requests from young viewers for the chance to see their favourite stars. 

The technical operation to get such a programme on the air, took ten trucks and seventy-five technicians to from Rediffusion's Wembley Studios to the Empire Pool itself. One of the most ambitious outside broadcasts to date at that point, with the sheer numbers itself staggering. Over 2000 dancers, 6000 spectators, more then 2000 yards of cables and wiring, one hundred and fifty commissionaires with fifty to look after the artists and one hundred to look after the crowd, forty policemen to keep order outside the venue as well as 20 first aid staff as well. 

For the finances raised from the tickets varying between £1, 10 shillings or 5 shillings, raising a total of £3000 overall from ticket sales, with after the show, 45 people taking two days to tidy up as well. Showing what a huge event this was for ITV in general and how the power of television could come up with something so amazing and get the feel of the age.

Another pioneer is also interviewed in this week's edition of the TV Times, looking Granada's Johnny Hamp and his ability to break new acts to a wider audience. As the magazine calls him 'the Pop Chief of Scene at 6.30', Hamp as the presenter and producer of Wednesday's Pop Scene, had upto to the publication of that week's edition of the TV Times had in just 14 months assembled quite a number of debuts for both singing artistes and groups.

As quoted in that week's edition of the TV Times, Hamp says.

"When we decided we needed a pop musical item in the show every night, we had a problem."

He continues, "Most of the big names launched their records in London." "We decided if we were going to get the teenage audiences we wanted, we would have to start scooping the London shows."

"That didn't only only mean getting established names to come to Manchester first with their records. It meant digging out new talent before it had been fully recognised elsewhere."

Hamp broke such stars as Freddie and Dreamers for Wednesday's Pop Scene, although when they had been auditioned for Granada, the year before. They were rejected as Granada as their act was though absurd and stupid. The slot itself remained one of the most vibrant and entertaining features of Scene at 6.30, though contrary to imagination. It was not Hamp who broke The Beatles, but it was another programme "People and Places"  which the Fab Four had debuted on in October 1962 and from People and Places came Scene at 6.30, though The Beatles always found time when they could to appear on Scene to promote their new singles or be interviewed about their latest exploits.

From the world of Pop Music to the world of Ken Nixon, whose life was focused on by Granada's Travelling Eye with Nixon helping out a Granada crew during the filming of a new drama 'The Villains', which looked at the life of the waterways of Britain and the smugglers there on. 

Jack Smethurst and Derek Benfield played a pair of bargee brothers who are apprehended by the law, but as such with trying to play a bargee as Smethurst explains trying to learn the accent of the bargee can be difficult in itself.

"It isn't anything you can localise. A bargee's accent seems to be coloured by every county he passes through."

With travelling on the waterways, Nixon and his family have been enamored with luxuries such as a television set or a telephone. With his life with his wife and three children, he has inherited his lifestyle from his parents who were also bargees as well. As Ken Nixon explains,

"You leave it, and you come back to it. Once it gets into your blood, you can't get rid of it."

But for all this time spent on the waterways, Nixon is reflective about his and his family's future on the water with his children coming upto to schooling age and possibly sending them to the Waterways boarding school in Birmingham and seeing a life beyond the canals, that even if he was to take a job on dry land, he would always be drawn back to the waterways one day.

Celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth on the other hand are Johnny Dankworth and his wife Cleo Lane as they put the playwright's words to Jazz, the TV Times interviews Johnny Dankworth about this project which is close to both of their hearts. 

Revealing this new type of Shakespeare in Monday night's Lyric by Shakespeare with narration by Tony Britton. Though idea of adapting lyrics from well known work of Shakespeare was not a new idea to Johnny and Cleo, as nine years ago when Cleo recorded an LP called 'Cleo Sing British' and found a modern setting version of "It Was A Lover and His Lass". With the success of the album with fans of Laine and Dankworth plus also lovers of Shakespeare as well. 

Such was the success of the project, that schoolteachers were using the album to re-engage children with the works of Shakespeare, from that came the idea of adapting more of his work to music and a television special for Rediffusion. As Dankworth says about the project himself,

"One thing both Cleo and I feel strongly about, We have many times enjoyed the works of Shakespeare, at the theatre, and on TV. But many people who associate the great man with something highbrow have never bothered to see what he has to offer."

He continues,

"Good modern productions of Shakespeare are usually, witty, lively, and above all entertaining. They use modern resources and techniques to add to their vigour."

"We have tried to do that very thing in our contributions to the world of Shakespeare. To those who bridle at use of jazz in such a context we would say this. Shakespeare in his day was no sacred prerogative of the intellectuals. In those days not the gulf that tends to exist today between so-called art and entertainment."

This week also sees the return for a new series of 'No Hiding Place', with the introduction of two new characters to join Detective Chief Superintendent Lockhart in the fight against crime. But also it sees one of the first major roles for Johnny Briggs later to play Mike Baldwin in Coronation Street, in No Hiding Place, he plays Detective Sergeant Russell alongside fellow new recruit Michael McStay playing Detective Sergeant Perryman. Those these two new characters to the show, had come from the underworld to the front line of detection have both had run-ins before with Lockhart in a previous series. The TV Times looks at the careers of Briggs and McStay and introduction to who they are apart from their characters and what viewers can expect in the new series.

Though Johnny Briggs isn't the only Coronation Street regular who makes an appearance in this week's TV Times, as Pat Phoenix, famous for playing Elsie Tanner in the Weatherfield soap, has a weekly column in the magazine meeting its readers and also tips for interviews and things to do. So in the April 5th edition, Pat goes down the coal mine to meet some of the miners and see what they do on a daily basis. Plus it gives her an opportunity to do some of the same by shoveling some coal for a photo. 

Pretty much like Elsie Tanner, Phoenix has a broad sassy appeal in her column mixing it with the grizzled miners, but also showing how dangerous it can be for those who do mining on a day to day basis. The Agecroft Colliery in the Agecroft area of Pendlebury in Lancashire which Pat goes down in was said to be one of the most modern of its kind, with the second colliery on the site only opening up in 1960. Plus also with the opportunity for the National Coal Board to show off one of its newest sites in one of the most popular magazines across the Northern ITV region and in some regions beyond as well.

From the fun and frivolity of the week's entertainment programmes, Sir John Newsome, the chairman of the new Educational Advisory Council of the Independent Television Authority looks at the benefits television can have on education in schools and also for teachers as well, looking forward to what effect it will have in the years to come. But with a salutatory warning that even with all the television channels available at that time, they could not cover all subjects available to teachers and students.

But to contrast the article about education comes an interview with 'Double Your Money' hostess Monica Rose, who had originally been a contestant on the programme and was brought back to be the assistant to Hughie Green on the show. Her rise to fame had been a rapid one and at such a young age, Rose was only 16 when she made her debut as a hostess on Double Your Money and previously been a junior accounting clerk at a catering firm. 

Her confidence was high that she was going to succeed in show business that she took singing and dancing lessons, as Rose said to the TV Times in that interview,

"If I'm not going to make it, I'll know in a year."

She continues

"At my age, I can afford a year, can't I?"


Onto the week's listings themselves, but as this is 1964 era TV Times, we start at Sunday with ABC going through to Saturday with ABC and Granada on the weekdays as well.

So Sunday starts with another 'Sunday Session' of adult education programmes including Transport at 9.55am, Citizenship at 10.15 focusing on leaving school and with a French lesson, number 24 in the series from Mesdames, Messieures at 10.40.

The Sun Eucharist comes from The Parish Church of All Saints, Maidstone at 11am. As Southern covers the service led by Canon Niel Nye A.K.C, The Bishop of Maidstone, the Right Reverend S.W. Betts. The 12th century church itself stands with the Archbishop's Palace, the former College buildings and the Tithe Barn, a group of medieval buildings in the middle of the County Town of Kent. 

With a closedown until five past two in the afternoon when follows an edition of Headway, where from illustrations dramatic scenes are performed by a team of actors to make up a story. At 2.25, ABC has ABC Farming Comment with Stuart Seaton looking at the latest rural affairs including in the world of farming. From the world of farming, comes The Flying Doctor at 2.35pm, who this week is called to an outback farm where a highly strung mother-to-be awaits anxiously for treatment, but can drugs or hypnotism help her plight at all?

After another case for O.S.S. involving war-time espionage occurs at five past three, from that action there's more fun involving the Candid Camera team, as David Nixon introduces the Candid Camera team lead by Jonathan Routh meeting the general public as they play pranks and tricks on them at 3.35 pm. 

The movie premiere of 'The Big Punch' starring Wayne Morris and Gordon McRae is at 4.05, as Morris stars as Chris Thorgerson, as a graduate from a divinity school and also an all round athlete, is approached by a big fight promoter to become a professional boxer, but Thorgerson's loyalties are split by this decision. After the big punch comes 'The Littlest Hobo' at 5.35, with the hobo and an old women helping an newly release prisoner keep on the straight and narrow after his release. 

At five past six, the first news of the day from ITN arrives with the main stories on this day being the first driverless train running on the London Underground and General Douglas MacArthur, US General in World War Two died on this day as well. 

After the news at 6.15, TWW invites you to their 'Land of Song' where Ivor Emmanuel introduces Marian Davies, Sian Hopkins, Phillip Potter, Harry Price and the Portcanna Children Choir plus the TWW Singers as well sing music from Wales. After an appeal for the Student Movement House at five to seven, About Religion looks at the work of Mother Teresa of Calcutta in association with ATV and Oxfam who co-operated on the film. 

With a further ITN news headlines at 7.25pm, the American detective series Hawaiian Eye follows that with private detective Tom Lopaka, played by future Cannon star Robert Conrad and Phillip Barton played by Troy Donahue, investigate when a priceless Stradivarius violin goes missing on the island and they have to find for renowned violinist Stafford Price. 

Sunday Night means 'Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium' from ATV London at 8.25pm. This week Bruce Forsyth introduces a bill of Peter, Paul and Mary bringing their pop folk sounds to the Palladium stage, along with The Kuban Cossacks dancing their way into people's homes, all ably supported by Jack Parnell and his Orchestra and The Tiller Girls. Plus there's another chance to win big prizes in Beat the Clock and see if anyone can win the Jackpot.

The ABC Armchair Theatre at 9.35pm this week is 'Prisoner and Escort' starring Alfred Lynch as Jupp, a Private in the army who is under arrest and being taken to Catterick Barracks by Blake, the arresting officer played by Norman Rossington. Jupp who has a list offence 'as long as your arm' tells all to a girl who is invited to share the train carriage with him and Blake also tells her the truth about himself and it is not all palatable at all. More conventional entertainment returns at 10.35 with 'Here's Magic' with 'Presidigiator' M. Koran showing off their magic tricks produced by ABC's Peter Dulay, who earlier had produced Candid Camera as well. John Russell appears as 'Lawman' Dan Troop at 10.40pm, investigating two new minister who want to raise funds for a new church in Laramie, as he thinks what they appear not to be. 

To round off the evening at 11.10, Tempo from ABC presents Dame Ninette de Valois in Postscript to the Ballet. Looking at Dame Ninette's career with the Royal Ballet and her thirty-years upto 1964, spent nuturing the next generation of ballet performers at the Ballet School and also he achievements outside of there with the performing side as well.

With the Easter Holidays for schools during this week, Monday morning starts at 10.55am with a preview of schools programmes for teachers under the banner 'Out Of School', a taster service of what ITV normally offers during term time for educationalists to make an informed decision about whether to use television in their classrooms as a learning aid.

So Granada does not officially start up until the afternoon with children's programmes, the first of which at 5pm has Seeing Sport introduced by Peter Lloyd, showing Clay Pigeon Shooting this time and as the TV Times puts it "Instruction on shooting, with emphasis on gun safety." 

Following that, is another kind of a sharpshooter. As there's another adventure for William Tell at 5.25. Who this week has to rescue two men from the enemy, two men in particular as they had served with the Austrian army in the episode this week entitled 'The Assassins' 

After all that daring do from Switzerland's number one marksman, the early evening news from ITN comes along at five to six. Ten minutes later 'My Favourite Martian' makes a valuable sculpture disappear from a museum all by itself, as Ray Walston, Bill Bixby, Cecil Kellaway, Harry Lauter and Maurice Marsac star in this comic adventure.

Highly popular on both sides of the Atlantic, the series ran for three series between 1963 and 1966, with the latter series filmed in colour but only seen in black and white for its first showing in the UK. Ray Walston and Bill Bixby, were to team up in an episode of The Incredible Hulk called 'My Favourite Magician' which took the names of the two previous shows as a nod to them. 

Local and international events are looked at in Scene at 6.30, as Michael, later to become Mike Scott introduces them along with Peter Eckersley, James Murray and Denis Pitts also with three very familiar names to viewers and television historians nowadays in the production crew. As we saw earlier Johnny Hamp was producer along with David Plowright, later to become Granada's Controller of Programmes between 1969 and 1979, later still to become its Chairman taking over from Denis Forman in 1987. Plus also the name of Michael Parkinson as well acting as a reporter/presenter/producer on the programme.

All Our Yesterdays at 7pm, has the second part of a look at back at the events and news of the Spanish Civil War introduced by Brian Inglis. In the first edition of Coronation Street of the week at 7.30, Miss Nugent played Eileen Derbyshire is worried about the future of the Mission hall and Elsie Tanner has to face facts, what about? The listings do not tell us on this occasion. 

From the streets of Weatherfield to the streets of London at 8pm as No Hiding Place returns, as Detective Chief Superintendent Lockhart is delivered a strange set of letters and he has to work out what they are all about and if they have some kind of hidden meaning or threat for him. With not only the debut appearances of Michael McStay and Johnny Briggs, the cast this week features Ken Jones, Irene Richmond, Leon Sinden and also Brian Cant playing Detective Sergeant Barnes. 

The evening's ITN News appears at five to nine and after that at ten past nine. Cleo Laine and Johnny Dankworth bring Lyrics by Shakespeare to the screen, aided by Tony Britton who narrates the other parts of Shakespeare's sonnets. With a Party Political Broadcast at 9.30pm, leading into The Play of the Week, starring George A. Cooper as Leslie Bullingham in Finger on the Balance.

As after a busy day at the office, Bullingham steps into his car that is going to drive him to a conference in Birmingham. But when the car finally stops, he steps out into a very unfamilar world from the one he set off into earlier in the day, one full of unreality and nightmare.

After the news headlines nationally and internationally, plus a check on local events at 11.05pm, Bernard Braden goes 'On The Braden Beat' at 11.20 and Granada has a Monday Journey at 11.40pm looking at faces and events going on around the world.


Tuesday afternoon, like Monday starts with sporting endeavors at 3pm. As Granada's Travelling Eye journeys to Rusholme, Manchester for a challenge Snooker match between Lancashire and Yorkshire. With John Spencer, the Northern amateur champion of 1964 of Radcliffe playing Yorkshire champion Denis Robertson from Middlesborough. With Ted Lowe making one of his earliest television appearance commentating alongside Harold Phillips.

Following an hour's closedown, today's programmes for children begin with The Five O'Clock Club featuring Rick Jones plus Freddie and the Dreamers along with resident members Muriel Young, Jay Denyer and Jimmy Hanley. The Barnstormers appear at 5.25 with this week's episode 'Camberley's Quest' featuring a young Dennis Waterman in the cast.

After ITN's first news of the day, The New Phil Silvers Show has Silvers starring as Harry Grafton, the man who has a sixth sense of how to make money according to the TV Times. Local and national affairs are put in the spotlight from Scene at 6.30. Cardiff University face New Hall College, Cambridge in another round of University Challenge introduced by Bamber Gascoigne at 7pm. From those with knowledable brains, to those with medical know-how in Emergency Ward 10 at 7.30, as Mr Harrison has to make a decision about Charlie Turner's arm.

There action, danger and suspense with The Detectives return for a new series at 8pm starring Robert Taylor as Captain Matt Holbrook assisted by Tige Andrews as Lieutenant Johnny Russo, Mark Goddard as Sergeant Chris Ballard and Adam West, pre-Batman still fighing crime though as Sergeant Steve Nelson with special guest Edward G. Robinson in this week's episode called 'The Legend of Jim Riva' . As Big Jim Riva, the king of the gangsters comes out of prison to a changed world and so have his underworld associates.

After the ITN News at 8.55 is Love Story as featured on the cover of the TV Times with this week's drama called 'Three Piece Suite'. About a women gets more then she bargains for when she looks to buy some new furniture and enters a dream world from it. 10.05 pm has Second City Reports looking at another controversial aspect of British life, followed by more news headlines both locally and around the world. Another edition of Thriller has Boris Karloff in the leading role as Clay Mace, a mind reader who is a fake but experiences a genuine vision of the future during his act revealing violence, mystery and sudden death, but for who?

So to calm everyone down after that, there is Music for Guitar as John Willams plays Preludes by Villa-Lobos, Valse Crillo No. 2 by Antonio Lavro and Overture by Weiss to make a peaceful end to Tuesday.


Wednesday afternoon has Ice Skating from Altrincham at 3pm before Zoo Time at 5pm introduced by Desmond Morris comes from London Zoo meeting a spider monkey and Rhema the Chimp from Desmond's den within the zoo. Meanwhile Hawkeye and the last of the mohicans fight crime in the backwaters of the tough Canadian backwoods at 5.25pm, as Hawkeye and Chingachgook arrive in Morristown, finding that notorious renegade Simon Girty is terrorising the local residents. 

After the ITN News at 5.55, then we take a trip to Petticoat Junction as Kate calls in a handsome doctor - to interest Billy Jo in a medical career. But Kate has another method to tempt her into the medical profession as well as that, starring Bea Benaderet as Kate Bradley plus with Adam West making his second appearance of the week. The series lasted for seven years from 1963 to 1970 itself made by CBS in America, with spin-off Green Acres running from 1965 to 1971. Both shows shared the same fictional universe and occasionally the characters would cross over to each others show, but also they would have links to The Beverley Hillbillies as well. 

Scene at 6.30, as it is Wednesday features Johnny Hamp's 'Pop Scene'. Showcasing the latest in pop music and also introducing the North to new pop acts as well, from pop entertainment to quiz time with Robert, later to be Bob Holness in 'Take a Letter' at 7pm. As this crossword and spelling game, this week features James Oxenbould of Sutton Coldfield, the returning champion in the middle of a game against Wilfred Hedges of Walton-on-Thames. Though waiting in the wings are Monica Hughes of Croydon, Alan Cross of Liverpool and Patricia Corry of Harrow to challenge either of them, plus there is the chance for viewers to enter the viewers competition.

Wednesday's edition of Coronation Street at 7.30pm, in the episode itself has Elsie Tanner taking her revenge and Ena Sharples gets a shock. As Elsie refuses to listen to Laurie Frazier's excuses and he tells Dennis Tanner that he's not blaming him for this. Meanwhile Myra Booth's played by Susan Jameson, her fitted furniture arrives much to Jerry, her husband's horror. Plus The Fraziers leave the street and return to London and a man called Stuart Hodges comes to take over the Mission of Glad Tidings from Leonard Swindley. But Emily is concerned by the low attendances at services will force Mr Hodges to close the mission for good.

Burke's Law returns at 8pm, as someone murders a fake archduke with poison pills, though could a equally as fake necklace be the reason why he was killed. Apart from Gene Barry as Amos Burke, there are several soon to famous names who star in the episode called 'Who Killed His Royal Highness?' such as Elizabeth Montgomery and Telly Savalas alongside guest star Mickey Rooney who plays Archie. After the news at 8.55pm, Alan Freeman interviews 'The Crystals' at ten past nine, who as the title of the programme suggests 'We've Sold a Million' as they band are interviewed by 'Fluff' in a bowling alley.

Also on the agenda after Campaign Questions and a Party Political Broadcast at 9.50pm is liver coverage of the Ready Steady Go Mod Ball from the Empire Pool, Wembley featuring such acts as Cilla Black, The Fourmost, Freddie and the Dreamers, Kathy Kirby, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Kenny Lynch, Manfred Mann, The Merseybeats, The Rolling Stones, The Seachers and Sounds Incorporated are introduced by Keith Fordyce with Cathy McGowan and Michael Aldred. As well loads of teenagers dancing and in the audience as well.

Wednesday sees another bill of Professional Wrestling at 10.50pm, this week from The Civic Hall, Solihull, this week featuring Les Kellett in Light-Heavyweight action. With the ITN news at 11.30pm, with Northern Newscast afterwards. 

Thursday's Afternoon Sport comes from Sale, Cheshire as the South African Tourists play Brooklands Select XI in hockey action at 3pm, that's followed by a closedown until 5pm when Bob Holness returns for an edition of Junior Criss Cross Quiz, though in an action packed programme of 'The Terrific Adventures of the Terrible Ten' as they interfere in the plans of Dr. Archimedes to kidnap a famous rocket scientist.

The evening continues after the news at five past six with Car 54, Where Are You starts its run on British television. Starring Joe.E Ross as Patrolman Toody and Fred Gwynne as Patrolman Muldoon, in this first episode after 25 years in the force Sgt. Sol Abrams should get a medal, but gets something for his feet instead. 

After Scene at 6.30, there a chance to Double Your Money at 7pm as Hughie Green asks the questions with Monica Rose and Barbara Roscoe helping him. But as this is a special edition, the contestants in the studio get the chance to go on the Commonwealth Treasure Trail an appear on a future edition of the show in Australia. At 7.30m there another chance to see "It's Little Richard" as the dynamic pop star performs for the Granada cameras. There's another case for The Saint, this week featuring Alfred Burke. The evening's ITN News is at 8.55pm followed by This Week reporting on the issues of the week. 

At 9.40pm is the Alfred Hitchcock Hour with murder and mystery never far away, starring Diana Dors and John Gavin this week with the weekly review of the papers in 'What The Papers Say' at 10.40.

Friday's highlight's include The Beverley Hillbillies and Take Your Pick, followed by Emergency Ward 10 and Bonanza. At 10.35, the weekend starts here with Ready Steady Go! As Keith Fordyce, Cathy McGowan and Michael Aldred introduce The Searchers and Peter, Paul and Mary. 

Saturday starts at 1.15pm with the ITN News, followed by Saturday Sportstime, this week featuring Snooker for the Amateur Invitation Trophy between Ray Edmonds of Lincolnshire and Mario Berni of Wales at the National Liberal Club. Also there's Amateur Boxing featuring the Schoolboy Championships of Great Britain, three races from Catterick, Professional Wrestling, this week at the Empire Sports Stadium in York and with the Full Football results as well.

At 5.15, there's Puddytat Trouble for Tweety Pie as Sylvester has a new plan to capture him, along with appearance from Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales. 5.50pm is the time for 'Thank Your Lucky Stars' after an ITN news bulletin, this week Lucky Stars features Brian Matthews introducing Millicent Martin, Kenny Lynch and Manfred Mann amongst others in a action packed show. After that at 6.35, Mike and Bernie Winters have a 'Big Night Out' with Don Arrol, Kathy Kirby, along with Lionel Blair and his dancers plus Bob Sharples with The ABC Television Showband. 

7.25pm and there's another case for G.S.5, where Tony Miller is sent to a Balearic island, but its no holiday as he investigates the disappearance of another undercover agent and runs into the island's virtual 'dictator' Emillio Zafra. Morecambe and Wise return at 8.25pm with their guests this week Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen, after the ITN News at 9pm, the Protectors have a routine assignment but this soon turns to violence when they are framed by a ring of gambling racketeers. 

At ten past ten, there's Sergeant Cork with John Barrie as the Sergeant in this week's episode 'The Case of the Six Suspects' as Sgt. Cork has a problem to unravel when he releases that six people are under suspicion for the murder of Stephen Lancing, the Managing-Director of an African Gold Mining company. After this at 11.10pm, Gazette has look at the latest beat scene including 'The Scaffold' bringing a look at the local Merseybeat scene through their local eyes. 

With a musical end to the week, with a look at the 5th to the 11th April 1964 through the TV Times and in particular the Northern edition of the magazine, before the TV Times became a national listings magazine. 

Join us next time as we take another week and year to view of the TV Times to see what visual treats lay in store for us and what the magazine was like itself as 'I Didn't Know There Was So Much in it'.

I Didn't Know There Was So Much in it: A Week to View from TV Times' past - Saturday 28th March to Friday 3rd April 1970

Another week, brings another chance to reflect back at the this week from the past via the TV Times. We journey back to 1970 and The Beatles have just released 'Let It Be' and the country braces itself for Mexican World Cup fever later in the summer. Who or what is gracing the cover of the TV Times at this time?

Another superstar of the age, motor racing driver Jackie Stewart who later in the week was the subject of a documentary both on the track and away from it, plus also looking forward to defending his Formula One World Championship which he had won in 1969. But if only having one superstar was not enough, the cover hints at look at Frank Sinatra's life so far as well.

Inside Jackie Stewart is both pictured with his wife Helen and also his son Paul as well about she feels about Jackie racing such fast cars and also their relationship on and off track as well, the interview also looks in depth at where they will both be in the future and also reflecting on what it is like to be around the circus that is Formula One. For all what is said by Jackie Stewart, nearly all can be transposed on the latest British star driver Lewis Hamilton in the will to win and also how they are so grounded even though they competed or in Hamilton's case competing, in such a very dangerous sport.

But as it is the start of new F1 season, the TV Times looks at some of the greatest drivers in the sport, at both their attributes as drivers and also their superstitions as well. Though if it makes any difference, what pet each driver has, if they have one at all. Though when interviewed, as Jim Russell both a former racing driver and also motor racing teacher puts it about one of the things that you need to be able to succeed in motorsport 

"Background doesn't matter. Education doesn't matter. It is natural ability that counts - and that can take a season or two of club racing to show."

So who's turn is it to have the Big Red Book sprung upon this week by Eamonn Andrews? Actually, no-one on the television, as the device of 'This Is Your Life' is used to have a potted history of Frank Sinatra, looking at old blue eyes' career so far with plenty of pictures to fill out the article. Hmm, yes.. But, hang on though, the article also handily has a mocked up picture to show readers what it would be like if Eamonn did hand the book over to Frank.

Another portrait from the week's TV Times is of John Alderton, starring as Bernard Hedges in LWT's Please Sir but giving a rather shorter potted biography than Frank Sinatra had, perhaps Mr Alderton didn't quite have the connections that Mr Sinatra had or even that he couldn't find Eamonn Andrews to give him the star treatment.

However, Alderton does get one thing that Sinatra doesn't, his very own painted portrait by artist Harold Walter. Let's see this masterpiece which will rival the Mona Lisa and hang in the National Portrait gallery for all to see. 

OK, then. Somehow, Alderton looks like a Dickensian villain combined with a university professor. Well good luck to the person having their portrait done next week, which is Engelbert Humperdinck.

But as this is 1970, there are chances to win tickets to the World Cup in Mexico. How? All by picking a team of footballers for an unofficial Great Britain XI, thus trying not to offend viewers in the Scottish, Grampian, Ulster and HTV regions. With this being the second week of the competition, its time to pick the centre backs with the introduction in the first week being that of Scotland's Billy Bremner, the captain of the team. 

The choices include Mike England of Wales and Tottenham, John Greig of Scotland and Glasgow Rangers, Terry Hennessy of Wales and Derby County, Chris Lawler of England and Liverpool, Ronnie McKinnon of Scotland and Glasgow Rangers, Bobby Moncur of Scotland and Newcastle United, Terry Neill of Northern Ireland and Arsenal, David Powell of Wales and Sheffield United, Peter Rodrigues of Wales and Leicester, finally Alan Stephenson of England and West Ham.

But in addition to this to find the two lucky winners, who would get tickets to all of England's group games, plus also to the semi-finals and the final as well. There is a touch of 'Spot the Ball' as well to decide the prize with a panel including the sponsor's chairman, Malcolm Allison, the assistant manager at Manchester City, Billy Bremner, the Scotland and Leeds United captain, Jimmy Hill, the Head of Sport at LWT and also Brian Moore, the ITV football commentator as well. 

But Brian Moore also features in the next article in the magazine, as it points out that March is a peak month for marriages. So it looks at some celebrities' marriages including the aforementioned Moore as well as Leonard Parkin, William Roache, actress Julie Stevens, actors Brian Pringle and Sid James, also comedian Wilfred Pickles. 

Though with an eye to the future, by using astrology and also Dateline's selection computer to find wives for three of the country's highest profile male singletons. Why there are not any female singletons, I don't know because seemingly there would not be much difference between both sexes and finding out who their perfect partners would be. First off Prince Charles and the computer predicts that any wife of his would have to be deeply religious, more smarter then him and very ethical. With the predictions of Maurice Woodruff, the TV Times' astrologer says that Charles will marry in 1973 or 74 and she will not be of royal blood.

Second up, its 'Hello, good evening and welcome' to David Frost with the computer predicting for him, a middle class wife who will have gone to grammar school and is university educated, plus she will have a serious approach to love, marriage and sex as well as religion, with a less introverted nature to Frost himself. Maurice Woodruff meanwhile says "The indications is that marriage will be delayed. David Frost will not marry until middle age. His partner is likely to be serious by nature, determined and positive. She may have plenty of drive, but he is not likely to choose a woman with an overbearing nature. She could be well built with an olive complexion with dark eyes and hair, although with a hint of red in it."

Woodruff offering hair tips as well it seems, as much as Teasy Weasy Raymond would know about the stars and their fates. So with that in mind, who is the third lucky chap to go under the love microscope? It's Earl Patrick Litchfield, the doyen of photography and the computer has two upper class girls for him, who know already the upper class social scene with an unselfish nature. Well, thank you Randy Random. I think your valves are getting overheated there. 

But Maurice Woodruff just gives up with the predictions here and says that Litchfield will not get married for a good few years yet and basically she will be a photographic model. So its upto you if you think they got those predictions right in the 45 years since the magazine came out...

And speaking of eligible bachelors, hello ladies here's Alan Rothwell of Picture Box looking all moody in his specs.

And onto the listings for this week looking at the ATV Land in the Midlands, starting with Saturday 28th March and some heroic deeds at  with Captain Scarlet, the indestructible one, this week he has to work what the Mysterons mean by killing time. Not in the being bored sensem but more in the action sense. After a quick five minute visit to the studios of ITN at 12.50pm, then comes this week's World of Sport with Richard, not Dickie Davies has On The Ball, They're Off from Towcester and Doncaster, Showjumping from Hickstead in Sussex and from that sedate world to Wrestling from Nottingham with the man they love to hate Mick McManus vs Alan Dennison in a Catchweight contest before all the day's results at 4.55pm.

You'd think that people would need a rest after all that action, but then comes a Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea as their crew look for The Abominable Snowman, under water. Yes, exactly. The Yeti, underwater.  Bringing some sanity back is another ITN news bulletin at ten past six. But if we needed a doctor before, then Marcus Welby M.D. has his problems as an ambitious policeman brings dramatic problems for him. In all this American action, we need a British saviour and he comes along Fez and all at 7.15pm as Tommy Cooper brings more magic and comedy to screens, ably backed up by his special guest this week Michael Bentine fresh from his Potty Time for Thames.

From comedy gold, the search for real gold is the subject for the Saturday Film at 7.45 as John Derek and Elaine Stewart star in High Hell, based in the Canadian Rockies, the film also includes Patrick Allen as well with his deep rich fruity tones. 

Afterwards comes Freddie Davies and Karen Young starring in The Batchelors own show, with Parrot Face Davies giving everyone the bird in a good way with his pet budgie with Jack Parnell and his orchestra offering music support along with the Maggie Stredder Singers. With plenty of laughs and fun galore for the Irish band to enjoy along the way.

With a Saturday edition of News at Ten comes Brian Cox and Suzanne Neve in Saturday Night Theatre in The Master and The Mask about a brilliant, ambitious schloar; an inspiring friend to his students.. that is how university professor presents to the world. But his wife Pauline, sees it differently. She sees Phillip as frustrating and strangely remote to her, retreating more and more behind the door of his study. That comes to a head when she enters his inner sanctum and finds out a secret about Phillip. At ten past eleven, the I Spy team have to discover why 'One of Our Bombs is Missing' and that bomb is rather deadly, because its a highly dangerous atom bomb.

On to Sunday and before those listings come an ad for a very Sunday food, the sweet yellow stuff known as Ambrosia custard and get four old pence off a tin as well, perfect for any Sunday lunchtime.

Plus also Sunday is Easter Day as this is the Easter weekend for 1970, so religious programming is high on the agenda with an Easter Mass from Ampleforth Abbey in North Yorkshire lead by Cardinal Basil Hulme or the Right Reverend Basil Hulme as he was known then starts the day at 11 o'Clock in the morning. Later at 6.15pm, there is the chance to see the final of A Song for Easter as John Anthony and the Rev. Bill Todd introduce the songs especially written for the competition organised by Southern Television, judged by the nine person panel, the winning song or hymn will be performed at the end of the programme, 

At 6.40pm, there are Three Stories for Easter,of which this is third in the series, as The Rev Dr. Erik Routley recalls the story of the Calvary along modern terms, meanwhile John Toye and four members of The New English Singers are in the ATV studios to tell the story.

Afterwards at 7.15pm, there are more Stars on Sunday as Harry Secombe, Vince Hill and Matt Monro all sing separate songs requested by the viewers. Plus Hywel Bennett reads David's lament from the second book of Samuel and Liz Fox introduces The Seven Leddy Sisters from Sheffield, all produced by David Millard, later to work on 3-2-1 and also exec produced by Jess Yates as well.

If that was a bit religion heavy, there was still plenty of entertainment on Sunday as well with Star Soccer at 2pm with Swindon Town from through a goal from John Trollope gaining a 1-0 win over FA Cup semi-finalists of that season, Watford. After the afternoon drama, All Over The Town at 3.15, there were more sporting pursuits of a kind with the crossbows of The Golden Shot, this week appearing with Bob Monkhouse and 'the lovely' Anne Aston was The Batchelors, fresh from their show on Saturday night and also Picketty Witch as well. This week the theme is Myths and Legends, so obviously space for Robin Hood in there.

Programmes for younger viewers include The Forest Ranger at 5.30pm and a short Popeye cartoon at 6pm, followed by the un-child friendly ITN news at five past six. The Sunday Night Feature Film stars John Wayne in The Flying Leathernecks at 7.25pm, produced by Howard Hughes, this epic concentrates on two aces pilots, Kirby, who is a Marine disciplinarian played by Wayne and and Captain Carl Griffin, Kirby's executive officer who falls out with him after an military operation goes wrong and forced together by fate many years later. 

Another tough guy, Danno appears in another episode of Hawaii-Five O at ten past nine with the team investigating the death of a young girl through drugs and then finding the supplier and bringing him to justice. After the ITN News at 10.10pm, David Frost introduces Frost on Sunday with messers Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett plus also Josephine Tewson as well, with the usual blend of sketches, monologues and music. Later on another big money LWT signing, Simon Dee has his own show at 11.25pm or so much the TV Times knew about the show that week, they don't list that week's guests but Simon is supported by Maynard Ferguson and his Orchestra just before the weather and the Closedown.

Monday the 30th, with it being the Bank Holiday, so the line-up is different from what it would normally be on a Monday. With that, ITV starts up in the afternoon at 1.30pm with Bank Holiday Sport with John Rickman introducing Racing from Newcastle and Towcester, plus a wrestling bill from Hemel Hempstead as well as the day's results. 

Though children's programmes include an edition of ITV's answer of Jackanory, Once Upon a Time at 4.30 and with Skippy at 4.45pm, that is sandwiched with an short Sports Report from ITN at ten past five before How at 5.20pm and return to the ITN newsroom for the early evening news at 5.50 and ATV Today at 6pm, reporting on stories throughout the Midlands.

After the News and Sport of the evening, then the entertainment can start with a look into David Nixon's Magic Box at 6.45pm featuring David's guest Anita Harris and Joe Brown, minus his Bruvvers with also illusionist Robert Harbin as well. Harbin in this edition performing an illusion with his Magic Carpet, suggesting that a woman will be suspended in the air in the TV Times entry. Leading to think that Ms Harris will be the lady in question for this to happen to. Coronation Street at 7.30pm has no customers at the salon and no room at the inn for Lucille as well, Lucille being Lucille Hewitt who had taken up with Danny Burrows, a man who was married but separated. Though when Danny's wife turned up for maintenance money at the flat they shared, Lucille moved in the Rovers Return.

From the drama of Weatherfield, comes the horror of The Hounds of the Baskervilles at 8pm. The Hammer film production of the Sherlock Holmes story starred Peter Cushing as Holmes and Andre Morell as Doctor Watson with Christopher Lee playing Sir Hugo Baskerville and former Play School presenter Marla Landi playing Cecile in the story.

Good Bank Holiday fare, if you ask me. Though from horrors, there comes something more conventional at 9.30 with Girls About Town, starring another former Play School presenter Julie Stevens as well as Denise Coffey, this episode of the series features the premise of Brenda played by Coffey and Rosemary by Stevens wondering if they could have done better then the husbands which they have married, so they go to a dating agency and have them enter their details into a dating computer to see what it comes out with. 

After News at Ten, some more beasts of the animal kingdom, as Survival looks at the Skeleton Coast, which is one of the world's most uninhabited places and the life which lives there. Plus with All Our Yesterdays looking back at the final campaign on the Western Front of World War Two with reflections from the people who were there at that time. That's at 11pm before the weather forecast and Closedown.

Tuesday, has Women Today at two minutes past four, produced by the handler of Tinga and Tucka, Jean Morton with a film about a topical issue in the news. Peyton Place turns up at 4.15pm featuring in this episode more conflict but a cast list of Ryan O'Neal and Mia Farrow. From more dramatic pursuits comes Diane's Magic Theatre as Diane Mewse has more magic and fun from The City Varieties, Leeds at 4.40pm, but this will not be the only visit there today. As immediately after that comes Bobby Bennett and Junior Showtime, with one name linking these two Yorkshire Television productions with Jess Yates, the director on Diane's Magic Theatre and Executive Producer on Junior Showtime. 

But its not its not all Yorkshire programmes today as the Tuesday edition of Magpie comes from Thames at 5.20pm featuring Susan Stranks looking at how people lived in 1910. All supported by Tony Bastable and Pete Brady as well.

From things of the past, the news of the day both nationally and internationally plus locally to the ATV area starts at 5.50pm, more events of a dramatic level happen at 6.35 with the first visit of the week to the Crossroads motel as Amy Turtle says "He's moving in for kill.." Who or what they are, we don't know, but its sure to be dramatic down there, that's for sure. From the seeming bloodlust at Meg's Motel, then the Star Western Movie at 7pm stars Van Johnson and Joanne Dru in The Siege at Red River, as the tensions of the Civil War overflow as well as the love of a good woman as well all in 1864 Illinois.

But tensions also overflow in The Dustbinmen at 8.30, with Manchester City playing Manchester United and Winston who owes debts at the depot tries to make some money on payday to able to pay his debts. But a touch of skulduggery is needed to do so and pull the wool over the eyes of Cheese and Egg, Bloody Deliah, Eric and Heavy Breathing. All character names in the series, rather then a stream of random words.

After that at 9pm, The Misfit arranges demos for having an opinion as Basil Allenby-Johnston abhorred the idea of them when he was in Malaya, however he has to put his point of view across on a current affairs programme, but not everything goes to plan for him and the producers of the programme.

Following News at Ten, something more serious as the cover star of this week's TV Times, Jackie Stewart has his documentary about himself premiered, looking at his career so far, his family life and also the development of his new car toward the 1970 Formula One season. To round off the evening in Your Living Body, Professor Otto Lowenstein of the University of Birmingham looks at Animal and Human Behaviour.

Onto mid-week and Wednesday, the afternoon starts with Racing from Sandown at 1.45pm and after the daily editions of Women Today and Peyton Place, then in Little Big Time at 4.45, Freddie and the Dreamers along with guests comedian and magician Frankie Holmes plus McGinty and Patch bring fun to the Southern studios, as well as another thrilling installment of Freddie in the Overground.  At 5.20pm, a change of pace with the fifth episode of Smith adopted from the novel by Leon Garfield, this week's episode sees Smith being tempted by the devil in disguise. How far Thames could go with that idea bearing in mind this was for a children's audience is up for question.

After the early evening news at 5.50, then during ATV Today, the late Shaw Taylor asks viewers to 'Keep 'em peeled' with another edition of Police 5, but one crime that maybe that Shaw could have investigated was at the Crossroads motel at 6.35pm, seemingly as the drink in Meg's decanter keeps on going missing and who's to blame? 

Another mystery which is revealed at 7pm is who is the star guest on this week's edition of This Is Your Life, as Ronnie Corbett is surprised in this edition of the programme, fresh off the back of the success of appearing in shows such as Frost on Sunday as well as The Corbett Follies. The surprise of Ronnie Corbett himself during this edition involved him believing he was performing a sketch for The David Frost Programme, as man who gets surprised by This is Your Life, but the tables are turned when his real life friends appear in the sketch itself.

After Wednesday's Coronation Street, at 8pm there is another case for Man in a Suitcase, with McGill involved when the fight for a family portrait and inheritance becomes more complicated when an actor is hired to play the dead man and Richard Bradford as McGill has to investigate what is going on. From ITC drama with Man in a Suitcase, after that at 9pm comes drama from Yorkshire with Kate, as Donald Killearn fells the pressure as a wrong decision about an imminent takeover of his business could have ramifications for both his business and his marriage.

Comedy follows News at Ten with a new sitcom starring Timothy Bateson and Tony Selby in 'Shine a Light' from the pens of David Nobbs, David McKellear and Peter Vincent about the lighthouse keepers in the Batchelor Rock Lighthouse, in the first episode of the series, the keepers have to look out for the Royal Yacht and the standard of the service relies on them. 

The Wednesday night bill of Professional Wrestling follows at 11pm, this week from the Civic Hall, Brierley Hill featuring heavyweight tag team action. With Pulse discussing the links between astrology and religion bringing Wednesday to an end.

Thursday brings the usual Thursday programmes including the second edition of Magpie of the week and another edition of Crossroads with Sandy sending a cable message to all and sundry. But the big Star Action Movie features Stanley Baker and Peggy Cummings in Hell Drivers looking at the world of long haulage truck and the people who inhabit them including a minor role for Sean Connery. After this rough tough world, comes Norman Wisdom in 'Wisdom' at nine o'clock in a six programme series tries something new every week and this week is attempting a musical career. 

This Week looks at a topical issue at 9.30pm, after News at Ten at 10.30, the latest edition of Cinema with a pre-chat show Michael Parkinson, reviewing the latest cinema releases in his own style and chatting to the people who matter both in front and behind the camera. 11pm is the time for a repeat showing of The Prisoner with this week's episode 'Dance of the Dead'. As Number Six played by Patrick McGoohan is put on trial for trying to escape from the village during festivities. 

Friday afternoon's children's programmes has Thames' Zingalong at 4.40pm and at 4.55pm, there is more action with International Rescue in Thunderbirds as they fight to stop a plan to blow up a nuclear store in '30 Minutes After Noon'. From the fictional events of Thunderbirds come the real life events in the News from ITN at 5.50pm and ATV Today at 6pm.

The evening is started with the final visit to Crossroads at 6.35 followed by Michael Miles and his Wheel of Fortune at 7pm, at half past seven Ms Emma Peel is cut down to size and John Steed falls into enemy hands in The Avengers at 7.30. The comedy has Stan and Jack making homebrew in On The Buses at 8.30pm.

From Jack and Stan making their own beer, comes the latest edition Manhunt at 9pm as Jimmy is sheltered by a French Resistance girl after he narrowly escapes a S.S. round-up starring Alfred Lynch, Nerys Hughes and George Sewell in this week's episode. After News at Ten, That Girl appears at 10.30pm and 11pm brings The Scientists look at the urban blight of rodents and other pests plus whether the world can afford to have them on the planet and to round off the week Reg Harcourt interviews the MP for Leek, Staffordshire, Harold Davies in Midland Member at 11.45pm.

Hardly the most entertaining end to the week from ATV in the end, but at the back of the magazine, Barry Bucknell offers advice on how to make a kneeler bench. Pointing out as the title suggests 'Who Needs a Man About the Garden?'

So not the most interesting of weeks, well except if you like marriage and lighthouses. Though join us next time for another delve into the TV Times when 'I Didn't Know There Was So Much in it'.