Are you struggling to think of what to get for that difficult to buy for relative who has apparently no discernible hobbies or interests whatsoever but does have a studied disdain for the impersonal nature of ‘vouchers’? Have you ever heard them bemoan their failure to get a painting in The Gallery on Take Hart, struggle to accurately recall whether Farmer Jonathan Bell lived in Camberwick Green, Trumpton or Chigley, wistfully get a bit flushed when reminded of a Grange Hill character who set their adolescent heart a-flutter or randomly exclaim “I think I’ll have… strawberry” when presented with a bewildering array of menu options? Do you think they would enjoy a book all about all of the programmes that they grew up watching that somehow finds room for both considered studies of social and technological shifts in public viewing habits and jokes about Henry’s Cat‘s proliferation of theme tunes? Then look no further than The Golden Age Of Children’s TV, which has all of the above and much much more. It’s the ideal Christmas or birthday gift for them, or indeed for yourself if you feel like bolstering your meagre stocking haul a bit. After all, that is the real meaning of Christmas. If you don’t count the Watch Nativity.

In The Golden Age Of Children’s TV you’ll find chapters on Saturday (and Sunday) morning shows, pre-school and storytelling slots, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, Smallfilms, comedy, drama, light entertainment and game shows, factual shows, the lunchtime slot, imports, the five-minute animations before the news and all of those programmes that weren’t actually children’s shows but were so close to them in the schedules that you were usually allowed to watch them anyway – even if you weren’t allowed to ‘stay up’ for Kenny Everett. There’s in-depth looks at Thunderbirds, Jackanory, Tiswas, Multicoloured Swap Shop, Look And Read, Educating Marmalade, Camberwick Green, Trumpton and Chigley, The Magic Roundabout, The Box Of Delights, The Singing Ringing Tree, Captain Zep – Space Detective, The Adventure Game, Blue Peter and Clangers, a history of the often not very well thought-out linking bits between the programmes, and even room for a look at Look-In. In fact, a little like that grid at the back of Look-In listing all of the scheduling variations for the ITV regions, you’ll be surprised how much there is in it and how many of those shows you’ve never heard of. From Play School and Crackerjack! (CRACKERJACK!) to Billy’s Christmas Angels and Hey! It’s My Birthday Too!, if there was anything worth saying about it then it’s in there. Yes, even Wil Cwac Cwac. There actually was something to say about him after all.

If you still want to know more about what you can find in The Golden Age Of Children’s TV though – and what I might have to say about it – then, handily, here’s a chat I had about the book with Garreth Hirons…

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You can get The Golden Age Of Children’s TV in all good bookshops and from Waterstones here, Amazon here, from the Kindle Store here and directly from Black And White Publishing here.

You can also find several editions of a tie-in podcast for The Golden Age Of Children’s TV here along with tie-in features on Tiswas and Swap Shop here, Clangers here, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s ‘Supermarionation’ shows here and The Box Of Delights here.

© Tim Worthington.
Please don’t copy this only with more italics and exclamation marks.