Clik here to view.
How I Wrote Lytton’s Diary: Writer Ray Connolly Tells All
Nearly four decades after its pilot episode aired, Lytton's Diary writer, Ray Connolly, remembers the series being a big hit with the very people it was profiling "All the journalists I knew loved it....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Curious British Telly Enters the Betamax Age
Yes, the rumours are true, Curious British Telly has finally invested in a Betamax player. It's something I've wanted to get hold of for years, ever since I first started trawling through old VHS...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Archive Tape Digging: June 2023 (Betamax Special)
It's been a long old time since I last did an edition of Archive Tape Digging, a situation enforced on me by a lack of tapes in the last few years. Sure, I've picked up a few in the last year, but in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
I've Dug Up the 1976 Christmas BBC1 Ident
I wasn't aware, until the last 24 hours, that the 1976 Christmas BBC1 ident had only been preserved in a particularly poor picture quality. However, after I stumbled across some Christmas 1976...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Peek Into the Secretive Realm of Farewell Ceremonies
Death is an inevitable part of life, and every culture has unique customs and rituals surrounding funerals and farewell ceremonies.In the United Kingdom, funeral directors play a crucial role in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Bertha Comic Strip From September 1986
Digging through my pile of Buttons comics, which I picked up on Ebay a few years back, I spotted this exclusive Bertha comic strip and thought it would make a fine addition to Curious British Telly. It...
View ArticleClik here to view.
If You See God, Tell Him
Society has been bombarded with adverts ever since the first marketing guru climbed out of the swamp and tried flogging cheap holidays to trilobites. A rather whimsical take on the history of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Peek Into the Secretive Realm of Farewell Ceremonies
Death is an inevitable part of life, and every culture has unique customs and rituals surrounding funerals and farewell ceremonies.In the United Kingdom, funeral directors play a crucial role in...
View ArticleYouTube Pick of the Day: Tees Street Isn't Working (1985)
The Thames channel on YouTube is packed full of fantastic gems from the archive, and that's exactly where today's YouTube Pick of the Day comes from. The video itself is part of an edition of current...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Four Fantastic Minutes Straight from 1979
My ongoing quest to salvage ephemeral goodness from British television's distant past continues, and, once again, I've been able to dig all the way back into the 1970s. And it's all courtesy of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Random Episode: Thinkabout (25/11/1985)
Over the many years that Curious British Telly has been running, I've covered plenty of children's programmes which have become obscured by the mists of time. However, barely any of these have fallen...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Remembering Paul O’Grady’s Cheeky Forgotten Sitcom “Eyes Down
Welcome to The Rio bingo hall in Liverpool. It’s where short-tempered manager Ray Temple (Paul O’Grady) tries to corral his lackadaisical staff and impress the elderly collection of customers who...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Don't Forget About the Curious British Telly Substack
Just a quick reminder that the Curious British Telly Substack is alive and well. If you're not familiar with Substack, then read on. Substack is, in fact, many things: a newsletter, a blog, a website...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New 'Old' Episode of Bric-a-Brac Emerges onto YouTube
In what can only be described as excellent news, Neil Miles (tape archaeologist extraordinaire) has captured a complete episode of Bric-a-Brac and uploaded it to YouTube. Starring the inimitable and...
View ArticleIs it Time to Revive the British Superhero Classic Misfits?
British television writers are famous for offering their unique takes on classic themes, and the way that Misfits subverted superhero themes was a prime example of that. The black comedy from Howard...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A King Rollo Comic Strip from July 1983
Digging deep into my collections of Buttons comics, most of which I picked up in a job lot off Ebay in 2021, I found this charming King Rollo adventure which I just had to share. It's from the 23rd...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Betamax Find: Claire Rayner's Casebook (Homosexuality)
Every now and then, I come across something on an old video tape which strikes a chord with people. At the weekend, I dug up a 1983 edition of Claire Rayner's Casebook, a series which looked at the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Book of Beasts - Out Now!
Beasts is one of the calling cards of 1970s British folk horror, and this is an unarguable fact. Unless, of course, you haven't watched it. And, in that case, you need to rectify this immediately. Each...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Betamax Find: In Front of the Children (1983)
There’s not a person in the country who didn’t love at least one children’s programme on the BBC whilst growing up. It’s an impossible proposition, the quality of the output was simply too high. And,...
View ArticleA Mirror Into Society: The Good Life 1975 Series
On this date: 1975 - The first episode of The Good Life was shown on BBC1. pic.twitter.com/Ze4a4q5Spf— 🇬🇧📺 Classic British TV 📺🇬🇧 (@Classicbritcom) April 4, 2022Mentioning this archetypal film, The...
View Article