I Didn't Know There Was So Much in it - March 11th to March 17th 1967

Welcome back, our second look back at TV Times' past, this week takes us to this week in 1967. A place with three channels and still with all the original ITV companies, thus ABC rule the North and Midlands at weekends and ATV are London's weekend television with the might of Granada for the North and Rediffusion London, naturally enough in London. 

So what was gracing the cover of the TV Times this week then? 

It's Michael Miles, the host of Take Your Pick. This was not uncommon for one of ITV's biggest stars to be on the cover of TV Times, however there was a special reason for it and that reason being the bridge behind him in that picture. This week, Take Your Pick was going to Australia for a special show filmed in front of an Australian audience and with Australian contestants. Which at this time for a show to go to the other side of the world to film an episode was unheard of, especially with satellite television in its infancy. Rediffusion took the show to Sydney, where most of the audience were ex-pats, however thirty years before this, Miles himself had gone to Australia to establish himself in show business there. 

As such with this being a special edition, the sheer numbers of people wanting tickets was into the thousands and the production staff had to whittle that number down to 450 who were invited into the audience to see the show take place.

Meanwhile, the magazine reflects on just over forty years of Elstree Film Studios existence with an article about the productions which had been made their both for film and television, including the numerous television programmes which had been made upto that point by ATV. 

On the other end of the scale comes the chance to collect another set of six pictures for the colour Coronation Street album featuring Peter Adamson holding a pint as Len Fairclough, Eileen Derbyshire as Miss Nugent, Valerie and Ken Barlow featuring a very smiley Anne Reid and a even more smiley William Roache, Sandra Gough as Irima Barlow showing some leg, the Queen of the Rovers Return Annie Walker (Doris Speed) looking regal and Phillip Lawrie as Dennis Tanner, no doubt plotting something. This being the second chance to collect a set of pictures, then all the Weatherfield regulars would be in the other five sets of photographs to collect on a weekly basis. 

With this being 1967 and the Summer of Love coming, naturally in the summer. Marley somehow make a simple advert for linoleum flooring seem like talking down to women or as they put it 'Get Off Your Knees!' Which even as a joke about women scrubbing floors, seems a bit off in style and humour even back then. 

So onto the programmes, with Saturday 11th March. In a land where restricted broadcasting hours are still in place, Saturday starts off at a leisurely pace, that's if you call learning Russian leisurely. So at 12.35pm you can 'Say It in Russian', but after fifty-seven lessons of which this is the fifty-seventh one. I'm sure by then your could write a whole novel in Russian and there is no indication of how many lessons were left either. Though think that was hard, another lunchtime treat is First Steps in Physics, today the 22nd lesson about Magnetism. But in 1967, adult education, rarely seen nowadays on television, was a staple of the weekend schedules. This being because most people were at home at the weekend and it was also a further education aid to those already taking the subjects and an introduce to those wanting to learn them.

After the first news bulletin of the day from ITN at 1.20pm, then comes World of Sport introduced by Eamonn Andrews. For all the sensible sports in this edition, Racing and Rallycross. There comes a sport, which I don't think has seen the light of day on television ever since and that sport is Roller Derby. So the Australian Thunderbirds take on the Detroit Devils in this exciting contest, whether this was brought in from another television station or if this was staged in the UK, I do not know at all. However, this being World of Sport and knowing some of the thing that they would put on in later years, this seems sensible compared to them. 

As a separate programme, comes the more sensible sport of wrestling at 4pm with visit back to the World of Sport studio at 5pm for all the day's results from on horseback, on the football pitch or anything else which takes your fancy. 

From that comes Just Jimmy with Jimmy Clitheroe and Mollie Sugden at 5.15, this week when Jimmy tries to invent a brother for himself, but after the news at 5.40pm comes another Dynamic Duo with Batman and Robin, the Saturday night early evening imports seemingly making an impact for ITV even back then. With this week's episode 'Catwoman goes to College', making me wonder if she's taking the Russian course or the Physics course instead? So lots of daring do from the caped crusader there, but another hero of kinds comes along after them at 6.20pm, when Ken Dodd opens his Music Box featuring this week guests including The Hollies, Johnny Hackett and Barbara Law, not forgetting Bob Sharples and the ABC Showband plus the Mike Sammes Singers as well.

Doddy seemingly cramming a lot into his music box there, after high drama with The High Terrace featuring Lois Maxwell at 7pm, there comes then Charlie Drake in Who is Sylvia? If the question is Who is Sylvia? Is the answer, then Who is Mr Drake? Plus with a title of 'The Man from C.L.U.N.K., somewhat of a spying theme maybe going on in this episode. 

After that at ten past nine, the real secret agents come along as John Steed and Emma Peel find 'The Correct Way to Kill' as Steed changes partners and Mrs Peel joins the enemy and all wrapped in 55 minutes as well, again like last week Peter Vaughan features in one of the week's leading dramas at five past ten in The Happy Sacking, but the story is not as jolly as it sounds. With Vaughan starring as Elmo Frankfurter trying to train up Dug Whitby, played by Jim Norton in the art of how to win at business.

Then Honor Blackman is asked what she would put in The Magic Box of her favourite things by Kenneth Robinson at 11.05pm, followed by On the Braden Beat at 11.35pm where Bernard Braden adds his 'serious wit' to proceedings.

Sunday brings two more lessons in Russian and Physics after the Morning Service from Brixton Parish Church, later on at 3.30pm there is a whole galaxy of stars as James Mason tells the Story of the Stars focusing on 40 years of Elstree Studios. Plus with more stars at 5pm in the Sound of Laughter featuring Ted Ray, John Junkin, Rosemary Squires, Reg Varney and Ray Alan as well. Later on at 7.25pm comes the second part of the weekend's Batman story but afterwards romance is in the air for Deborah Kerr in the film Perfect Strangers at 7.55. Finally following up with a double of The New London Palladium Show introduced by Bob Monkhouse and also the Eamonn Andrews Show bringing Sunday to close.

On Monday at 6.30pm Barbara Kelly asks the question in Criss Cross Quiz, with Monday being a Coronation Street evening with All Our Yesterdays preceding at 7pm. Mrs Thursday loses an hour at 8pm with the reason being British Summer Time, right on time at 8.55 is the main evening news from ITN. After that at ten past nine, there's No Hiding Place with Detective Chief Superintendent Lockhart considering whether to prove another colleague wrong, but another man with a free brief is Mike Scott in Scott Free at 10.05pm. 

Late night drama comes about with The Invaders at just after 10.30pm and the News Headlines, finishing on this day with Bernard Levin interviewing Robert Bolt, the one time school teacher and now Oscar winning writer and playwright. 

As its 1967, so there is an advert for cigarettes in the middle of the listings between days. Advertising Richmond's Players Navy Cut for the price of 4/3d, commonplace these adverts were in magazines of the time. The way that advertising these products were to change over the next decade with them becoming less overt in style and not showing directly cigarettes themselves.

Onto Tuesday and during the schools broadcast, a programme which was to be become very familiar for many years to come started the day's broadcasting. At ten past eleven was Picture Box, with the same format as always but also directed by Brian Cosgrove, who of course went on to form Cosgrove Hall Animation Studios. Such was the way that the school programmes were spread out that they with intervals and closedowns are broadcast until 2.40pm. With a programme at 1.25pm, The Automobile Age produced by another long term Granada schools producer, Jack Smith. He was famous for Experiment later on in his career, but here in this programme which looks at what impact the motor car has had on the town and countryside.

In the limited hours that ITV was on the air at this time, meaning that Granada started up again at 4.50pm with 'On Air', a look at the day's news with a dash of pop and comment as well. The first children's programme of the after comes from Rediffusion with three very familiar names within it, Disney Wonderland is presented by Jennifer Clulow, who later was to be an announcer on both TVS and TSW, as well as her Peter Hawkins provides the voice of Goofy and Tony Hart pops by to launch a Cartoon Competition as well.

Afterwards in contrast to this at 5.25 is action adventure with Orlando starring Sam Kydd, this week's episode being the third part of a story called Irish Stew, with the episode subtitled Masks over Masks, this also coming from Rediffusion's children's department. Though once the ITN news and Granada's Northern News has been and gone, then Wally Whyton has more cartoon fun for all the family at five past six in Time for a Laugh.

The early evening itself concentrates on entertainment with My Man Joe starring Joe Baker at 6.30pm and at 7pm, Hughie Green gives the contestants the chance to Double Your Money. The show itself, a mainstay of ITV's schedule from the start was in its last two years until Rediffusion made way for Thames in July 1968. But still even in 1967, Double Your Money was one of ITV's biggest ratings winners with the combination of Hughie Green and the chance to win big cash prizes. 

The main feature of Tuesday is the film, The Barefoot Contessa, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardener, shown at 7.30pm but split into two parts bisected with the evening's main ITN news at 8.55pm. The action does not stop there with The Rifleman at five past ten and Danger Man starring Patrick McGoohan at 11.05pm, with agent John Drake being accused of being a double agent whilst in Jamaica. 

Wednesday evening brings more entertaiment with Tom and Dick Smothers in The Smothers Brothers show at five past six and Phyllis Diller in The Pruitts of Southampton at 6.35, for all the entertainment Bamber Gascoigne is the quizmaster in University Challenge at 7pm, though there's no record of who faced who in that week's TV Times. For all the brain nourishment, Wednesday brings another edition of Coronation Street, with a family gathering in the Barlow's house and a 'wet' idea from Miss Nugent played by Eileen Derbyshire of course later to become Emily Bishop.  

The main attraction from Rediffusion on Wednesdayat 9.45pm is an entertainment special starring Bing Crosby called 'A Little Bit of Irish' celebrating and looking ahead to St. Patrick's Day on the 17th of March. Bing's guests include Milo O' Shea, Siobhan McKenna and also Kathryn Crosby as well. 

Though not to make the English and the Scots to feel left out, then at 10.45, there are highlights from Hampden Park of tonight's Scottish League vs English League game of football, with the English team beating the Scots 3-0 with goals from Alan Clarke, who got two and Geoff Hurst who scored the other one. 

Thursday's early evening, has in depth reporting on the week's issues from ITN in Reporting '67 with Andrew Gardiner at ten past six, after there's another Time for a Laugh with Wally Whyton at 6.35pm and there's mystery in the air as Glynis Johns stars with John Justin and Cicely Courtneidge in Agatha Christie's 'The Spider's Web', at 8.25pm Galton and Simpson brings laughs with their latest sitcom starring Harry H. Corbett in Mr Aitch, though with it being a Thursday night, This Week appears at ten past nine looking at the stories in the news. Also Granada broadcast's Dr De Waldo's Therapy by Fay Weldon starring Ursula Howells, Wanda Ventham and Dilys Watling as well.

What The Papers Say is at 11pm follow by a comedy special starring Lucille Ball and Bob Hope called Mr and Mrs., which clearly had nothing to do with the Border/HTV gameshow of the same name. Which comes as light relief after current affairs heavy evening including two current affairs programmes and review of the week's papers as well. 

The end of the TV Times week on Friday starts with another edition of Disney Wonderland at 5pm, but the action comes thick and fast at 5.25 with another adventure with Stingray as Troy Tempest looks for The Cool Caveman in this edition, but there's more drama at 6.15pm after the ITN News and Newscene in Emergency Ward 10 as Dr Brook struggles to preserve a patient's sanity and also he clashes with a visiting consultant as well. All in a day's work for the medics of Emergency Ward 10, I suppose. 

At 7pm, television's new world sports programme brings you drama, danger and excitement introduced by Tony Maylam in Sportsweek from ATV. Someone else who is used to excitement is Simon Templar and at 7.30pm, The Saint spots a nun wearing high heels at a London train station and this leads him into what Sportsweek would call drama, danger and excitement. 

Then the pick of the week is shown at 8.25pm with the aforementioned edition of Take Your Pick from Sydney, Australia as Michael Miles and Bob Danvers-Walker go Down Under to give away prizes galore to the ex-pats on the other side of the world. After the main news at 8.55, Mr Rose stars William Mervyn in an episode called 'The Jolly Swagman' where Rose is offered a free trip on a luxury cruise but he meets two old friends and an old enemy as well.

This England at five past ten looks at the railwaymen in 'A Railwayman for Me' focusing on the men who work at the Doncaster Railway Works and the lives the lead as they build some of the most upto to date rail engines. Finally Friday Scene looks at what is going on around the Granada area with Brian Trueman and Chris Kelly directing the programme and at 11.45pm is Gideon's Way, with John Gregson as Commander George Gideon, where the whispered words of an accident victim reopens a old case for the aforementioned Commander.

So that's the TV Times from the 11th of March to the 1967 of March 1967, contain classic shows, strange by today's standards adverts, stars making their way in television as well as popular entertainment from ITV.

Join us next time as week, look at another edition from another year and say to ourselves, I Didn't Know There Was So Much in it.

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.

Mike Yarwood - This Is Me.. The man, the performer.. (Part One)

In entertainment there are many different areas of performance from the musicians to the magicians and the ventriloquists to the comedians, but one area for the sheer skills of the performer stands above all, that of the impressionist. From the earliest days of the music hall, impressionists have passed off the great and good of the day rising to become some of highest paid entertainers of their day with the ability to impersonate a famous person.

Most people can attempt mimicking people that they know or anyone within their own social circle, but when it comes to ones with a specialised skill to combine the art of taking off a person with comedic lines to heighten a character, that is all too rare and not many performers have been able to do that and claim there place in the higher echelons of light entertainers.

One such man made this his career, from the 1960's through to the late 1980's when the public were asked the question 'Name me a famous impressionist..' they would usually say the name of one man, Mike Yarwood. Yarwood, the man could be a complex one but also he was the first to have a prime time Saturday night entertainment show just dealing in impressions. Where as The Comedians had forged a new path for stand-up comedy, Yarwood made his name through appearances in both summer season and on television during the 1960's. By the start of the next decade, he was to be one of the biggest new stars to come out of the BBC's entertainment factory at BBC Television Centre under the guidance of Bill Cotton Jnr.

Yarwood himself was born in Bredbury, Cheshire in 1941. His father was a fitter and his mother was a nanny looking after many children, Mike himself was a war baby with his mother finding out she was pregnant, his family moved to Bredbury which was in the countryside of Cheshire. But as he grew up he discovered that he had a talent for mimicry for his family and close childhood friends as he recalls in his 1986 autobiography, Impressions of my Life.

“It seems I have been doing impressions practically all my life. Apparently from an early age I imitated my Irish Uncles, the people in my street, the teachers at my school and even the priest at my local Catholic church. On Sunday mornings when we go back from church I draped myself in my mother's embroided table cloth, put on a cardboard mitre on my head and clutching a brass bell and few shiny items from our fireside set. I conducted 'mass' in the back garden. I strutted up and down solemnly chanting in 'Latin' and sprinkling the congregation with holy water from the fireside brush which I'd held under the tap just before the service.

My family and friends just fell about laughing. 'Mrs Yarwood', our neighbour Mrs Jenkins would say, 'He'll be on the stage one day, you'll see'. And my mother laughed and shook her head.”

This showed Mike's need to perform for people in a small way and by making them laugh he showed he had a talent for it, but as he entered the world of work starting off at mail-order firm J.D. Williams as a junior despatch clerk, it seemed that it was a world away from where he would end up but even at this early stage that nerves were affecting himself, the nerves which were later to turn into stage fright, as he recalls in his 1986 autobiography.

“I felt sick. I'd been up very early to allow plenty of time to catch the eight-thirty from Bredbury to Manchester London Road (now Manchester Piccadilly), and I hadn't been able to eat a thing. It was my first train journey on my own, my first day at work and I was very, very nervous. 'This is it', I kept telling myself. 'You're out into the big world now. You've got to get on with it.'”

But as time went on, with Mike impersonating one of his managers and his work performance not improving, the company eventually let him go, though eventually after searching he got a job with M.A. Jacobs' Wholesale Gowns and Mantles as a trainee rep, eventually with the idea of travelling the country showing off the companies wares to potential customers though with Mike failing his driving test on several occasions led him to being stuck in the company's office, but it was here where he started doing impressions for his workmates and bosses, even with them using him to keep customers by allowing him to do impressions to able to help a sale by cracking the ice with a potentially tricky customer.

Though after a while to trying to try out for football teams around the North West and continuing working for M.A. Jacobs, in his spare time that he was part of the Rock and Roll scene in the Cheshire area with a local group 'The Drum Beats' as a drummer, but this dream soon faded like his dream of becoming a profession footballer. There was one key element to all of these thing, that was they were all a form of performing. By age of twenty-one, having failed his driving test again and seemingly was to be stuck in the office of M.A. Jacobs as a trainee rep without the ability to move up the ranks and earn the higher wages that it would bring for doing so. It was at this point that Margaret Fairley, a colleague made that suggestion that Mike should be in show business after seeing his impressions at work. Fairley herself knew the business as she had been a former Tiller Girl herself and had spotting something in Yarwood. Thinking about these words and consider his future at just working in the office, that he should give it a go and see where it would take him.

At this point when putting together a routine of impressions to be able to audition, that simple detachable collar was to lead him telling his mother what he wanted to.

“I don't know how long I wrestled with the damn thing but in the end I lost my temper. I tore off the collar, tore off the shirt and ripped into shreds and when I finished I burst into tears. I wept and wept until eventually my mother came up to see what was wrong.

'What's on earth's the matter, Michael? Why are you so upset?, she asked, putting her head around the door. 'I can't get this bloody collar on!' I'd intended to say, but for some reason it came out as 'I want to go into show business!'

I think I was as surprised as she with my answer. 'Oh well love, you'll have to forget about that,' she said gently. 'You'd be hopeless at that.'

'But its all I've want to do', I insisted. My mother sat down on the bed and we talked it over. She wasn't happy about the idea that people in show business lived highly immoral lives but when she saw how serious I was she said 'Well if you really want to go into show business I suppose you'd better give it a try.

I think she was worried that I'd be led astray and also that I'd get hurt because she felt I was far too shy to go on the stage, but nevertheless she supported me.”

Mike took that chance and it was a piece of luck which helped him onto the first rung of the show business ladder. First of all meeting Wilf Fielding, Fielding was a friend of one of Yarwood's work colleagues, he was a businessman working for an asphalt company but with a mutual interest in show business himself, when finding out how much Yarwood wanted to make onto the stage, Fielding went out of his way to help him achieve this. But it was another mutual person to do with Wilf Fieling that would help Mike make it to television. Fielding's secretary Linda was dating, some who worked in the television industry and through her, they though it was good idea for Mike to meet him. The man in question was a cameraman working for ABC Television at the time and eventually with the idea of show this man Yarwood's act. He was Royston Mayoh, at that time he had written scripts for the BBC Children's programme Crackerjack and also material for Mike and Bernie Winters. Later to become a television producer himself, producing many programmes for ABC and later Thames such as Opportunity Knocks and also The Kenny Everett Video Cassette, Mayoh had never be a professional performer himself, but he had the quality to get the best out of performers and it was here that Mayoh was going to this to help Yarwood improve his act and make a better performer of him.

It was a case when Mike went to Royston Mayoh's house to view what potential Yarwood had, from briefly performing in front of him, Mayoh himself saw something in these few impressions though it may have not as described as professional performance, it caught Mayoh enough to take him under his wing and help him. The one key factor was Yarwood's ability to change his face with each impression, most impressionists of that time could do voices which was good for radio and for variety theatres. When it came to impressionists making the next leap to television, the facial movements and ticks were most important. In the sixties, the United States had Frank Gorshin famous for playing the Joker in the 60's version of Batman. But his ability to transform his face to take on the characteristics of the person he was taking off seemed effortless.

In Yarwood's advantage, he would impressions of politicians which at that time the politicians were held with due reverence. But by shows like That Was the The Week That Was, allowed people to hold government account by comedy and also making the point that politicians were fame game now. Although Mike's humour with those in power was more poking fun rather then making cutting remarks, it was the first time that these figures could be seen to be almost as human as anyone watching.

With that it was onto Yarwood developing an act with Mayoh with eventually the goal getting onto television, almost every spare time was spent with Yarwood learning his stage craft and sharpening up his act, right at the beginning Yarwood didn't know what a microphone was, so Mayoh's mother's carpet sweeper was good a substitute for one. This may have appeared basic to some, from just a start of learning microphone skills was the first part of the performance. More importantly was Royston Mayoh's approach to teaching Mike the basics, practising faces in the mirror over and over again, the walk on and off the stage, camera positioning and most importantly sticking to the script no matter what happens.

Through the practising, frustrations came for Yarwood but it was his determination to pay back in performance all the advice Mayoh gave him to play the perfect set each and every time he went on stage or appeared in front of the cameras. Seemingly to his mother, it was pushing Yarwood too hard but the one thing that Royston Mayoh always said to Mike's mother would ring true in the years to come

“I'll take him as far as The Royal Command Performance and then I'll be no use to him...”

It make have appeared as a joke between Mike and Royston at that time, but if it was for the training and practise then maybe Yarwood's impressions would have never seen the light of day other than to friends and family. Whilst doing this training, Mike's father has been asking around to see if there were any spots which Mike could and by luck his father heard about an opportunity via a person at his workplace who used to perform as a singer in a pub in Dukinfield, Cheshire for any ideas about openings for Mike to perform. His father broached the subject one night as Yarwood explains.

“ 'Michael' said Dad suddenly one evening as were eating our team 'there's a fella I work with sings in a pub where there's a talent competition on Thursdays. He says you're to go along this this Thursday and they'll put you on.'

It was short notice but I got in touch with Wilf and Roy and on Thursday night we presented ourselves at the Albion in Dukinfield.”

From this performance Mike didn't win finishing third, but in suffering a bout of nerves before going on Wilf and Royston helped out on the stage. But in those few minutes and only finishing third out of half a dozen fellow performers gave Mike confidence, so he decided to enter the next week finishing second that time. It was afterwards when Wilf and Mike were getting a drink, a man with a pint in his hand approached Yarwood offering him the chance to perform at the Salvage Hotel, Collyhurst in Manchester, giving him two spots on a Friday night, with Mike explaining that he had really got an act as such they gave him the chance to do both spots and see how they went. This was Mike's first professional booking and over the next period would see him playing clubs throughout the North West gaining more and more experience leading to a week's booking at a night club in Manchester – The Ponderosa. The booking itself had been got by Mayoh, but on the first night he had invited Billy Scott from ABC Television's Light Entertainment department.

Although that first night was nerve bound, with certain moments involving interruptions not of his making but he stuck to Roy's well trodden advice of sticking to the script no matter what happens, at one moment when talking to a waiter and doing a visual gag that he had apparently swallowed his spoon, he tried to pull his neck to look like he had done. But with trembling hands, he could not do this. To the audience this was confusing but to Roy he gave his approval with roaring laughter. It was enough to impress Billy Scott as well to give him a gig doing warm up for an ABC programme called Comedy Bandbox featuring the top comedians of the day plus new and up and coming talented performers as well. That gig had been a successful one for previous incumbents which led them to appearing on Sunday Night at the London Palladium.

Peter Dulay, the producer of the show liked what Mike had done and invited him to appear on the next week's show. Finally Yarwood had made it to television and on 21^st December 1963 made his first appearance on the programme for his and his parents nerves, they were naturally pleased that first performance went so well. Afterwards, it was like a bump to earth for Mike, for other who had used the show as stepping stone to super stardom for Yarwood it was only a pebble. For the kudos of being able to put on posters 'As Seen on TV' was a positive but it was back to the clubs for him at that stage.

Though an appearance on a show like Comedy Bandbox could be the making of a performer's career, but the number one variety show was Sunday Night at the London Palladium. For any performer on the way up this was the key show to get into to get national exposure and to perform in front of an audience of many millions at home. It was whilst in Summer season one night that Mike had a visitor in his dressing room at Blackpool's Central Pier. He was Alec Fyne from the programme itself, this was the big time at last where so many had performed on. With the help of Royston Mayoh, he advised Mike to keep his act but get a script-writer to write a new script especially for the show.

That taste of performing had given Mike a taste for the big time, with The New Palladium Show taking over from Sunday Night at the London Palladium led to Yarwood appearing several more times as well as working with The Bachelors, but through the up and downs of this period of more variety theatre performances with the like of Max Bygraves, pantomimes came in 1967 a major television series for the BBC called Three of a Kind, working with Lulu and comedian Ray Fell. At that when it was broadcast in 1967, Mike was doing summer season at Great Yarmouth which lead to a new series of the programme in 1968 which Yarwood did, when it came to a third which was already planned but without Lulu who had left for her own new show on BBC 1. But in Mike's mind this wasn't good enough for him and his own words he was getting big headed as he recalls.

“Three of a Kind went down well and we did a second series, but by then I was getting unbearable. A third series was planned. Now this would have been good news but for the fact that this was to go ahead without Lulu because she was getting her own show. I was jealous. I wanted my own show and in a fit of pique because I wasn't offered one, I turned down the new series. I was in no position to refuse anything that that stage of the game, as my agent tried to warn me, but I wouldn't listen. I was too big-headed to believe him.”

It had seemed that Mike Yarwood's career may have been gone off the path that he thought it should be on but thanks to one impresario and a man who would guide many of television's biggest careers, it got a second chance and as we'll find out in part two. How being the at the top can be good, but it can have its downside as well.

Hitting the target - The history and development of Bullseye

Thursday night sees the last episode in the first ever series of Bullseye which has been shown by Challenge TV over the past couple of weeks, but the game show which was there at the end is a world away from the first episode of the first series. In and around studios of television companies of the late 70's, game shows were in production or going into production at that time the BBC had The Generation Game and the new to air Blankety Blank to name two. Throughout ITV of all the franchises, they each had a show in production from the major contributors such as ATV and Thames, the likes of Celebrity Squares and Give Us A Clue were astride the schedules. The more minor companies like Anglia would have one or even two shows offering big prizes, on the one hand Sale of the Century with Nicholas Parsons and the other Gambit with Fred Dinenage.

With these shows flying about set Andrew Wood thinking about what was the perfect game show, taking time to look at their nuances. The appeal of the shows were something in themselves, regularly they were topping the television ratings. But what was making people write in to take part on a regular basis, was it the taking part? The competition or just winning the prizes? It was clear that the format itself was important, the more clearer the better for the viewer to follow at home but also for the host to understand the rules as the programme went along. The problem with so many going into production was that ideas were being used up ten to the dozen, whether imported from American formats or thought up to make original ideas, premises of shows were the same but tweaked to suits their own style and rules. Wood's idea was to come up with something that had never been seen before in any game show before, to feel familiar but be new enough to surprise people.

What was come up with was a format which was not seen before, the 1970's had seen darts become a major television sport in its own right and because of this more and more people were playing in pubs and social clubs throughout the country. Overtime Wood developed this idea into a format, however with great competition from other formats being invented and also imported, it was really hard to get an idea seen to a head of light entertainment at any channel or company at that time. So Wood decided to go a name who had been a presenter of a successful show which was Norman Vaughan previously host of the Golden Shot, knowing that Vaughan might have some clout to get the Bullseye idea seen. As far as a deal went, Wood said if Vaughan could make the new idea seen by someone and if it goes into production that he could present it but if you don't get the presenter's job that Vaughan would be given a cut of all future revenue accruing as being a co-creator of Bullseye.

Thanks to Vaughan's links to ATV in Birmingham, the Bullseye idea was seen by Jon Scoffield, the station head of Light Entertainment at the time. The brief synopsis on a piece of paper presented to Scoffield was “A contestant throws a dart at a categorised board and is then asked a question on whatever he hits.” Scoffield took a look at it, rather then just baffling the presentation by giving an explanation by Wood, Scoffield just requested the idea to be seen as it went along just like it would almost be on the screen. The idea Scoffield liked, but the kick in the stomach was to come for Vaughan when Scoffield said he didn't like Vaughan for the presenter's job. Now having being the co-creator of Bullseye meant that Vaughan would taking a cut of any earnings from the programme, so the search was on for first a presenter and secondly a producer plus a director. The original plan for the presenter was to get Birmingham-based comedian Dave Ismay to film the pilot in 1980, Ismay had been a warm-up man for many of the ATV game shows and had made appearances on other shows such as 3-2-1 and the Golden Shot. Being around these shows meant Ismay could get a feel for how they worked and see how the hosts of each of them worked. Such was his closeness to The Golden Shot, he had seen the master of the game show Bob Monkhouse close at hand. So he seemed a natural choice to be the host, though a director was still needed.

Peter Harris, a well respected director of many types of shows had been working at ATV since the 1960's. In his time, he had directed Crossroads, helped launch Tiswas in 1974, at that time of the early 80's, he was most famous for directing the Muppet Show since 1977. This gave him lots of acclaim and is created on helping Jim Henson's creations come to the screens for a family audience, but come 1980 he had moved on to launching another of ATV's new game shows when he was the first director of Family Fortunes. So having launched that show and made it a success, Harris was called to Jon Scoffield's office to choose what he wanted to do next and there he was given three choices. One was Runaround, newly brought to ATV to possibly relaunch on Central Television in 1982 where Lewis Rudd, the new head of children's television had brought it with him from Southern Television, some unknown format, but possibly Chris Tarrant's O.T.T. which was in development and also Bullseye. Harris chose Bullseye because he was brought up in a public house during his formative years, so thought it was a good choice to take in this case.

The parts of this jigsaw were coming together, but then something was to happen which was throw the planning into chaos. With Dave Ismay, the host of the pilot for Bullseye, Peter Harris had met up with him to finalise details on when the pilot was to be filmed. But when Harris stated the dates, Ismay said he could not do them because he was on a cruise line entertaining the passengers. With the dates stuck and the studio time booked, there was no real way they could cancel the dates. So they offered it to Jim Bowen, famous at that time for his appearances on The Comedians and also as the comic foil for Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson on Thames Television's children's programme You Must be Joking. Bowen accepted the position as host, so it was on to development of the format. Though when finally Bowen met Harris, it was a great relationship as presenter and director, but on the first sighting of each other, Bowen was impressed by Harris who was immaculately dressed himself at the Grovenor Hotel in Birmingham. It was only after a while when Bowen had cottoned on about arriving at a coloured pink hotel building and seemingly flamboyant character, that they were going to hone the format to Bullseye in a Gay Club. But this broke the ice between them both and they got the format ready for the pilot to be filmed.

The series itself went to air on Monday the 21^st of September 1981, but these were not the first two episodes to be filmed which were shown first, actually it was the third ever episode filmed. By their both their own admissions that the first two were awful with Bowen being too nervously, fluffing the rules of the game and the nadir of when talking to a couple during the contestant's introduction when told that a person had been unemployed for two years, naturally Bowen had replied “Smashing...” without out no malice with the contest themselves looking daggers at Bowen for doing so. With that the decision to boost Bowen's confidence that the episodes would be scrapped and wiped, thus getting the production crew on his side. With the episodes having been filmed, they had to give the contestants who had won the prizes on both of them to them. One of which they won a caravan on, so they had to give it to the contestants. Compared to the cost of doing this, the value of junking the first two episodes filmed was far greater.

Looking back at the first series of 1981, using the original titles of Bully coming down from his pub sign to play darts, though the titles are different in one significant feature. During the titles there are lots of women with nipples prevalent, whether this was a nod to the cheeky pub nature of the game or an in-joke by graphic designer Chris Wroe, by the third series these images have been edited out where cue to pressure from high up the command chain or just a change attitude at when the programme was being broadcast on a Sunday afternoon in difference to a Monday evening slot. Though the basics of the game are there, the rules themselves seem over complicated. In the category board, the partner of the dart player has to pick the value of the question they want their dart playing partner to hit, ranging from ten, twenty, thirty or fifty for the bull itself rather just a category and the value of the question being for instance twenty pounds plus the bonus amount as well.

But well even before for the game has started, a nearest to the bull board is used to determine the order of play, the board consisting of concentric sections is also called upon if there is a tie, making sometimes the gameplay in these early editions hard to keep up with. Though the pound for pounds second round is a strange affair as the darts players through for the highest scores, rather then being on a pounds for points basis like in later series, the dart players partners can choose question to the value of twenty pounds, fifty or one hundred and one pounds. Whether this was a nod to the start darts scores of 301 or 501 for instance, is not quite revealed during the game play. But it is possible for a couple to have only won maybe only thirty pounds when they get to the prize board, meaning that couples will want to always gamble for the star prize every time with it being a brand new car, caravan or even a speedboat compared to winning the ubiquitous prize of a clock for every room in your house. The first series was seemingly to encourage the players to go for the star prize every time with every little jeopardy of an big amount of money accrued or prizes won at all.

During this series Jim Bowen is charged with doing everything as in asking the questions and taking care of the scoring as well, but sometimes with so much to do he has to rely on other off camera to help him with this, plus also inadvertently putting off players by making jokes of them and when they are throwing, though this seems like putting them at ease, most times it has the opposite effect. Bowen in this first series, does seem jittery about what he is meant to be doing at times, not quite knowing what's coming next. One significant event was to happen during the first series, which was to shape the whole programme from then on. During the series, the voice-over had been ATV Today's Nick Owen out of vision introducing the contestants and also with Bowen doing the scoring, it seemed that the show need some help from someone in the darting know. On the thirteenth edition came Tony Green, then a professional darts player but also as a darts referee as well.

It was this meeting with Harris and Green's own personality which lead to him joining the programme not only for his distinctive voice but also his darts refereeing as well. Out of vision for the first couple of years, Green's role grew bigger and bigger eventually becoming a foil for Bowen's jokes. But by doing this, it showed that the programme was more professional and also had respect for the darts players themselves. The charity throw which Green had been a part of was slowly changed away from just professional darts players in series three, with also celebrities who played darts coming into the mix as well, with them getting a sixty point head start to help boost up the funds if they were to score a relatively small amount of points to be coverted into pounds for charity.

The celebrities who came on were an eclectic mixture from George Best and Jimmy Greaves from the world of Football, 'Mighty' Mo Morland from the Roly Polys, Kenny Lynch and Jimmy Cricket plus from Bullseye own world co-creator Norman Vaughan and also former voice-over artist for the programme Nick Owen, who by 1983 had joined TV-AM. This type of thing combined with best darts players of the day, who by now were household names made Bullseye a hit with viewers. But this was not always so, in 1981 when the programme was placed on Monday evenings after Crossroads, they inherited an audience of thirteen million viewers, but slowly the viewers started to ebb away and by show six, the viewership was down to just over six million viewers but something remarkable happened from show eight as the viewers returned, if it was through sheer curiosity to see how bad this game show was or at that time Terry Wogan would say about it on his Radio Two show, thus people being curious would switch on it see what Terry was going on about and somehow they stuck the show.

Bullseye in itself had been become a 'cult' game show before people had even thought of the term, such like The Golden Shot had been moved from Saturday nights to a Sunday afternoon slot. Bullseye benefited from the same thing happening to it, it its own world even strange things couple happen oblivious to the host even. In the episode where George Best throws for charity, after the programme come back from the advertisement break, in the audience are a group of pensioners passing around a tupperware tube of sandwiches to feed themselves between them. Surreal this may seem, but these things endeared the programme to its viewership, by embracing a warts and all approach to being a game show.

This itself was almost being an anti-game show, wanting to more rougher them some of the more expensive productions going into studios such as LWT's Play Your Cards Right or Punchlines, more homely then Yorkshire's 3-2-1. In earlier series, the losing contestants would get a brass dart shaped chalk holder and also a set of darts plus whatever money they had won, later getting a keyring as well. But like with Yorkshire's 3-2-1, the programme wanted something unique to give away as a constellation prize, the Kirkstall Lane based production gave away a ceramic Dusty Bin to contestants, so it was decided that Bullseye should go down the same route and Peter Harris decided the programme should give away to contestants a 'Bendy Bully', though at first Jim Bowen thought this was not a good idea as it seemed that it would be rubbing salt into the wounds of losing contestants, by giving them something which appeared to be a bit of tat. But Harris decided that it was a good idea to do this and after having graphic designer Chris Wroe make up one as a trial model, he gave the go ahead to mass produce the item to give them away to every contestant who played the game. This in itself became another cult item, for the programme to build its reputation on.

"101 with six darts, three for you and three for you..."

With success comes decline, by the mid 1990's the show was starting to look somewhat dated against newer shows, even with more of a risked gamble introduced to the end game of just winning 'Bus Fare Home', the viewers had been drifting away from the programme and a move to Saturday teatimes did not help the production at all, with the programme beaten by twenty year-old repeats of Dad's Army and what ever else the BBC had to offer and they had to offer a new type of game show which had never been done before one based on a burgeoning sport, that was Big Break. All the traits were there in that show for the BBC which Bullseye had been doing ten years earlier. Even Carlton developed Tenball, a derivative of snooker and pool to replace Bullseye, in a move which had seen ITV going from stone age to space age in just two weeks. By now the schedules were dominated with brash, flash shows done on bigger budgets or Gladiators being only one example. Seemingly Bullseye was old hat, but until when ITV revived it for one week to take in the Gameshow Marathon season in 2005 to celebrate some of ITV's best ever game shows hosted by Ant and Dec, so popular was the edition of Bullseye it came back for the next series of the Gameshow Marathon presented by Vernon Kay.

With the rise of Challenge TV on cable and satellite television at that time, this lead to two new series of the programme presented by former contestant of the show Dave Spikey, who by now had become a successful comedian, regaining a cult audience once again the Bullseye story had gone quiet until Challenge TV had moved onto the Freeview platform in 2011, with them showing old editions of the programme from the early 1990's and the audience who remember the show came back to it once again prompting the purchase of the third, fourth and fifth series of the programme from 1983, 1984 and 1985 respectively. Eventually in 2013, they started to showed the first two series of the programme and as I write this, they are coming to end of series one.

But one thing can be certain, for all of its years its been a 'Super, Smashing, Great' ride to get where the programme is today and with talk of the original format being tweaked again, it may not have been the last we've seen of Bully yet...

Someone to Watch It over us... The story of ITV's Children's Television Presentation

On the 3^rd of January 2013, CITV or by its full title Children's ITV will be thirty years old. Following the documentary broadcast on ITV over the Christmas and New Year period, which concentrated on that period and shown that the service itself was the first to offer national continuity for the children's slot, although not live at first and not the first to do it at all. The programme did try and maybe to set out its own history, but the history of children's television and its programmes on ITV stretches back to the origin of Independent Television itself.

With the launch of Independent Television in 1955, they set out to offer an alternative to the BBC and part of that service was to offer something different from the BBC's Children's

hour. The BBC had started to produce a strand for children called 'For the Children' in 1930's at the dawn of television itself, the first broadcast was ten minutes long on Saturday 24^th April 1937. With a mixture of different presenters, performers, story-telling and songs, the programme seemed more like a miniature theatre show and with a regular slot on Saturday afternoons until September 1939, when the programme was brought off the air by the one thing which would dominate the lives of everyone and more so children for the next seven years, World War Two. The suspension of the television service meant children relied on the radio service where Children's Hours was broadcasting and had been since 1922 and became a vital companion for children everywhere, many of them evacuees away from their own families.

When fighting ceased and the television service returned in 1946, the strand doubled in length to twenty minutes and moved to Sunday afternoons, the first broadcast after the war was on July 7^th 1946. Though during this time, it would see Muffin the Mule make his debut with his “friend” Annette Mills. But by 1952, the 'For the Children' would be dropped with the strand for younger viewers falling under the Watch with Mother strand and the other programmes introduced by continuity announcers. This settled the pattern for the BBC for nearly thirty-five years, but with the launch of the Independent Television service would see children's television change.

Independent Television launched on the 22nd of September 1955 with Associated-Rediffusion on weekdays and ATV at weekend to start broadcasting, followed by services in the Midlands in February 1956 with ATV during weekdays and ABC at weekends plus Granada launching on weekdays in the North and ABC at weekends during May of 1956. With these new companies came, new ideas for the making and broadcasting of children's

television. One of these was Small Time, the daily 15 minute slot for the under five's produced by Associated-Rediffusion and eventually picked up by Southern and Anglia Television plus also some others as well. The slot started on 23rd of September 1955 at 12.15pm with Johnny and Flonny, a series which had glove puppets as their performers as well as their assistant Paul Hansard, the next had one of Britain's biggest entertainers making one of their first appearances. Rolf Harris appeared in the The Big Black Crayon alongside Jean Ford, then on the Wednesday saw Toybox with Susan Spear. But Small Time also started careers in children's television of presenters and programme creators which would go onto bigger things and helped shape ITV's output during the sixties, seventies and beyond.

But this proved, that with one company making making such a slot, that other ITV franchise holders would take their the best of others programmes to be broadcast by themselves. Though this would be a problem, with some regions picking and choosing their programmes and sometimes placing programmes which may have been on family viewing instead.

Come 1957, The Adventures of Twizzle brought the fist ever television project by Gerry Anderson and his production company AP Films to the screens, shortly afterwards in 1958 by Torchy the Battery Boy. Anderson, so synonymously linked with Lord Lew Grade's ATV, had The Adventures of Twizzle distributed by Associated-Rediffusion, Four Feather Falls by Granada. But with APF in financial trouble and following Anderson's direction of low budge feature film Crossroads to Crime for Anglo-Amalgamated Studios, he was struggling to find a buyer for his new project. But if it wasn't for a fortuitous meeting with Lew Grade, who offered to buy the show. With the international success of Supercar meant that Grade finance for Anderson to produce Fireball XL5. With the success of Anderson's next project of Thunderbirds produced between September 1965 and December 1966 going stratospheric, meant that the output from AP Films was significant part of ITV's children's schedules leading to in the mid sixties. As well as the success of the programme being sold all around the world, proving that home based production could be popular both in the United Kingdom but able to bring profit back so money could be spending on making new programmes for children.

But with this, it proved that ITV could compete with the BBC over children's programming. In the early 60's, the BBC had downsized and merged their children's department into one Family Programmes department which meant that all of the children's programming including Blue Peter would be included under this department. With ITV and the federal system that they offered, meant that other regions were still buying in programmes from each other and also material from abroad as well. The powerhouses such as Rediffusion, Granada and ATV would produce programmes with other smaller regions having a contribution to make such as Southern, Anglia and Tyne Tees. Rediffusion brought comedy in the traditional style with Sooty and Harry Corbett moving over from the BBC plus new comedy with Humphrey Barclay overseeing new talents to performing Terry Jones, Michael Palin and also Eric Idle later to go onto merge with with John Cleese and Graham Chapman from Rediffusion's other new comedy show later in the evening, At Last the 1948 Show to form Monty Python. Plus with comic actors Denise Coffey and David Jason as well, they became the performers in Do Not Adjust Your Set from 1967 and such was the success of the programme that it led to it being repeated later in the evening when people got in from work or whatever they were doing during the afternoon so that more people could see this children's programme which had became a cult hit with viewers.

Southern Television had launched How in 1966, as a way to teach children about different aspects of their world around themselves and how it worked. Proving that what seemed like dry facts could be made interesting if they were presented in an entertaining way. Though one man who started on the programme in 1966, would go like the programme for the next 15 years to become one of the best known children's presenters in the country and even going beyond that to become a household name.

Rediffusion, ATV and Granada was proving that the Independent network could make quality programmes that had appeal, but by the late 1960's both the BBC and ITV were to get ready for the decade to come with programme which would a reflection of the world outside the front living room.

Though in 1967, the Independent Television Authority advertised their ITV franchises to start broadcasting in 1968, but with so much rumour and counter-rumour in the air. What was to happen, was to maybe shock and surprise people. But it was to have an effect on children's broadcasting overall, with the franchise round most regions seemed straightforward or were they? The creation of a new Yorkshire region saw applications from all over, but with the Telefusion rentals and pipe-tv group winning the franchise though with the stipulation that they had to take on the management and talent of rival bid Yorkshire Independent Television to form Yorkshire Television. ATV had lost their weekend franchise in London to David Frost's London Weekend but had gained the new seven day Midlands franchise and then came the London Weekday franchise, two companies, Rediffusion London and ABC TV, who provided great service for ITV individually since the inception of commercial television. Though with London Weekend getting the franchise for broadcasting at weekends in London, the new formed Yorkshire Television taking up the area on the east side of the Pennines, so neither could go their either with Lew Grade settled even more so in the Midlands now. Lord Charles Hill had a problem, both franchises had the talent and the management to make one company, more important to our story though was that Rediffusion had a very strong children's department which would be a huge part of ITV in the years to come competing against the BBC.

The small matter of this occurring between Rediffusion and ABC to form a new company taking on the responsibility of broadcasting to London on weekdays, though not a merger of the two companies but it was not quite to have winners either way. From Rediffusion being top banana of ITV, but their investment meant they were now part of a new company called Thames Television. Meaning the children's department at Rediffusion which had been so successful, took one the responsibility of making programmes for itself, but also making programmes to be distributed to the rest of the ITV network.

With the new companies producing new programming such as Magpie from Thames to rival Blue Peter, LWT moving into children's comedy and drama with Catweazle, Yorkshire with Junior Showtime, along with ATV with Captain Scarlet, the latest production from Gerry Anderson's AP Films. But what about the presentation? Because of the federal system of ITV, all the franchises had their own ways of presentation. Usually a normal continuity announcers just being a bit more jovial then usual in their usual suit or dress announcing programmes. Back in the early seventies, plans were mooted to do networked children's continuity in between the programmes. Though each region themselves had a strong sense of its own identity by putting their idents on the front of the programmes, meaning something broadcast by Southern would have the ident at the beginning before the programme even started to show it was from Thames. So the idea of networked children's continuity didn't even leave the ground, though the schedules having fully networked programmes with itself like How and Magpie, would sit alongside Anglia's Survival films and even repeats of family dramas which had been brought in by the various companies.

Over at the BBC, without this problem they were starting to move ahead in the schedules and something needed to be done for at least ITV to get a brand for their children's programming, that it could be identifiable from the other programmes surrounding it, making children feel that the programmes were for themselves like they did on the BBC. The BBC may have had the BBC1 globe before all the programmes, but their menus and captions looked like they were for children's programming. ITV regions had done it, but only the children in each region saw their own identities, leading to puppet characters such as Gus Honeybun and BC becoming such a success in the Westward/TSW and Anglia regions respectively.

Watch It presentation from the early 80's

The change in style came in 1980 when finally the idea of the Watch It branding was formed, the programmes were distributed in the same way that schools programmes were via ATV and it was little surprise that it was conceived there too by the promotions department under Jim Stokoe, who oversaw the style of presentation for schools and colleges. Though not a wholly networked brand at all, ATV supplied animation and stings for each franchise to use at their will and when the seasons changed new one were sent out for companies to use if they wanted. But the continuity announcers stayed meaning that Southern or later TVS and Granada would have their own doing it, but with the logo itself, the animation would have the exclamation mark in the animation osculating to make it look like it was saying 'Watch ITV', subliminal maybe. But the initial idea of Children's ITV came from Lewis Rudd, Rudd had been involved in Children's television since the mid 60's firstly with Rediffusion, through Thames being involved with Magpie, Rainbow and The Sooty Show as a producer later on becoming the Head of the Children's department at Southern and then at the newly formed Central Television in 1982. He suggested a new method of presentation and it was the Central presentation department again with Jim Stokoe which came up with the concept of Children's ITV. An all networked service with regular presentation and presenters which would appear as a united brand to rival the BBC, beating them to the punch.

The way the system for broadcasting the service was itself like the system used for supplying the presentation for ITV's School and Colleges service from Central, whilst the individual companies played out their own programmes and supplied them around the rest of the network. Presentation itself was recorded, featuring faces from the programmes which were being broadcast meaning that the first ever presentation face was Matthew Kelly, already famous for Game for a Laugh, but also presenting the Madabout series for Tyne Tees. Plus taking their turns were Isla St Clair, from The Saturday Show, Mick Robertson formerly of Magpie, now with his new programme Freetime, Tommy Boyd also from Magpie and St. Clair's co-host on The Saturday Show with lots more faces over time. Meaning it had made its mark and the BBC had to fight back with the launch of the Broom Cupboard and Philip Schofield in 1985.

So contrary to ITV's documentary, Children's ITV may have started in 1983 but children's programmes on the independent channel stretched even nearly thirty-years before that. The history of children's television is a long one and also varied in the style, programmes and presentation, but it is an important one to both for continuity and also the way television came to be in the latter part of the 20^th century. But 1983 was not only famous for the launch of united ITV children's service, the BBC's Children's Department also celebrated an anniversary as well, more of which soon.

Whichever way you look at Children's ITV is 30 years old and now has its own channel instead of a strand, giant leaps in 30 years. But if it was not for people like Lewis Rudd and Jim Stokoe, it would have just been a continuity announcer in front of a plain background announcing the children's presentation much like any other time of the day, Watch It and Children's ITV brought colour to the screen and also whole wave of programmes with it as well. 

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