TREASURE HUNT (Channel 4 1982-89, BBC2 2002-03)

Channel 4 was barely on air before one of its best known programmes took to the air (quite literally!). Treasure Hunt is invariably best remembered for the jumpsuited 'skyrunner' Anneka Rice's posterior, as filmed by Graham Berry the cameraman as he raced after her on the way to finding another clue, and then back to the helicopter, piloted by Keith Thompson - both of whom managed to become minor celebrities themselves on the show.

In contrast to the breathless Annie, former BBC newsman Kenneth Kendall remained cool-headed back at base as he guided two contestants through the five cryptic clues on their way
to a £1000 prize. In 1985 (the same year that Channel 4 finally arrived in my area!) TV-am's Wincey Willis joined the team, to stand aloof by her map in the corner of the studio and track the helicopter's progress.

By 1989 Anneka had left for her own, similarly frantic series at the BBC, Challenge Anneka,
and her place was taken by tennis player Annabel Croft - by which time Treasure Hunt's
days were numbered.

Nostalgia rating:

Will we see it again? Briefly revived by BBC2 with a similiar authoritative newsreader/frantic female combination of Dermot Murnaghan and Suzi Perry. Keith the pilot somehow managed to survive, but the Wincey Willis role was replaced by a satellite tracking device. Such is progress...

TREVOR AND SIMON Going Live! (1987-91, 1992-93), Live and Kicking (1993-97)

Often regarded as the pinnacle of the BBC's Saturday morning shows, the launch of Going Live! in 1987 introduced a new key element - comedy. Though its predecessor Saturday Superstore had dabbled in comedy, with their own soap opera set at the Crow's Road motel, Going Live! took things a stage further by bringing in their own in-house comedy double act - Trevor and Simon. And apart from a years' break in 1991-92, they remained a fixture of Saturday mornings for a whole decade.

Many of their sketches involved embarrassing that week's show's celebrity guests, most notably in the Singing Corner (above middle - "Swing Your Pants!"). Other recurring sketches included Theatre Shop with Robin and Ray (above right); the wheeling-and-dealing Sister Brothers; A Sofa for Two with Three; the Driving Test; the Open University spoof Encyclomedia; Looniversity Challenge; Art For 'Em; Blimey That's Good! (below left); the shopping channel PVC; and their various shops - Ken and Eddie Kennedy's barbers (below middle), the dry cleaners The Draper Brothers ("We don't do duvets!") and the record shop ("We don't do discs!").

In 1993, when Going Live! became Live and Kicking (above right), Trevor and Simon were given their own chance to put their own unique stamp on the video vote slot with the Video Garden, Video Goldmine, Video Galleon and Video Grand Prix. For their final year of L&K, rather than having their sketches distributed liberally throughout the programme, the duo found themselves shoehorned into a self-contained slot, Transmission Impossible, which was repeated on Thursday evenings. As with their earlier one-off special in 1995, The Trevor and Simon Summer Special, this did not show the duo in their best light. Added to the fact that they have hardly been heard of on television since, perhaps it's true to say they needed Saturday mornings as much as Saturday mornings needed them.

Nostalgia rating:

Will we see it again? After being killed stone dead by ITV and Ant and Dec, BBC Saturday mornings were revived by Dick and Dom. But as for their forebears, who knows? Where are you, Trevor and Simon?!

Above: MC Mick McMax, the man in the mix, and Moon Monkey in the Pot Fish Hot Pop Rave Club (with thanks to Pot Fish - Britain's number one instant fish snack in a pot)

VIDEO CLIPS
Advertisement for the Singing Corner's latest album, 'Zoo' Pot Fish Hot Pop Rave Club

TURNABOUT (BBC1 1990-96)

All right then, it's not an 80s show at all. But I included it anyway because of (a) the odd theme tune and (b) its similarity to Beat the Teacher.

Long time London Plus/Newsroom South East regular Rob Curling was the host, and the gameplay was similar in many ways to the Beat the Teacher noughts and crosses board, although this time it was computer generated spheres, which changed colours three ways for the three contestants.

Nostalgia rating:

Will we see it again? I think not

ULTRA QUIZ (ITV 1983-85)

Coming to us courtesy of TVS, this was a large-scale elimination game show for summer Saturday evenings. Hosted by Michael Apsel, and based on a Japanese concept, the first episode on Brighton Beach saw the initial 1,000 contestants quickly reduced to 200 through a series of true and false questions.

Subsequent programmes came from locations ranging from the Mid-Hants Railway to Paris to Hong Kong, where various games and challenges gradually whittled the contestants down until there were two remaining in the studio-bound final episode. The winner bagged £1,000 - his prize was released from the studio wall, made up of a thousand £1 coins.

Nostalgia rating:

Will we see it again? Two more series saw David Frost and then Stu Francis (yes, really!) take charge. Not seen since 1985, but the Ultra Quiz seems just the kind of format that will probably get revived at some point, if not necessarily in name.

WHY DON'T YOU..? (BBC1 1973-95)

Possibly the only television programme ever which advised its viewers not to watch television, Why Don't You Just Switch Off Your Television Set and Go Off and Do Something Less Boring Instead was a fixture of children's programming in the school holidays for over 20 years.

In its heyday, the 1980s, it was shown every morning throughout the holidays. Several Why Don't You..? gangs based at various BBC regional centres - usually Bristol, Cardiff, Newcastle or Belfast - would bring us (usually viewer suggested) ideas for activities, and games to play during the long holidays.

For what it's worth, I'll point out that Ant McPartlin, of Ant and Dec fame, was a member of the Newcastle gang in 1988. At around the same time, the show seemed to start taking on more of a comedy/drama slant. I remember the Cardiff gang's stints circa 1988/89 taking this to new heights with the 'things to do' concept becoming almost submerged beneath the plotlines, and the children began to become 'characters' in their own right.

After reverting to its original format, Why Don't You..? finally fizzled out in the mid 90s.

Nostalgia rating:

Will we see it again? Pretty unlikely

WILLO THE WISP (BBC1 1981-87)

Great animation, a stalwart of the 5.35 slot in the early 80s. Willo the Wisp him/itself was a caricature of Kenneth Williams, who provided its voice. But aside from introducing each episode, the character played little further part in the story, and the action instead turned to Arthur, the talkative caterpillar who dreamt of becoming a moth; Mavis Cruet, the overweight fairy who couldn't fly; The Moog, the incredibly dense dog; and the scary Evil Edna, the television set-shaped witch, which I found easily the most frightening thing on television!

In 1982, Willo the Wisp became the weekly comic strip in the Radio Times:

Nostalgia rating:

Will we see it again? Channel 4 aired early morning repeats in the 1990s. I'm not aware of any showings on satellite/cable/digital now, but I could be wrong...

YOU AND ME (BBC1/2 1974-95)

If you're the same age as me, you won't consider the Cosmo and Dibs/politically correct/UB40
theme tune era to be the 'real' You and Me. Before 1984 this pre-school series would typically
be centered round Alice the hamster and Crow the crow, who were animated using the
stop-frame technique; alternatively you may have bumped into Duncan the Dragon, or even
Purrfecta and Mr Bits and Pieces.

In this era the programme started with a more upbeat theme tune, and a title sequence which showed building blocks spinning round to spell out the programme title. The true 1980s You
and Me experience, of course, always had to begin with watching two minutes' worth of music and a static slide showing the aforementioned building blocks (see video clip).

Nostalgia rating:

Will we see it again? Doubt it

1984?

As you trawl through The Eighties Zone, you may notice a strange trend - that 1984 seems to have been a bad year for BBC children's television. Many famous series, some very long running, found themselves facing the axe, including Animal Magic, Crackerjack, Grandad, Jigsaw, Play Away, Rentaghost, Screen Test, Take Hart, Think of a Number and Wildtrack.

So what was the monumental event that took place in 1984 leaving so many children's classics on the TV scrapheap? Coincidence? Or is there something more sinister at work?

LINKS: Of course there are many more classic shows I could have included, but there are several websites around which provide much greater depth. For example, check out the The Trumptonshire Web, and sites devoted to Bagpuss, Magic Roundabout, Ivor the Engine, Pigeon Street, and The Wombles.

And see TV Cream for a more (sometimes unfairly) cynical guide to every classic 70s and 80s show you can think of. Warning - don't believe their dates!