PAGES FROM CEEFAX (BBC1/2 throughout the 1980s)

Memories of spending afternoons during school holidays with nothing better to do than watch these selections of BBC Micro text and graphics (remember the weather house graphic, and the living room pic which heralded the tv pages?) which took up much of daytime BBC1 and BBC2 in the 1980s before all day broadcasting arrived in 1986. Novel for those of us without teletext, and great music accompanying it as well; by the mid 80s we had some nice synth tunes, one of which particularly sticks in my mind.

Nostalgia rating:

Will we see it again? Night times only - BBC2 during downtime at weekends, and weekdays when The Learning Zone is on holiday

PEBBLE MILL AT ONE (BBC1 1973-86)

Dependable middle-of-the-road lunchtime features, chat, music and cookery from the foyer of the BBC's Pebble Mill studios in Birmingham. Usually watched whilst waiting for the 1.45 See-Saw programme to start.

Long-lost names such as Marian Foster, Bob Langley and Josephine Buchan (left)presented, plus Magnus Magnusson joined the team for the final series following the death of Donny MacLeod. Peter Seabrook was in charge of the greenhouse; and wasn't the video for Su Pollard's 1986 hit 'Starting Together' filmed in the grounds of the Mill?!

Nostalgia rating:

Will we see it again? Revived in the 90s as plain Pebble Mill with Alan Titchmarsh, Judi Spiers and regular contributions from the BBC Big Band. It won't be again - especially since the hallowed Pebble Mill building has been bulldozed!

Left: Arthur Lowe appeared on Pebble Mill at One on the day of his death in 1982. Middle: later the same year Donny Macleod attemped to interview a drunken Molly Parkin (fashion designer). Right: Bob Langley talks to Sophia Loren

SIX FIFTY-FIVE SPECIAL/SIX FIFTY-FIVE (BBC2 1981-83)

There were several Pebble Mill spin-offs, particularly in the 1970s, such as the late night chat show Saturday Night at the Mill. In 1981 a kind of early evening version called Six Fifty-five Special surfaced during the Mill's summer break, meaning any hopes Donny and Marian had for a summer break as well were dashed when they found themselves presenting it. By 1983 Paul Coia (best known for Debbie Greenwood) and Tiswas graduate Sally James had taken over; the BBC had obviously decided it was no longer anything particularly Special about it, and the title was reduced to merely reflect its timeslot.

PLAY AWAY (BBC2 1971-84)

"It really doesn't matter if it's raining or it's fine, just as long as you've got time, to P-L-A-Y, Play Away-way, Play Away, Play Away, Play Away, Play Away..."

The comedy-based spin-off from Play School. Aimed at slightly older children, but featuring many of the PS regulars, such as Brian Cant, Carol Chell and Floella Benjamin (Jeremy Irons was also a presenter in the 70s), it was a riot of jokes, comedy, sketches and songs; music always came from Jonathan Cohen at the piano.

Typical childish humour - how do cats go down the M1? Meeeeeeeeeiiiooooowwwwwwwww!!! Well I thought it was funny...

When it ended in 1984, Play Away was succeeded by Fast Forward.

Nostalgia rating:

Will we see it again? Never

PLAY SCHOOL (BBC2/1 1964-88)

The programme which unintentionally opened BBC2 in 1964.

In the early 80s it used the classic orange house titles, and green-framed windows - round, square and arched - and presenters included Fred Harris, Carol Chell, Floella Benjamin, Ben Thomas, Chloe Ashcroft and many others.

There was also the large Play School clock, which introduced the day's story with something vaguely relating to the story in the lower half of the clock structure. No need to mention the toys - we all remember them!

In the autumn of 1983 it was all-change with a new theme tune and titles (right), new set, new presenters including Fraser Hines and - horror of horrors - FOUR windows!

Nostalgia rating:

Will we see it again? Repeats from 1985 were shown on CBBC on Choice on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 1999 and 2000; but that's all. However the spirit of Play School has recently been revived with CBeebies' Tikkabilla, complete with windows and clock!

POP QUIZ (BBC1 1981-84, 1994)

Mike Read was everywhere in the early 80s - not only was he regularly presenting Saturday Superstore and the Radio 1 breakfast show, but he could also be seen hosting this Saturday teatime mullet-fest.

Transmitted in an era dominated by the New Romantics and synthpop, th celebrity teams would invariably feature at least one member of Duran Duran, Ultravox and Spandau Ballet each
week. Pop Quiz is probably best remembered, however,
for the lyric round - history does not relate whether any of
Frankie Goes to Hollywood's songs ever featured in this
round...

Nostalgia rating:

Will we see it again? A brief revival in 1994 saw Chris Tarrant make a rare foray across to the BBC to host; more recent times have seen the Jamie Theakston-fronted A Question of Pop, made watchable by the regular appearance of the one and only Noddy Holder as team captain!

PUZZLE TRAIL (BBC1 1980-84)

Children's puzzle game. The first series I can remember was the third, 1982, series with Tommy Boyd,
which ran daily for two weeks and revolved around a search for hidden treasure. A year later Howard Stableford presented, and in 1984 ex-Monkee Davy Jones took charge.

By the way, what we have here is a world exclusive - the 1984 Puzzle Trail map!!

Nostalgia rating:

Will we see it again? No way

RENTAGHOST (BBC1 1976-84)

Highly popular and incredibly long-running, Rentaghost was the king of childrens' sitcoms for eight years. The series began with ghosts Fred Mumford, Hubert Davenport and the mischevious jester Timothy Claypole returning from the spirit world and teaming up with wheeler dealer Harold Meaker to form an agency called Rentaghost.

Further characters were added in the next few years, including spooks Hazel the McWitch, Tamara Novek and Nadia Popov; Harold's shrill voiced wife Ethel; and department store owner Adam Painting, which must stand as the highlight of Christopher Biggins's career.

As from the 1980 series, there was a change of emphasis. Davenport and the Mumford family left the series, and the set-up changed so that the action was now centered mainly around the Meakers and their domestic life. The Perkins were introduced as their bewildered neighbours, and the slapstick humour was increased. The series had entered its classic, best remembered period (indeed, where most repeat runs have concentrated on). Mr Claypole endeavoured to cause as much havoc as possible, both by himself, and with his robot Jeremy. Meanwhile Scandinavian ghost Nadia Popov, usually seen with 'Tiny Timothy' in hand, sneezed her through each episode and Dobbin the pantomine horse, who spoke only through speech bubbles, - while the long suffering Meakers had to put up with this constant mayhem around them. Yes, the gags were corny, and the visual effects must have looked dodgy even at the time, but it was all part of the fun.

But by the final series, which added Suzie Starlight, the actress posing as a cleaning lady who had an audience in her handbag, Rentaghost was looking tired. By putting a dragon in the Meakers' cellar (cue continual cries of "Don't go into the cellar!!") and ending each episode by having all the characters emerge from the cellar with soot covered faces, it was clear that the ideas had dried up and it was time to bring things to an end.

Writer Bob Block returned a year later, however, with the somewhat less successful Galloping Galaxies.

Nostalgia rating:

Will we see it again? Rentaghost has enjoyed several repeat showings, including on The 8.15 from Manchester in 1991, UK Gold repeats in the mid 90s, a run on BBC Choice in 1999 and in 2003-04 on the CBBC channel's Dick and Dom in Da Bungalow - but if you missed those, I'm afraid you've missed out!

ROOBARB (BBC1 1974-90)

Yes, yes, yes, it's really a 1970s show, but it was also repeated throughout the 80s. And contrary to popular belief, the show was NOT called 'Roobarb and Custard'; it was simply titled Roobarb.

Everyone remembers the jangly tune (which formed the basis of a dance hit by Shaft in 1991), Richard Briers' narration and Roobarb himself, possibly the world's only green dog and his laid back neighbour Custard, possibly the world's only pink cat.

Debuting in October 1974, the show was created by animator Bob Godfrey and writer Grange Calveley. It marked a return to very basic animation techniques - no cells, composites or backgrounds, instead Godfrey simply drew the pictures onto sheets of paper using felt-tip pens. The resulting 'wobbling picture' effect became the show's most distinctive feature. Nine years later Godfrey returned with 'son of Roobarb' - Henry's Cat.

Nostalgia rating:

Will we see it again? Channel 5 (sorry, Five) screened the series in 2004. Meanwhile keep an eye out for Grange Calveley's new series - Roobarb and Custard Too!

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