Welcome back to My 70’s TV Childhood, a British nostalgia podcast about growing up with classic television in 1970s Britain. This week, I’m heading back to 1974 and one of the most talked-about and controversial programmes in the history of British television. The Family was a BBC fly-on-the-wall documentary series that followed the everyday lives of an ordinary working-class family from Reading, and it changed television forever.

But first, a quick reminder that our My 70’s TV Childhood Theme Tune Game is coming very soon. It is a nostalgic family game for people who grew up with 1970s British television, designed to get grandparents, parents and grown-up children around the table, guessing and singing along to the classic TV theme tunes we still remember from childhood. Head to www.my70stvchildhood.com to register your interest. No commitment required.

💬 What to Expect:

• The Television Landscape of 1974: I look back at what British television was like when The Family first aired, three channels, families gathered around one set, and a BBC that carried real authority.
• The Wilkins Family: I introduce Bill, Marg, and their children from Reading, and the lodger Tom Bernes, who became one of Britain’s first reality television stars decades before anyone used that phrase.
• How The Family Was Made: Director Paul Watson and producer Franc Roddam embedded a crew in the family’s daily life for months, capturing meals, arguments, celebrations and boredom in a way that had never been seen on British television before.
• The Controversy: I explore why The Family shocked so many viewers in 1974, from debates about class and privacy to questions about whether the presence of cameras changes the reality they are supposed to be recording.
• The Legacy: I look at how The Family paved the way for everything from observational documentaries to modern reality television, and why the questions it raised are still being argued about today.

Do you remember The Family? I would love to hear your memories, so get in touch and let me know!

Take care,

Oliver

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Welcome back to the My 70s TV Childhood Quiz. This week Round One takes us back to some of the most watched moments in 1970s television, the great Royal events that brought the nation together around the TV set. After that, we have our regular Marathon/Fil Rouge round, the Wheel of Fate landing on 1970 for Name That Tune, and the TV Times general trivia round to finish.

What to Expect:

• Round 1: Royal Ratings Five questions about the most watched Royal events on British television in the 1970s.
• Round 2: Marathon/Fil Rouge Questions drawn from over 200 episodes of the podcast. Regular listeners may have a slight advantage.
• Round 3: Name That Tune (1970) Five theme tunes from shows first broadcast in 1970. You'll need to listen to the podcast for this one.
• Round 4: TV Times General 70s TV trivia. Anything goes.
• Bonus Question One final challenge to separate the casual viewers from the true obsessives.

Grab a pen and paper, settle in with your favourite brew, and let's see how many you can get right. Send your score to [email protected] or drop me a comment on social media.

Take care,

Oliver

🎲 The My 70s TV Childhood Board Game is nearly here!

We are about ready to start manufacturing. But as we get to that point, it would be a huge help if you could let us know whether this is something you might be interested in buying. Any purchases of the game will help towards the costs of producing the podcast, and there is no commitment at this stage.

Register your interest at: https://my70stvchildhood.com/

Connect & Follow

• 👍 Facebook: www.facebook.com/my70stvchildhood
• 📸 Instagram: www.instagram.com/my70stvchildhood
• 🐦 X/Twitter: twitter.com/home
• ▶️ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@my70stvchildhood

This has been a Worth A Listen Production

Get in touch!

Support the show

Welcome back to My 70’s TV Childhood, a British nostalgia podcast about growing up with classic television in 1970s Britain. This week, with the World Cup just around the corner, I’m heading back to Argentina 1978, the tournament that made me a lifelong football fan and one of the most dramatic World Cups in history.

But first, a quick reminder that our My 70’s TV Childhood Theme Tune Game is coming very soon. It is a nostalgic family game for people who grew up with 1970s British television, designed to get grandparents, parents and grown-up children around the table, guessing and singing along to the classic TV theme tunes we still remember from childhood. Head to www.my70stvchildhood.com to register your interest. No commitment required.

💬 What to Expect:

• The World Cup in the 1970s: I reflect on what the World Cup meant to children growing up in 1970s Britain, and how different the experience was from the mega broadcast event we have today.
• England’s Absence: I look back at England’s failure to qualify for both 1974 and 1978, and what it felt like as a child to be left out in the cold.
• Panini Sticker Albums: I dig out my old Panini sticker collections and relive the thrill of peeling open packets, the smell of fresh stickers, and the endless search for the ones you still needed.
• Ally’s Army: I revisit Scotland’s extraordinary journey to Argentina 1978, from the 25,000 fans who came to Hampden to wave them off to the heartbreak that followed.
• The Argentina 78 Tournament: Mario Kempes, ticker tape, late-night matches, arguments with parents about bedtimes, and one of the most controversial results in World Cup history.
• Opening My 2026 Panini Album: I open my brand new World Cup sticker album live on the podcast. Only 983 stickers still to find.

Are you looking forward to the World Cup? And do you remember Argentina 1978? Get in touch and let me know!

Take care,

Oliver

Connect & Follow

• 👍 Facebook: www.facebook.com/my70stvchildhood
• 📸 Instagram: www.instagram.com/my70stvchildhood
• 🐦 X/Twitter: twitter.com/home
• ▶️ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@my70stvchildhood

This has been a Worth A Listen Production.

Get in touch!

Support the show

Welcome back to the My 70s TV Childhood Quiz. This week we have a bit of a milestone: it is our 70th quiz, which I think gives a very pleasing bit of synergy to our whole 1970s theme. To mark the occasion, Round One is dedicated to the wonderful world of Hanna-Barbera cartoons. I will give you a catchphrase and you have to tell me which character said it. After that, we have our regular Marathon/Fil Rouge round, a spin of the Wheel of Fate for Name That Tune 1979, and the TV Times general trivia round to finish.

What to Expect:

• Round 1: Yabba Dabba Doo! Five Hanna-Barbera catchphrases. Can you name the character behind each one?
• Round 2: Marathon/Fil Rouge Questions drawn from over 200 episodes of the podcast. Regular listeners may have a slight advantage.
• Round 3: Name That Tune (1979) Five theme tunes from shows first broadcast in 1979. You'll need to listen to the podcast to play this one.
• Round 4: TV Times General 70s TV trivia. Anything goes.
• Bonus Question One final challenge to separate the casual viewers from the true obsessives.

Grab a pen and paper, settle in with your favourite brew, and let's see how many you can get right. Send your score to [email protected] or drop me a comment on social media.

Take care,

Oliver

🎲 The My 70s TV Childhood Board Game is nearly here!

I have been working on something very exciting behind the scenes. I have designed a playable game version of the theme tune round, something you can sit down and enjoy at home with family and friends, and I am getting ready to launch it very soon. Thank you to everyone who has already registered their interest. If you have not yet done so, it would be a huge help if you could let me know whether you might like to buy one. There is no commitment at this stage.

Register your interest at: https://my70stvchildhood.com/

Connect & Follow

• 👍 Facebook: www.facebook.com/my70stvchildhood
• 📸 Instagram: www.instagram.com/my70stvchildhood
• 🐦 X/Twitter: twitter.com/home
• ▶️ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@my70stvchildhood

This has been a Worth A Listen Production.

Get in touch!

Support the show

Welcome back to My 70's TV Childhood, a British nostalgia podcast about growing up with classic television in 1970s Britain. This week, I'm paying tribute to the much-loved TV presenter Judith Chalmers, who passed away this week aged 90. Judith was synonymous with one thing for millions of us who grew up in 1970s Britain, and that was holidays. As one of the original hosts of ITV's long-running holiday show Wish You Were Here, she spent decades opening our eyes to the world beyond Blackpool and Bognor, and in doing so became one of the great communicators in classic British television history.

🎲 Exciting News: The My 70s TV Childhood Board Game!

I've been working on something very exciting behind the scenes. I've created a playable game version of the theme tune round, something you can sit down with at home, with family and friends, and I'm getting ready to launch it very soon. To help me estimate demand, I'd really appreciate it if you could let me know whether you might be interested in buying the game.

💬 What to Expect:

• Post-War Holidays: I look back at what holidays meant for British families before the package holiday, from seaside B&Bs with formidable landladies to holiday camps like Pontins and Butlins.
• Goodbye Bognor, Hello Benidorm: How affordable air travel and the package holiday transformed the way families growing up in 1970s Britain spent their two weeks, and how quickly the change happened.
• Holiday on the BBC: I revisit the BBC's long-running holiday show, which began life in 1969 as Holiday '69 and opened British eyes to a whole world of possibilities.
• Wish You Were Here on ITV: I celebrate Judith Chalmers and the show that defined classic British television holiday coverage, from the Isle of Man to the Greek islands.
• The Downside of the Package Holiday: Half-built hotels, sausage beans and chips, and the annual collapse of a tour operator. Not everything went to plan.
• A Tribute to Judith Chalmers: A broadcaster who genuinely changed the way a generation thought about travel.
• What were your 70s holidays like? Did you make it to Spain or Greece, or was it more like Bangor or Bridlington? Get in touch and let me know!

Take care,

Oliver

• 👍 Facebook: www.facebook.com/my70stvchildhood
• 📸 Instagram: www.instagram.com/my70stvchildhood
• 🐦 X/Twitter: twitter.com/home
• ▶️ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@my70stvchildhood

Get in touch!

Support the show

Welcome back to the My 70s TV Childhood Quiz, or if you're joining me for the first time, a very warm welcome to you. This week I'm casting my mind back to the golden age of television talent shows, specifically the two great ones of the 1970s: Opportunity Knocks and New Faces. Whether it was Hughie Green's legendary sincerity or the famously sharp panel on New Faces, both shows launched some extraordinary careers. Round One asks you to decide which show gave each act their big break. After that, we've got our usual Marathon/Fil Rouge round, a spin of the Wheel of Fate for Name That Tune, and all the general 70s TV trivia you can handle.

What to Expect:

• Round 1: Britain Had Talent! Five famous performers. Did they get their big break on Opportunity Knocks or New Faces? You have a fifty percent chance of getting each one right.
• Round 2: Marathon/Fil Rouge Questions drawn from over 200 episodes of the podcast. Regular listeners may have a slight advantage.
• Round 3: Name That Tune landed. 5 theme tunes from shows first broadcast in 1977. You'll need to listen to the podcast for this one.
• Round 4: TV Times General 70s TV trivia. Anything goes.
• Bonus Question One final challenge to separate the casual viewers from the true obsessives.

Grab a pen and paper, pour yourself something nice, and let's see how many you can get right. Send your score to [email protected] or drop me a comment on social media. I love hearing from you.

Take care,

Oliver

🎲 Exciting News: The My 70s TV Childhood Board Game!

I've been working on something very exciting behind the scenes. I've created a playable game version of the theme tune round, something you can sit down with at home, with family and friends, and I'm getting ready to launch it very soon. To help me estimate demand, I'd really appreciate it if you could let me know whether you might be interested in buying the game.

Register your interest at: https://my70stvchildhood.com/

Connect & Follow

• 👍 Facebook: www.facebook.com/my70stvchildhood
• 📸 Instagram: www.instagram.com/my70stvchildhood
• 🐦 X/Twitter: twitter.com/home
• ▶️ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@my70stvchildhood

Get in touch!

Support the show

Welcome back to My 70s TV Childhood! This week, I'm celebrating the 100th birthday of a broadcasting icon, a true national treasure, and seemingly a wonderful man. Sir David Attenborough turns 100, and I'm looking back at his extraordinary life, his career, and in particular, the landmark 1979 series that changed television and changed our relationship with the natural world: Life on Earth.

But first, I have some exciting news about our My 70s TV Childhood theme tune quiz game. We're about to start manufacturing, and we'd really appreciate it if you could let us know whether this is something you might be interested in buying. Head to www.my70stvchildhood.com and register your interest. There's no commitment at this point, but it helps us get our production numbers right.

Register your interest at: https://www.my70stvchildhood.com

💬 What to Expect:

A Century of Curiosity: I trace David Attenborough's remarkable life from a boy collecting fossils in Leicester to the most trusted voice in British broadcasting, via a stint as one of the BBC's most powerful executives.

Zoo Quest and the Accidental Presenter: How Attenborough was never meant to be on camera, stepped in when the regular presenter fell ill, and changed television history.

The Making of Life on Earth: The extraordinary story behind the 1979 series, from the BBC's financial gamble to the three years of filming across dozens of countries with heavy equipment, no digital technology, and no way of checking footage until the film was developed.

The Mountain Gorillas: I revisit one of the most iconic moments in television history, Attenborough sitting quietly amongst the gorillas of Rwanda in a scene of astonishing tenderness that changed how we saw these animals forever.

Britain in the Late 1970s: I look at what Britain was like when Life on Earth aired, with only three television channels, no streaming, and a country that watched together, and how the series arrived at precisely the right moment.

A Legacy of Wonder: How Life on Earth paved the way for every landmark nature documentary that followed, and why David Attenborough's curiosity, humility, and quiet authority have made him one of the great communicators in British cultural history.

What memories do you have of Sir David Attenborough? Do you remember Life on Earth? Get in touch and let me know!

Take care,

Oliver

Connect & Follow

• 👍 Facebook: www.facebook.com/my70stvchildhood
• 📸 Instagram: www.instagram.com/my70stvchildhood
• 🐦 X/Twitter: twitter.com/home
• ▶️ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@my70stvchildhood

This has been a Worth A Listen Production.

📲 Connect & Follow

Get in touch!

Support the show

This week we’re packing our bags. Round One is all about 1970s TV shows set in foreign countries. Can you name where each one was set? Summer holidays start here.

What to Expect:

Round 1: Viva España! – Five 1970s TV shows, all set abroad. Can you name the country?

Round 2: Marathon/Fil Rouge – Questions drawn from our back catalogue of over 200 episodes. Have you been paying attention?

Round 3: Name That Tune (1972) – Five theme tunes from shows first broadcast in 1972. You’ll need to listen to the podcast for this one!

Round 4: TV Times – General 70s telly knowledge.

Bonus Question – One final challenge to separate the casual viewers from the true 70s TV obsessives.

Grab a pen and paper, settle in with your favourite brew, and let’s see how many you can get right!

Send your score to: [email protected]

Take the quiz on our blog: https://www.my70stvchildhood.com

Take care,

Oliver

🎲 Exciting News – The My 70s TV Childhood Board Game!

We have been working on something very exciting behind the scenes.

We have designed a playable game version of our theme tune round – something you can sit down with at home, with family and friends – and we are getting ready to launch very soon.

To help us with demand, it would be really helpful if you could let us know whether you might be interested in buying the game. All proceeds will go towards the costs of producing the My 70s TV Childhood podcast.

Thanks to everyone who has already registered their interest – it looks like this is going to be a must for nostalgic 70s kids!

Register your interest at: https://www.my70stvchildhood.com

Connect & Follow

• 👍 Facebook: www.facebook.com/my70stvchildhood
• 📸 Instagram: www.instagram.com/my70stvchildhood
• 🐦 X/Twitter: twitter.com/home
• ▶️ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@my70stvchildhood

This has been a Worth A Listen Production.

Get in touch!

Support the show

Welcome back to My 70s TV Childhood! In this episode, I celebrate one of the most beloved characters in British television history, Basil Brush. He was a fox, a puppet, a national treasure, and a firm Saturday teatime favourite for millions of families throughout the 1970s.

But first, I have some exciting news about our My 70s TV Childhood quiz game, which is now in pre-production. If you'd like to register your interest in buying one, please visit www.my70stvchildhood.com and let us know!

💬 What to Expect:

The Birth of Basil: I trace Basil's origins back to 1962 when Peter Firmin, yes, the man behind the Clangers and Bagpuss, first created a fox glove puppet for a show called The Three Scampis.

David Nixon and the Sidekick Years: Basil's early days as a sidekick to the great TV magician David Nixon, and how the little fox kept upstaging his partner.

The Basil Brush Show: From 1968 onwards, Basil had his own Saturday teatime show, and I look at the format that made it such a family favourite, from the comedy sketches to the musical guests and story time.

Ivan Owen, the Man Behind the Fox: I celebrate the extraordinary puppeteer and voice artist who brought Basil to life and who kept such a low profile that he never gave a television interview, because he didn't want to break the spell.

Mr Derek, Mr Roy and the Companions: I remember the brilliant straight men who worked alongside Basil, from Derek Fowlds to Roy North, and the chemistry that made the show so special.

Musical Guests and Story Time: From Petula Clark to Demis Roussos, the top artists who queued up to perform alongside Basil, and the wonderful story time segments featuring Basil's ancestors and relatives.

Do you remember the Basil Brush Show? Was your family watching and laughing together on a Saturday teatime? Get in touch and let me know!

Take care,

Oliver

📲 Connect & Follow

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/my70stvchildhood
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/my70stvchildhood/
• X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/home
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@my70stvchildhood

Get in touch!

Support the show

This week we’re heading into space. Round One is all about the worlds of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, UFO, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and Space: 1999.

Strap in.

What to Expect:

Round 1: Race Into Space – Five questions on Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s sci-fi worlds. A quick note: some of the shows referred to were made in the 1960s but were regularly shown throughout the 1970s.

Round 2: Marathon/Fil Rouge – Questions drawn from our back catalogue of over 200 episodes. Have you been paying attention?

Round 3: Name That Tune (1975) – Five theme tunes from shows first broadcast in 1975. You’ll need to listen to the podcast for this one!

Round 4: TV Times – General 70s telly knowledge.

Bonus Question – One final challenge to separate the casual viewers from the true 70s TV obsessives.

Grab a pen and paper, settle in with your favourite brew, and let’s see how many you can get right!

Send your score to: [email protected]

Take the quiz on our blog: https://www.my70stvchildhood.com

Take care,

Oliver

AND.... 🎲 Exciting News – The My 70s TV Childhood Board Game!

We have been working on something very exciting behind the scenes.

A physical, playable version of our theme tune quiz – something you can sit down with at home, with family and friends.

We’re currently in pre-production and getting ready to manufacture. And it seems like lots of you already fancy playing at home – thank you to everyone who has filled in the form so far!

There’s no commitment at this stage. We just need to get our production numbers right.

If you’d be interested, please let us know at: https://www.my70stvchildhood.com

Any purchases will help towards the costs of producing the podcast. More details to follow very soon!

Connect & Follow

• 👍 Facebook: www.facebook.com/my70stvchildhood
• 📸 Instagram: www.instagram.com/my70stvchildhood
• 🐦 X/Twitter: twitter.com/home
• ▶️ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@my70stvchildhood

This has been a Worth A Listen Production.

Get in touch!

Support the show