Boggen's Advent Calender (Day 25) - Christmas Meant ITV, but what does television mean nowadays at Christmas?

So the search for finding out who did ITV's Christmas Promotions and Trailers goes on, which have fascinated through a article which was sent to me by a friend outlining the start of ITV promoting itself through a seasonal basis of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Christmas split between the big five companies. Those being Thames, Granada, ATV, London Weekend Television and Yorkshire Television, the first of which came in 1969 when ITV did try to do a united effort but this didn't much have an effect to all intrinsic purposes. Where they failed to beat the BBC in 1969, ITV had seemingly gone through a traumatic year in 1970.

1970 for ITV meant a colour strike and union strife, meaning that where airtime was sold at a lower rather then a higher rate that colour broadcasts brought to the companies themselves. So Thames took it on themselves to come up with something for that year's Christmas to use on all companies but more importantly an ITV branding which was already being used on other programming that the network was showing.

But the original idea seemingly was to come from London Weekend but with Michael Peacock having gone in 1969 meant Muir Sutherland, an executive at Thames led a committee to come up with what ITV were going to use for Christmas 1970. The other companies put in the financial support to do so, this meant that Ron Walsby who had previously been at ABC before Thames came up with the promotions which was delivered via inter-company lines to all the companies throughout the network. But one problem was the Colour Strike still on going at the time, meant the promotions were seen in black and white on viewers' screens. 

To come out of all of this was a scheme where each season was give to one of the big five companies, sharing out responsibility equally among them, but as Winter 1971 followed on so shortly on from Christmas, this meant there was a jump to Spring 1971 seemingly Thames taking on responsibility for the Winter schedule as well, but this was to see what effect the promotions had at Christmas, if they were a good thing to continue in this way. Though in 1968, London Weekend had to be persuaded to spend more money on their on screen promotions when advertisers were paying good money to advertise with them. 

As the 1970's went on, the big five companies shared out duties between themselves but with some many big voices shouting all at once to promote their programmes as well as such big personalities in the management of each of Thames, LWT, ATV, Granada and Yorkshire wanting to push their wares on the ITV network. But as the BBC went into the Christmas of 1977 with one of their strongest festive programme line ups ever, ITV had to respond as the fight for viewers were becoming more competitive as ever. 

This meant ITV had to up their game as they had in 1970 with a campaign which was memorable even if the programmes may not have been like the BBC's. Though the 1977 promotions fell upon Granada for this year, not only with an animated Father Christmas cartoon going around delivering his presents as well as the very catchy 'Robin Song' behind the trailers made for a bright and cheerful set of promotions and trailers. The New Year's trailers are just the generic Granada trailers even using their own slides but with a 'New Year on ITV' ident where the usual Granada ident is placed.

Such with the promotions, that they used the companies own announcers to voice them meaning that voices not usually heard outside their own regions got an airing on ITV over Christmas, Malcolm Brown later of TVS was to be heard on the 1977 and 1980 Christmas promotions both done by Granada. 

1978 saw the promotions done by ATV, with a very cosy style of promotion very much different to 1977's effort. Taking inspiration from a traditional Christmas, by using three animated candles with a gold and red font these promotions hark back to a more traditional time seemingly less commercial but never the less adaptable to each regions own needs. With this being the first year of Morecambe and Wise on ITV since their move there after the previous year's Christmas special for the BBC and also Bruce Forsyth's big money move, the promotional package had to be a strong one with no doubts Thames and LWT wanting it to be as competitive as it could be to show off their assets and the whole network's assets as whole. Compared to 1977, the package offered up for 1978 is as good as any which had gone before it and proved ITV were getting stronger in promoting what they had as well as the BBC could do and they had the stars to prove it as well. 

The commercial network offered Bruce Forsyth on Christmas Eve and the movie premiere Charade as well, with the day before Christmas falling on a Sunday meant that LWT and Michael Grade was in charge, so his and ITV's biggest signing could appear on Christmas Eve itself to somehow recoup some pride from what Bruce Forsyth's Big Night had done for the network as a whole over the the Autumn season. However with the big day falling on a Monday, this gave Thames the upper hand with the main part of the evening turned over to the premiere of 'Diamonds are Forever', The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show of which this was Eric and Ernie's first one since their return to ITV and also a 'This is Your Life' special as well. 

Where as 1970 had been tough year for ITV, 1979 was to be its toughest year to date with the network totally wiped out by a ten week strike. The autumn season only starting in late October when the channel came back on air, leaving it very little time to regain viewers who had come to the network in the previous twelve months, in putting on a big show for ITV's return on the 24th of October. The Christmas promotion seemed slightly staid, with a Christmas card type of scene of a village as its main identity, however the menus and trailers seem very sparse indeed, almost understated in their approach. Seemingly the promotions and trailers done by Yorkshire were to be just that with the channel still finding its feet after such a long time away and viewers still loyal to the BBC.

However for the programmes, they offered as strong a line up as it had been in years, but with a familiar look to it too with 'The Three Musketeers' as the big film, Eric and Ernie on their second Christmas special since moving back and also 'This is Your Life' once again. Tried and tested it was for ITV, but as a recovering network they need to make their Christmas line up and promotion even better.

Come 1980, the honour once again of promoting ITV at Christmas fell to Granada yet again. Compared to Yorkshire's sparse effort of the previous year, the company for the North West of England decided to follow the same pattern as they had done for 1977, animated promotions and a catchy tune to go behind them. By using a wrapping paper and gift tag motif, they made it simple where as the BBC's efforts were getting overblown by this point. Granada known for their understated promotions, made something something which captured the new decade perfectly with its minimalism and also synthesizer backing track, showed that the promotion could be simplistic but effective. 

Much could be said about the schedule as well, 3-2-1, James Bond in 'The Man with the Golden Gun', Morecambe and Wise as well as This is Your Life. The same schedule almost for the third year in a row, by now the predictable nature of the Christmas Day schedule of ITV was starting to see the viewers get used to what was going to be on at a certain time in the evening, as much as they enjoyed the programming, there was a danger of also alienating them by having not much choice at all.

Something had to be done and in 1981, that something was a freshening up of both programmes and also a more exciting look to Christmas on ITV. By taking ideas used previously such as a Christmas scene in a urban setting, using Father Christmas flying his sleigh and also a star in the sky made for another Christmas card scene yet again. Different company, different ideas. But Thames came up with the promotions this time round, offering their take on how a promotion should be used and almost very BBC in style.

Yet with the big day falling on a Friday, this also meant a split in who was going to offer up the programmes themselves. This first part of Christmas Day meant that Thames could offer up Dr No after the Queen's Speech and also This is Your Life but much earlier in the evening than previous years, but the main movie of the day came from Lew Grade of which The Muppet Movie was shown at 5.50pm leading through the time that Thames handed over to LWT at 7pm. Meaning this could have been a deliberate ploy to allow the handover to go on in secret with ATV holding the fort. Though with LWT in charge, this allowed them to show their big hit of the year and away from The Generation Game on BBC 1 which had appeared after the Queen's Speech. Game for a Laugh produced by Alan Boyd, had fought off his previous show and stood proudly on Christmas Day, this was backed up with the third edition of It'll Be Alright on the Night another LWT production meaning that ITV could put out a different schedule than in previous years. But for the first time in a very long time Morecambe and Wise were not on either channel on Christmas Day, with their Christmas Special appearing on the 23rd of December when Thames put it in the slot where London Night Out with Tom O' Connor usually appeared, meaning that went to Christmas Eve at Eight o' clock in the evening.

Overall ITV's Christmas in 1981 had been different, as such revitalized itself once again. Though much thanks to the actual system of ITV then its programmes, with LWT taking the lead on Christmas Day, the commercial channel's schedule seemed a lot strong then it had done for years.

1982 brought the usual Christmas card scene for the promotions, but with the voice-over by Michael Aspel made them seem like effort was taken to get the promotions right and that they should be done properly. The lessons had been learned that ITV could get their Christmas look right, with more companies adopting it for their own in vision continuity spots. Meaning a good look could be universal through the ITV network and what they'd wanted for years, something which bring their identity to the fore. 

Such with Channel 4 having been launched in November, this was more then important with viewers able to pick from four channels and another commercial channel for a start. The ITV brand was getting used a lot more than it had been previously, but still they had no ident of themselves to speak of so they could not have a clear identity on their own promotional trailers.

With Christmas Day falling on a Saturday, meaning that LWT could have the whole day with no Thames programmes having to fit into the schedule. Which meant for the second year in a row, no place for Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise on the big day yet again. They would have to wait till the 27th and Thames to return. Yet, for the BBC's schedule on Christmas Day, the reliance on LWT meant that at the start of the day, the film Journey Back to Oz wasn't much entertainment at all and with Christmas Parade on BBC 1 it seemed like Christmas Day early on for both channels didn't seem to want to get started at all.

The actual schedules on both BBC 1 and ITV didn't started until after the early evening news had finished, however with LWT calling the shots, ITV went headlong into their schedule with a little help from Yorkshire Television and their festive edition of 3-2-1 at 5.35pm but there on in for the main part of the evening was all LWT made programmes. This meant an appearance for the second Christmas in a row of Game for a Laugh followed by Bruce Forsyth in Play Your Cards Right, the movie premiere of Disney's 'The Black Hole' followed and after that, Chas and Dave had their Xmas Knees-up including guests such as Eric Clapton and Jim Davidson. 

ITV had the might of LWT to provide programmes for them on Christmas Day, so finally they had taken on the BBC and gave them a real fright, but as such they still did not have an identity which they could call their own. In 1983, all that changed.

Christmas Day fell on a Sunday meaning LWT called the shots in programmes, yet again for ITV but the promotions went from them to Central, who took the theme of presents and decided to give them an eighties spin, literally. The present and gift tag idea used by Granada in 1980 combined with flying objects such as crackers, ribbons and presents but it did have an odd effect of like staring into a Christmas vortex with so many flying objects, with this being the year of ITV's 3D-TV experiment, it seemed like Central had taken it to the extreme somewhat. Though finally ITV had adopted their look and a first ident for the network used on screen. 

With drawing out the big hitters such as Superman - The Movie, Bullseye, a Royal Carol Concert, Play Your Cards Right and Jimmy Tarbuck reviving a sort of All Star Comedy Carnival/Christmas Night with the Stars calling it his 'Christmas All Stars' including the cream of ITV's and LWT's talent along with satellite links with the stars of Hart to Hart and Andy Williams. The strength in depth made ITV's Christmas strong however, the BBC used their stars in their own shows and played to their strength knocking ITV back somewhat from where they had been in the previous two years. 

As with most things, the computer graphics age was transforming television presentation and this was none more evident in 1984. But with Christmas falling on a Tuesday, ITV could not rely on LWT to help them this year, where as the BBC had been lackluster in the past few years, it was formerly one of there own which would be going up against ITV. Michael Grade had joined as the Controller of BBC 1 in 1984, as such he wanted to put on a show against ITV, Where as the BBC freshened up their line-up it seemed out of place somewhat.

For their literal Christmas Card look with flying train, Granada who provided the look made the effort to make it look modern, but modern doesn't always look right and 1984's look compared to BBC 1's looked sparse and almost bleak, the hard sell was there for the programmes but yet it feels cold and uninviting. Even the programmes apart from the Eric Morecambe tribute at 6pm don't have an effect at all. Making the line-up seem almost humdrum in comparison to what the BBC had on offer. Michael Grade knew how to construct a schedule and it would take a lot for ITV come back and properly challenge BBC 1.

Fast forward to 2014, today and BBC 1 are relying on the same programmes they have done for the past couple of years, Strictly Come Dancing looming large in the schedules along with Dr Who and Call the Midwife, ITV seems not to compete at all largely with just celebrity lead documentaries for most of the afternoon and early evening, with the later part of the evening not entertaining at all. Maybe its time for a change, after so many years the viewing public are getting bored of the same old thing again. So something is needed to happen to wake ITV on Christmas Day out of its comatose state, which it has been in for many years now. 

Where as the BBC cannot rely on the same programmes year after year, it would be surprising that people might go to on demand services and DVD's for their entertainment this year. Television faces the same problem as it did in the mid-1980's with the rise of home computers and VCR's. Innovation is the key for channels nowadays and there is very little of that on Christmas Day. 

So what will I be doing on Christmas Day? Pretty much what everyone else will be doing as usual, but in this multi-channel age I will be flicking around the many channels out there. As I have to say that television has let me down now, without serious thinking it could be looking at a very tough future for itself at Christmas.

Boggen's Advent Calender (Day 14 and 15) - And Our Survey Said... Game Shows at Christmas

What says Christmas more then giving away prizes? The television staple of game shows, always appear in the festive schedules and nowadays thanks to channels like Challenge we can see Christmas specials from the past. Though where now game shows used to the domain of the general public during the rest of the year, where mostly in prime time now the celebrities appear the most on them.

But back in the time before digital television and audiences in there many millions, come the festive season with the tinsel and turkey, celebrities lined up to have a go at what mere mortals would do. Though one of the most unfathomable game shows being 3-2-1, they first put the celebrities to the test in 1978. Well, actually 1979. But wait there's a reason for this, Yorkshire Television who made the programme were actually on strike over the Christmas period of 1978 and as such they could not broadcast it either leading to the Christmas Edition finally going out on the 27th of January. 

Though that's where we leave that edition, as since 1979 it has not been seen. But on the 23rd of December, Challenge TV are re-showing it again. All we know is that Jack Douglas appears with Rusty Goffe and three couples are Mike Channon teaming up with the then England women's cricket captain Rachel Heyhoe Flint, Clodagh Rodgers with Terry Wogan and Pat Coombs with Julian Orchard. Apart from that I don't even know what happens, so even it will come as a surprise to me.

Anyway for the next 3-2-1 celebrity special, we move on to 1987 with the contestants all coming from soap operas. Well, ITV and Channel 4 soaps anyway, the Skilbecks of Emmerdale Farm, the Duckworths of Coronation Street and the Grants of Brookside. Along the way, guest santas popped up to deliver the clues with former jockey Bob Champion and former swimmer Sharon Davies amongst them. Though is also notable for an appearance by voice-over man and continuity announcer John Benson at the end with the rest of the assembled cast.

There are stranger game shows though, how about Big Break? The show that brought snooker to the game show format, they were always quick to do something for Christmas. however how about the likes of Steve Davis set against the story of Alice in Wonderland? It happened in 1994, Mr Davis were joined by Marti Caine as the Queen of Hearts, Zoe Ball as Alice and Craig Charles as the Mad Hatter. Though what fellow snooker players John Parrott and Terry Griffiths thought of this is anyone's guess.

However this isn't the strangest edition, the next year they did a panto themed edition with Wendy Richard, Frank Carson and Diane Louise-Jordan as the guests and potting the balls were Ray Reardon, Jimmy White and Peter Ebdon. Cue lots of jokes about Cinderella going to the ball etc.

So when the celebrities are allowed to play anything can happen and it usually does.

The Spies We Loved - The world of Espionage and Spying on Television

For as long as there has been television and radio, there has been a fascination of the world of the spy and espionage plus also the the sometimes murky word which goes behind it. Cinema-goers have followed the likes of James Bond through Harry Palmer and onto Jason Bourne, to get their fix of glamorous locations, beautiful but sassy women and physically demanding action as well.

Those this cannot be said that television has been left behind in this, to a certain extent the ITC series of the sixties and the seventies dealt with lone action heroes going about their duties as citizens to sort out any problems which may occur, but away from the world of Simon Templar and The Saint to Danger Man's John Drake was the grip of the Cold War where all sides were trying to work out what what each other was doing.

In 1963 one of the earliest series, Espionage was made by ATV both broadcast in Britain and in America on NBC. As an anthology of stories allowed for a fluid cast with no leading characters however the series did introduce many famous names some of their earliest acting roles such as a pre-Easy Rider Dennis Hopper, David Kossoff along with Patrick Troughton, Patricia Neal and Billie Whitelaw plus also Anthony Quayle who had himself been a member of the Special Operations Executive during World War Two.

The series differed from being based in the Second World War to modern Cold War times with agents operating for peaceful means or as resistance operatives, taking in the tales of

the agents working on the front line and showing the public what life was really like for these operatives rather than fast cars and a fast lifestyle as well. Allowing for reality to be shown in daily operations allowed series to go in one of two directions, either down the fast paced action route or the more in-depth dramatic route more real to situations that agents were facing on a day to day basis.

With the American networks taking the more glamorous action, the British broadcaster wanted to show the real side of spying, leading to more grittier series which did not flinch away from tough, bleak reality. But what happens when you ask too much about about what you do when your job is in the dark and murky world of espionage? The answer is simple, you become a special agent. That is what happened to David Callan over four series and feature length film. Callan played by Edward Woodward as the reluctant professional killer for 'the Section' a shadowy branch of the intelligence services first appeared in an edition of Armchair Theatre on February 4^th 1967 featuring in a story called 'A Magnum for Schneider' written by James Mitchell who had written not only Callan, had been a prolific writer of spy thriller but also crime fiction plus writing for shows such as The Troubleshooters for the BBC, Justice for Yorkshire Television and ABC's own The Avengers as well as creating When The Boat Comes In for the BBC.

With such a cast including the likes of Edward Woodward and Peter Bowles, gave the story a almost chilling edge underscored with the music of Robert Farnon at the beginning, though the action takes place in the studio as opposed to the glamorous ITC shows of the time, allowing the scenes to be more realistic than fantasy of which the normal world of the agent was.

David Callan, himself had a steady hand and a cool nerve, but Callan also had a conscious about what he doing, much of the action was about those who were doing wrong, did wrong or about to do wrong at some point in the future. Cold blooded, he may seemed but it was for safety of the public he did it. Long before Spooks hit out screens in the new millennium, Callan focused on the darker side of spying and who to get results. But it was the downtrodden nature of the character which grabbed the public's attention, trading in being in an anti-hero.

With Edward Woodward's memorising performance as Callan, it became a firm favourite with viewers everywhere. But when the stories became more about his struggle then the action which had made it popular. Where as Bond was going to paradise, Callan was doing the dirty work, becoming an anti-hero for the times. The right show had come at the right time, in 1967 where other action series had become luxurious, Callan had paired it right down to the basics. A gritty man for gritty times, where was Britain had been a bright, colourful place by this time it seemed like the party was over and a reality check that these

things had to be done by operatives to keep its citizens safe for the good of the nation it seemed.

Where as Callan ruled the small screen at the end of the sixties and into the early seventies, Harry Palmer was doing much the same for cinema audiences. The anti-Bond in the novels by Len Deighton was deliberately the complete opposite of James Bond, his upbringing and style were said to be working class and for all the glamour Bond encountered Palmer has his hands tied by bureaucracy about what he can and can't do in his position. For the big screen, the production values were almost as big as Bond's with Michael Caine playing eponymous character for the films.

However where it had seen that the movies and television were seeming miles apart apart from the bigger serials made by ABC and ATV in Britain, but with both Callan and Palmer cemented the style of the spy series. The unglamorous world for operatives being shown, more listening than doing meant that one of the greatest tales of espionage, cross and double cross could be the most simple telling of a tale ever.

Though in 1969, when Thames Television already had Callan, they decided to launch a new drama series looking at the Special Branch of the Metropolitan Police, dealing in anti-espionage and anti-terrorism as well bridging the gap between the police force and MI5. The focus was on showing what was going on in the capital, the black heart which was beating underneath. The series first premièred on the 17^th of September 1969 with the first episode called 'Troika' looking at a spy ring based in London with the link between a civil servant, an ice skating champion and a KGB agent based posing as a travel agent, the view of this side of society was a new one for viewers allowing them to see the police which before had been more of the beat officer, though style the production used in the first two series was quite jarring with the scenes within their headquarters recorded on videotape and the outside shots filmed on outside broadcast film cameras, much like the same technique used by Thames' own Van der Valk and other shows. However when Euston Films took on responsibility of making the show in 1973 as one of its first of many productions, the whole of the programme was filmed on 16mm film giving it a gritter appearance later to be used by The Sweeney and Minder as well.

When the characters of Detective Chief Inspector Tom Haggerty played by Patrick Mower and Strand, a shadowy civil servant played by Paul Eddington that the series picked up in 1973, but the 1974 series also featured Dennis Waterman as a criminal in the episode “Stand and Deliver”, with later Mower, Eddington, George Sewell who played Chief Inspector Alan Craven in Special Branch as characters in The Sweeney though Waterman was to play George Carter memorably alongside John Thaw's Jack Regan. It is said that Special Branch formed a template for The Sweeney to take on the baton from there. But Patrick Mower was to get his own action role in the BBC's own Target at the end of the 1970's, proving that Special Branch was a good training ground for action stars.

At the same time as Target was on the BBC, Yorkshire Television came up with a new series to look at the men and women who served for the Special Intelligence Service, more commonly know as MI6, though the acronym S.I.S was in the series itself. The operatives working for the department were a special breed usually charged with dealing with highly political sensitive or diplomatically complex missions such as defections, assassinations and rescue missions. But because of the seemingly underfunding of the department led by Neil D. Burnside played by Roy Marsden, the S.I.S has to share information with the C.I.A leading to both coming into conflict at times but with Burnside's job of delicately trying to please both the British and United States governments at the same time.

But this does have an effect on Burnside's well being and health in the end, with him looking out for his operatives and their safety turning into an obsession for him. Though the story of The Sandbaggers and what happened to him could could have been in the plot in the series itself. Scottish writer Iain Mackintosh, a former naval officer who had previously written the BBC's Warship had written all of the first two series scripts, but in 1979 when travelling with his girlfriend, a British Airways stewardess they were lost at sea when the single engine aircraft had disappeared over the Pacific Ocean after they had stopped off at a disused U.S. Air force base and that the plane crashed in an area not covered either U.S. Or Russian radar. Three of the scripts were written by Mackintosh when him and girlfriend had disappeared leading to the last four being written by other writers and the last episode's conclusion to be inconclusive and unresolved because the new writers and the producers though they could not write an ending that would have been up to the standards that Mackintosh had set for the series.

The style itself was to be an antidote to the James Bond films which had been about girls, gadgets and cars. With hardly no action sequences and more dialogue than most shows allowed the series to go in a new direction focussing on the reality of the operatives, their lives in such a risk business with regular characters getting killed, double crossing complex plots and a multi-layered story.

But why does the world of the spy and espionage appeal to viewers when they had more glamorous series and films out there? Does it come from a need to find out what exactly these people do to protect our nation, perhaps it can be explained in the same way as a good murder mystery. The actual suspense of what will happen to characters next and the plots itself had to be followed week to week, as the 1970's went into the eighties people's minds were a world away from the glamour of vodka Martinis and thinking towards the Cold War plus what it actually meant. In safety knowing there was something to trust, though not all the time as it seemed the opposition was internal and external as well.

Though if it wasn't for these earlier series, then the likes of Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy could have not been made allowing the public to understand the complex situations that agents could be put into both in their work and their own lives, but the unravelling of these cases shown in Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy and its sequel Smiley's People meant the web which was weaved by what seemed like a simple situation led to complications for its protagonists. Later on in Spooks, let the action take centre stage just as the Bond series of films were being rebooted from the heyday of the 1970's and 80's with more dramatic licence, showed the working of the inner sanctum of MI5 and its agents. The focus to the new millennium and its challenges, led the series become pure in the workings of the action by almost copying a movie style, with the series becoming cinematic later on. Though as the stories got bigger and bigger, thus the action itself had to be come bigger and bigger. Much with The Sandbaggers in the 1970's the characters were seemingly expendable and there was much risk to the job than had been seen before.

Whether if its MI5, MI6, the KGB or the CIA, the fascination with the secret service continues for viewers and writers alike and as long as there as spies and cases to solve there will be room for the spies we love.

"Follow those stars..." - The story of Christmas Night with the Stars and its ITV rival, The All Star Conedy Carnival

Christmas brings many things, presents, food and television in abundance. As the schedules have been released for this year the usual soaps and also big hitting programmes dominate, but it wasn't always like this. At one time there was a one stop shop to see all your stars in, the BBC coming together if you will. The show which dominated the big day itself for more than fifteen years was Christmas Night with the Stars, a place where the stars shone so bright and you could get the likes of Cliff Richard rubbing shoulders with Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise. Usually in ten minutes sections of the most popular sitcoms of the year, the best light entertainment shows and the biggest stars. This was a show of might by the BBC to show the viewers their selection box of personalities.

The first show in 1958 was hosted by magician David Nixon, performing tricks himself as well, the line-up was a stellar one with the cream of British comedy appearing in sketches such as Ted Ray, Charlie Chester, Charlie Drake combing with future stars Tony Hancock and Kenneth Connor, the nature of the show meant that Dixon of Dock Green appeared with Billy Cotton and also the Beverly Sisters performing, though the interest comes in the cast with future Benny Hill writer Dave Freeman performing with Charlie Drake and the writers of the show reads like a who's who of comedy writing. The partnerships of Galton and Simpson are there with Muir and Norden plus Charlie Chester as well. This was the cream of the talent the BBC had, meaning something was there for everyone. To say that the BBC wanted to get a march on the fledgling ITV franchises was an understatement, though this showed ITV on the biggest occasions that the Beeb were willing to fight for their audience. Plus with the Light Entertainment department getting new directing and producing talent into their ranks, this would set the BBC up for the 1960's.

With the BBC's intentions clear to fight for the audience which was out there, the sixties was to be a decade which would change light entertainment for ever. A decade of pushing the boundaries, where Britain would change in itself. At the start of the decade with the opening of the new Television Centre in 1960, one of the newest purpose built television studios in the world. The raising of the standard, made the programmes even better. The first show of the new decade featured Sid James from Citizen James, Harry Worth on film plus regulars David Nixon and Jimmy Edwards. It might seem the programme had hardly changed at all, but by 1962 Eamonn Andrews has taken on the role of presenting The Black and White Minstrels, Dixon of Dock Green and The White Heather Club. But backing these favourites up were two shows which were new and were to show the BBC had started to change in its comedy output. The Rag Trade starring Peter Jones, Reg Varney with support of Miriam Karlin and Esma Cannon, the show had been on the air since 1961 but 1962 was the first time when the honour of appearing on the biggest show of the year was bestowed on it.

By 1964, the programme had moved away from including shows with a dramatic narrative. So Jack Warner became the host as Eamonn Andrews had moved to ABC, but the focus was more about the light entertainment stars. The Black and White Mistrels were present with Billy Cotton, the traditional had there place in there but with pop starting to rule the roost, the show acknowledged this with appearances from Kathy Kirby and The Barron Knights. Two stars who were to become two of comedy's biggest stars performed sketches in the form of Benny Hill and Dick Emery, their comedy seemed the same by the end of the decade Hill had moved to Thames Television and Emery was still present on BBC1. Though with comedians there was a place for the all-round entertainers as well, Roy Castle being one of them. The future Record Breakers host had his own show, singing and dancing showing off his talents on a weekly basis, Castle was very much a British 'Sammy Davis Jnr.' , though his career though bubbling along didn't hit the heights as many people thought he would do at that time. Alongside Terry Scott and Hugh Lloyd, Freddie Frinton and Thora Hird performed a shortened version of their sitcom Meet the Wife, but 1964 also saw the launch of BBC2 and one their biggest comedies which had been repeated on BBC1, The Likely Lads was asked to film an insert for the programme with Rodney Bewes as Bob and James Bolam as Terry reflected on the Christmas season in their own inimitable way. It was a sign that a new wave was sweeping through light entertainment.

Come the end of the decade, with the new ITA franchises in place and the BBC looking towards newer talent, it gave the 1968 a new fresh look which would start the new era of light entertainment at the BBC. In this year, the show was a powerhouse, the host being the newly arrived from ATV, Morecambe and Wise hosted the programme. Just having Eric and Ernie on Christmas Day was a bonus, allowing them to perform at their best, though the supporting cast was one which the BBC could be proud of. The personality led variety show had come to define light entertainment by the end of the decade, ITV had led with the Tom Jones show but the Beeb could count on Cliff Richard to do pretty much the same job but in a more boy next door style, the might of pop was important to the very important teenage audience so both Lulu and Petula Clark were included too. Both performers would go on to have their own personality led variety show the same as Cliff Richard with in the next five years following the programme.

Though the biggest star the BBC could offer was Rolf Harris, this antipodean bundle of many talents had his own show on a Saturday night inviting the top singing stars of the day, performing dance routines with Duggie Squires' Young Generation containing a future Blue Peter presenter in Leslie Judd and future Light Entertainment executive who would put his own mark on the genre in the 1990's, Nigel Lythgoe. Add in the combination of jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong, comedy from Marty Feldman and with new to that year comedies Not in Front of the Children and more importantly Dad's Army filming sketches for the programme, it is little wonder what the new ITV companies did for 1969, they thought back. They launched the All Star Comedy Carnival, taking the best of what ITV had to offer from all the regional franchises and showcasing them in one place. That first year one of the main attraction was the Granada series 'The Dustbinmen' featuring a pre-Are You Being Served Trevor Bannister.

With the start of the 1970's, it saw the death of Tom Sloan in May 1970. The head of the Light Entertainment group had been influential in bringing so many shows which would define the BBC's output in the 1960's such as Steptoe and Son, Till Death Us Do Part, Dad's Army, the Val Doonican shows and even Dixon of Dock Green. His influence over the BBC's biggest department meant that he could persuade the performers to make appearances on Christmas Night with the Stars, but all backed up with his team behind him like Stewart Morris, Yvonne Littlewood, Roger Ordish, Terry Heneberry, Michael Hurll and most importantly Bill Cotton Jnr. Cotton Jnr. himself had been a producer for in house BBC productions since 1956 including his own father's Band Show, so he was the natural choice to take over the role. The 1970 cavalcade of stars had Cilla Black appearing with Dick Emery, Terry Scott, June Whitfield and Stanley Baxter. But the star power the show had meant, Clodagh Rogers could be seen alongside Nana Mouskori, Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis contributing to give a transatlantic feel but none could top an appearance by Ol' Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra that's without noting the 'Galloping Gourmet' Graham Kerr as well. This provided a combination of laughs, music and even cooking as well, all the things for a perfect Christmas party.

So with this wealth of talent on the one programme, what could ITV do for their All Star Comedy Carnival of that year? Well, at 6.30pm, the programme started with the mixture of The Lovers with Paula Wilcox and Richard Beckinsdale, Hark at Barker meant that Lord Rustless would get a place in the Christmas schedules for Ronnie Barker, the Doctors in the House were there from London Weekend with the jokes coming thick and fast from Yorkshire Television's Jokers Wild with Barry Cryer presenting and his future Kenny Everett writing partner Ray Cameron on writing duties. To add in variety, Des O'Connor brought a snippet of his own show with Des singing, even down in Weatherfield there was a seasonal visit to Coronation Street with the regulars of the Rovers Return pondering about the festive season in a especially written mini-episode. This of course pre-cursing the days when the soaps and their story lines would become a integral of the Christmas Day schedules. All linked together by Max Bygraves and with musical accompaniment from Geoff Love and his orchestra as well, even popular BBC sitcom stars Warren Mitchell and Rodney Bewes turned up on the programme. Though it is surprising that the programme that followed the show On the Buses wasn't part of the comedy carnival itself with it being one of ITV's top rated shows at the time, but maybe keeping separate from all the other shows meant the rest of ITV's comedy and entertain could be showcased without them being overshadowed by a mini-episode of such a popular show. On reflection, ITV's effort may have seemed weaker in comparison for that year to the BBC's effort but it did offer an alternative to the BBC though.

1971 saw more change with the BBC's Light Entertainment department bringing new shows to their schedule with the Generation Game, Parkinson and the Two Ronnies, Messrs Barker and Corbett being reunited with each other. Bill Cotton's stamp was firmly on the department now, but come Christmas Day the stars were rolled out once again including mini episodes of Dad's Army, Till Death Do Part sharing the limelight with efforts from Lulu and her show, Mike Yarwood making an impression on the audience both in the studio and at home. It was a show of force once again from the Beeb, but ITV counteracted pretty much with the same shows of the previous years but with the inclusion of The Fenn Street Gang and Please Sir! Which they had left behind, Father Dear Father came from Thames and Lollipop loves Mr Mole from ATV. Plus Les Dawson made a mini-episode of Sez Les which was doing great business for himself and also Yorkshire Television as well. Mike and Bernie Winters hosted this year, they themselves had made a contribution of a music item with Opportunity Knocks' Hughie Green on trumpet/guitar, ITN newsreader Gordon Honeycombe on sax, illusionist David Nixon on double bass, Eamonn Andrews on trombone and the whole of the World of Sport team providing the rhythm section, plus Mike Winters playing the clarinet. This is one of those occasions where you wish the footage has not been lost, just to see this spectacle. Not only for the sight of Dickie Davies on drums or the fact what song they actually played, with the Christmas TV Times of that year handily saying it would be an old favourite.

But with this chance at the BBC came a new policy to do with Christmas television, all the stars who had roughly ten minutes to showcase themselves and their programmes during Christmas Night with the Stars seemed such a tight time to do so. So it was that 1972 was the last Christmas Night with the Stars for another twenty four years, introduced by The Two Ronnies after their success with the own show in the previous year. As in previous years Dad's Army and Mike Yarwood did mini-episodes of their own shows, with this year two additions to the line up of The Liver Birds and The Goodies, themselves fresh from their own success on BBC2. Plus Lulu appeared as well as The Young Generation with this year Nigel Lythgoe being credited as the choreographer of their dance routine, the credits for this show read like a who's who of the BBC Light Entertainment department, the Two Ronnies directed by Terry Hughes, Dad's Army by David Croft, Jim Franklin producing The Goodies as well as Michael Hurll and Sydney Lotterby. In addition to both musical directors Ronnie Hazelhurst and Alyn Ainsworth and a stellar list of writers including Michael Palin and Terry Jones, Barry Cryer and Neil Shand to name a few. This was the way to go out, as from 1973, the Christmas specials would out on their own and longer then before. The BBC worked out that each show could do even more by each production

being able to work on their own efforts, thus focussing the talents of the crew, the writers and the performers. That idea was to have massive success as the Christmas schedules of the BBC would continue to dominate for many years to come.

The swansong for the All Star Comedy Carnival would come for ITV in 1973, up against the BBC's new style Christmas Day schedules. They could offer Jimmy Tarbuck in a mock house with the going on with Man about the House, Les Dawson making another appearance with Sez Les, My Good Woman from ATV and Billy Liar from LWT plus Spring and Autumn from Love Thy Neighbour's Vince Powell. But not even the might of the Wandsworth School Choir and Fyfe Robertson could overthrow BBC1's offering. So it was not surprise that after this year's edition that ITV took the same approach as the BBC of pitching the best of their shows up against each other, for Christmas Night with the Stars, the style of that programme was used for the Funny Side of Christmas in 1982. Again the best of BBC comedy all in the same place and with revivals in 1994 on BBC2 featuring the likes of Steve Coogan performing and again ten years later in 2004 presented by Michael Parkinson, but this version seemed more like an extend version of his chat show. For the All Star Comedy Carnival, the idea has not been revived by ITV and looks likely not to be any time soon.

Some people may say that these programmes, maybe they were of their time. But however without them we would not have got to the Christmas Day schedules today, they were the first to introduce soaps on Christmas Day, they were the first to have the leading comedies of the day back to back, they were the first to have top variety in the same place and they were the first to introduce new comedies to a wider audience. Whatever way you want to look at it, Christmas would not have been brighter places without them. 

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