Answer: Goodies
Ah, an oldie, but a goodie! The "Goodies', which aired on the BBC, gave us 12 years of laughs and madcap antics from 1970 - 1982.
In all, 67 half-hour episodes, as well as two forty-five-minute Christmas specials, were made. The series was created and written by the three main stars, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie. The three met as undergraduates at the University of Cambridge and were contemporaries of John Cleese and Eric Idle.
Perhaps one of the most famous episodes was episode 2.7 'Kitten Kong'. Interestingly, this was entered in the Montreax TV Festival in 1972 where it won the Silver Rose. However, in episode 3.1 'The New Office', Tim, ever the comedian, is seen painting it gold.
Sadly, in 2020, Tim Brooke-Taylor died on April 12, at the age of 79, after contracting COVID.
From Quiz: Best of British TV Shows (1970s)
Answer: Big Brother
"Big Brother" was devised and first broadcast in The Netherlands in 1999, but soon made the jump to the UK and to many other countries - by August 2021 there'd been over 500 series broadcast in over 60 countries. The UK version made stars out of presenter Davina McCall as well as some contestants such as "Naughty Nick" (Nick Bateman) and Jade Goody. After 11 series on Channel 4, in 2011 the programme moved to Channel 5 for a further eight series until it was taken off air in 2018. There have, of course, been innumerable spin-off programmes. There are many debates to be had about the nature of the programme and its effects upon the societal and cultural life of the nation.
From Quiz: Classic UK TV Show Premieres
Answer: Emu
Michael Parkinson was a serious talk show host. Even top US stars like Muhammad Ali would appear.
Whether he knew in advance or not, one guest was to turn the tables, the entertainer Rod Hull with his mannequin Emu. The stuffed emu had Hull's right hand up its neck and into into beak. Hull would talk, while the beak made 'faces'. During the interview in 1976, Emu's beak suddenly grabbed Parkinson by one leg pretending to bite. While Parkinson tried to keep his cool, it was clear to viewers that he was totally offended.
Over the years 'Parky' interviewed people such Anthony Hopkins, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Joan Rivers, John Lennon, Tom Cruise, Jimmy Cagney, and Tom Hanks. Comedian Billy Connolly appeared 15 times. It is doubtful if any British talkshow host before or since got to meet as many 'A listers' as Parkinson, yet he was to say later: "The only thing I'm ever remembered for is being attacked by that bloody bird."
From Quiz: Great British Talkshow Moments
Answer: Ernest Grainger
"Are You Being Served?" ran for ten series between 1972 and 1985. There are 69 episodes in all, including five Christmas Specials. The spin off, which first aired in 1992, is called "Grace & Favour" in the UK and "Are You Being Served? Again!" in the U.S. and Canada.
A 40-year veteran of Grace Brothers, Mr Grainger was invariably grumpy, often half asleep (and sometimes more than half), and generally sported a tape measure draped around his shoulders.
Born Frederick Arthur Baker in Petersfield, Hampshire in 1905, Arthur Brough played Mr Grainger for the first five seasons of "Are You Being Served?". The actor's death in 1978 led to the character's replacement first by Mr Percival Tebbs (played by James Hayter) and then by Harry Goldberg (Alfie Bass).
Trivia buffs might note the first names of the alternatives options, as these are all the subject of popular quiz questions.
From Quiz: UK TV Shows of Yesteryear
Answer: Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson
All the incorrect answers played couples in dramas about the war, but it was Branagh and Thompson who played the Pringles. The six novels on which it was based were much inspired by author Olivia Manning's real life experiences, when she and her husband were taken by surprise by the outbreak of war and had to flee from Bucharest across the Balkans and into the Middle East staying just ahead of invading Nazi forces.
From Quiz: Their Finest Hour
Answer: Mary Elizabeth Jennifer Rachel Abergavenny
"Betty" Slocombe is remembered for her varying hair colours, orange, green, blue, violet, and for her catch-phrase "I am unanimous in that. She was the senior in the Lady's Department and owed a cat named "Tiddles" to whom she quite often referred as "my pussy".
"Are You Being Served?" was written by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, and ran from 1972 until 1985. It was set in the fictional Grace Brothers Department Store, in London, in the Ladies' and Gentlemens' Clothing Department. At first the BBC disliked the pilot episode and refused to put it to air. However, they decided to use it as a "filler" due to the Munich massacre at the 1972 Olympics. The show became a massive hit and episodes attracted in excess of 20 million viewers. In all, 69 episodes were made, covering ten series.
As well as Molly Sugden, the series starred John Inman as Mr Wilberforce Clayborne Humphries, Frank Thornton as Captain Stephen Peacock, Wendy Richards as Miss Shirley Brahms, Nicholas Smith as Mr Cuthbert Rumbold, and Trevor Bannister as Mr Dick Lucas, among others.
Isobel Mary "Mollie" Sugden was born in Yorkshire UK in July 1922. She has appeared in many TV shows in her long career. She reprised her role as Mrs Slocombe in "Grace and Favour" in a spin off of "Are You Being Served". In the U.S. this spin-off was known as "Are You Being Served? Again!". She died in 2009 of heart failure.
The alternate names are real people: Elizabeth Alexandra Mary (Queen Elizabeth II); Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise (The Princess Royal, Princess Anne); and Elizabeth Angela Marguerite (Elizabeth, the Queen Mother).
From Quiz: UK Sitcoms from the '70s Golden Age - Vol. 2
Answer: The Morecambe and Wise Show
"The Morecambe and Wise Show" often featured a truly terrible play written by Ernie Wise. The amazing thing was that they were able to persuade serious actors. such as Glenda Jackson who once appeared in one as "Cleopatra", to participate in them. These plays were usually based on actual historial plays. Other luminaries who appeared in them were Dame Flora Robson, Vanessa Redgrave and Peter Cushing.
From Quiz: "The Play What I Wrote"
Answer: Michael Miles
"Take Your Pick" was the first game show to be broadcast on commercial television in Britain. It was also the first to offer cash prizes. If contestants got through the "Yes - No" interlude, where they were not allowed to say yes or no when answering questions such as "are you married", they then picked a key to a locked box, which the host tried to buy from them. In the box were prizes ranging from holidays or a household appliance down to booby prizes like a bag a sweets. The show ran from 1955 to 1968.
Alex Dane banged the gong in the "Yes - No" section of the programme if either of the forbidden words were said.
Bob Danvers-Walker was the announcer.
Bob Monkhouse hosted many successful British game shows.
From Quiz: I'll Take What's Behind Door #2
Answer: Tommy Trinder
September 1955 saw Tommy Trinder hosting the first Sunday Night at the London Palladium. The guests on this first show were Gracie Fields and Guy Mitchell.
Tommy hosted the show until 1958.
From Quiz: British TV in the 1950s
Answer: The Wedding of HRH Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips
The Royal Wedding of Anne and Mark Phillips attracted a television home audience of 25 million viewers with a further worldwide 530 million viewers.
Princess Anne wore an embroidered Tudor-style wedding dress with a high collar and mediaeval sleeves.
Lieutenant Phillips was in the full scarlet and blue uniform of his regiment, the Queen's Dragoon Guards.
Most children growing up at the time will probably best remember the national days holiday from school that day.
From Quiz: British Television in the 1970s
Answer: Hullabaloo and Custard
The BBC were to be given a second channel called BBC2. It was to be the first in the UK to use the 625 lines format screen view. Previously this had been 405 lines per screen view. The BBC were also funded to provide cover for 625 line transmission for the whole of the UK by 1970. In addition, Colour TV was to be introduced to all broadcasting channels in the UK and Welsh content TV programming was to be introduced in Wales with a set minimum number of programme hours per week.
From Quiz: British Television in the 1960s
Answer: Watch With Mother
"Watch With Mother" was a composite series following a rigid schedule with "Picture Book" on Mondays, "Andy Pandy" on Tuesdays, "The Flowerpot Men" on Wednesdays, "Rag Tag and Bobtail" on Thursdays, and "The Woodentops" on Fridays.
From Quiz: British Television in the 1950s
Answer: Popeye
Private "Popeye" Popplewell, played by Bernard Bresslaw, was a gangling gormless private who would ask questions to which the answers were blindingly obvious and usually unpalatable. Faced with the glares of his comrades, he would protest "Well, I only asked!" For some reason, "asked" was often spelled "arsked" when the phrase was quoted in print. The other choices were also characters in the programme: "Cupcake" Cook, (Norman Rossington), "Professor" Hatchett (Charles Hawtrey) and "Bootsie" or "Excused Boots" Bisley (Alfie Bass).
From Quiz: Early Days of ITV
Answer: Eric Sykes
The series 'Sykes' was written by Eric Sykes and also Johnny Speight who went on to write 'Death do us Part' and 'In Sickness and in Health'. The series returned to the screens in 1979, but this time in colour.
From Quiz: You Just Had to Laugh in The 60's
Answer: Holland Park
Of course the series went abroad, but the house was in Holland Park.
From Quiz: UK Television
Answer: Ace Of Wands
The show ran from 1970-1972. It starred Michael MacKenzie as a mystery solving magician named Tarot.
From Quiz: Name That 70s Show
Answer: Sinbad,Jr.
'Sinbad,Jr.' was an animated series!
From Quiz: Gerry Anderson Puppet Shows
Answer: Sale of the Century
With Nicholas Parsons
From Quiz: More Old Brit TV Shows
Answer: Survivors
'Survivors', a BBC series which ran from 1975-1977, had 38 episodes in all. The series was about a group of people who survive an apocalyptic plague pandemic. (The plague incidentally, gets accidentally released by a Chinese scientist and then very quickly spreads across the world through people travelling on airplanes.)
'The Death' as the plague is called, kills 4,999 people out of every 5,000. The show highlights what these survivors have to do to simply stay alive - from staying away from infected people, to fighting each other, to finding fresh water and food once existing supplies run out, to working out how to communicate without any working technology, to what to do with billions of very dead, disease-ridden bodies.
I really enjoyed this show.
The man responsible for writing many 'Doctor Who' scripts, Terry Nation, created the series, and its main stars were Carolyn Seymour, Lucy Fleming, Ian McCulloch, and Denis Lill. Much of the show was filmed in the Welsh Marshes.
From Quiz: Best of British TV Shows (1970s)
Answer: Doctor Who
"Doctor Who" premiered in November 1963, the day after the assassination of President Kennedy - thus accounting for the 80-second delay in starting owing to an extended News broadcast. And 58 years later (at time of writing in 2021) not only is it still with us but its future looks set for many years to come. I watched the first episode and I was hooked, although my favourite Doctor was Tom Baker in the Baker/Lalla Ward/K9 period in the late 1970s (though David Tennant runs him a close second). I'm sad to say that nowadays I don't enjoy the programme - I find the story-lines incomprehensible and there's too much "flash-bang". Just getting old, I suppose...
From Quiz: Classic UK TV Show Premieres
Answer: The RAF
The series took the men of Hornet Squadron from the day Chamberlain declared war to the massive attack on London by the Luftwaffe one year later, a crucial moment in the Battle of Britain. To help create an authentic bond between the actors playing the airmen, they not only shared accommodation during filming but also referred to each other by their character's nicknames and held funerals for characters 'killed' during the story.
From Quiz: Their Finest Hour
Answer: Arthur Haynes
Arthur Haynes (1914-1966) served in the British Army during WWII and got his break on TV in 1956 in a Variety show series.
After a number of appearances he was granted his own show in 1957. His show was not only pure comedy, as over the years there were many musical guests including the Rolling Stones and the Dave Clark Five.
From Quiz: British TV of the 60's
Answer: Bernie Winters
Mike and Bernie Winters were actual brothers. They performed together on various variety shows for many years before being awarded their own television show which ran from 1965 to 1973. Mike was always the sharp, intelligent one and Bernie always the goofy one. His phrase "Shut ya mouff" was always accompanied by a silly grin. The brothers split, somewhat acrimoniously, in 1978 to go their separate ways. Bernie Winters often appeared on television after the split, usually with his St. Bernard dog, Shnorbitz.
From Quiz: "The Play What I Wrote"
Answer: The Golden Shot
The show had a simple format. A crossbow was attached to a T.V. camera and a viewer guided the blindfolded cameraman to go left, right, up, down until the target, an apple, was in the sights when the instruction was given to fire.
The catchphrase "Bernie, the bolt" was the instruction to load the crossbow, although there was no actual loader named Bernie.
Being able to see the T.V. whilst on the phone was crucial for the contestants, and there is a legendary tale of a contestant guiding the crossbow from a public telephone box whilst watching a T.V. in a showroom on the other side of the road. All went well until a sales assistant changed the channel.
From Quiz: I'll Take What's Behind Door #2
Answer: David Attenborough
The 1954 programe "Zoo Quest" was produced and presented by David Attenborough. The programme ran until 1968. Each programme featured a team travelling to different parts of the world capturing animals for the London Zoo. The programme finished with the animal being shown in the studio whilst a team of experts discussed the animal's life and habits.
However the program began to fall from grace in the 1960s when the practice of capturing animals to show in zoos began to become less popular.
After the programme finished, David returned to work as an administrator until 1979 when the now famous "Life on Earth" was made.
From Quiz: British TV in the 1950s
Answer: The Water Margin
Each of the 26 episodes first broadcast in the UK by the BBC in 1976 began with the same litany '...The ancient sages said "do not despise the snake for having no horns, for who is to say it will not become a dragon?" So may one just man become an army....'
From Quiz: British Television in the 1970s
Answer: Gilbert Harding, Barbara Kelly, Lady Isobel Barnet, David Nixon
It was derived from a US CBS TV programme and was one of the very first British TV panel games. The first Chairman was Eamon Andrews. It was later to appear on ITV although first broadcast by BBC TV.
From Quiz: British Television in the 1950s
Answer: Willum
Willum later acquired friends including Ollie Beak, an owl. Later still, Basil Brush made his first TV appearance in "Small Time."
From Quiz: Early Days of ITV
Answer: The Likely Lads
This was a series concerning two friends Bob, played by Rodney Bewes, the sensible and responsible one, and Terry, played by James Bolan, who was the complete opposite. At the end of the 1960's the BBC, in a cost cutting move, wiped most of the master tapes. Now there are only eight episodes left in existence. They returned in the 1970's with 'Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads'.
From Quiz: You Just Had to Laugh in The 60's
Answer: 'The Magic Roundabout'
Yes of course it was the 'Magic Roundabout', written by Eric Thomson, from original French animation. Dougal was a dog, Brian a snail and Zebedee was a Jack in the box (without the box)
From Quiz: UK Television
Answer: Follyfoot
The show ran from 1971-1973. It was set on Follyfoot Farm which cared for abandoned horses. The theme song was about a "lightning tree" which had been struck by lightning and appeared to be dead.
From Quiz: Name That 70s Show
Answer: Mitch
Clyde was the orangutan in 'Every Which Way But Loose'!
From Quiz: Gerry Anderson Puppet Shows
Answer: Follyfoot
The Lightning Tree. Remember the last episode when the tree had a green leaf growing..
From Quiz: More Old Brit TV Shows
Answer: The Professionals
'The Professionals' was a British crime-action television series produced for LWT (London Weekend Television). It aired on ITV from 1977 to 1983, and, in all, 57 episodes were produced.
The show, which was originally going to be called 'The A-Squad' was created by Brian Clemens, one of the driving forces behind the very successful TV series, 'The Avengers'.
CI5 was a fictious entity and was inspired by a cross between CID and MI5. The premise of the show was that Martin Shaw and Lewis Collins had to find and fight a wide range of villains, including assassins, terrorists, hate groups and espionage suspects.
Sadly, two of the main actors died of cancer in their 60's. Lewis Collins died at age 67 in November 2013, and Gordon Jackson died in January 1990, aged 66.
From Quiz: Best of British TV Shows (1970s)
Answer: Dallas
"Dallas" was a huge hit from the beginning for the BBC and rapidly achieved cultural phenomenon status. Oil tycoon J. R. Ewing (played by Larry Hagman) quickly became the lead character, and the episodes centered around the incident in which he was shot became some of the most-watched TV programmes ever. IMHO, however, the show jumped the shark when it was revealed that all the events of season 9 had been a character's dream. The show finished in 1991 after 14 seasons - and J. R. had appeared in all of the 357 episodes!
From Quiz: Classic UK TV Show Premieres
Answer: Mrs Merton
Debbie McGee was the assistant who married Paul Daniels, in his time probably one of the best stage and TV magicians around.
Mrs Merton was a character created by the actor and writer Caroline Aherne. She assumed the identity of a mild-mannered, middle-aged woman in a frumpy dress. That pretence enabled her to ask very pointed and near the knuckle questions, but in such a humorous way that the interviewee could not help but respond. Her question to Debbie McGee was once voted the most popular one-liner in British talk shows.
On Aherne's death at the age of 52, Debbie McGee tweeted: "Just heard the very sad news about Caroline Aherne, she was wonderful especially as Mrs Merton. My interview will be a treasured memory RIP."
From Quiz: Great British Talkshow Moments
Answer: Secret Army
The three incorrect answers were all series about the experiences of people in occupied territory, but they were set in France and the Channel Islands. "Secret Army" ran for three series and inspired two more series - "Kessler", which followed the fate of one of the German commanders after the war, and "Allo Allo", a very popular comic parody. It even gave rise to an album of music, "Au Cafe Candide", sung by Angela Richards who played the barmaid cum singer Monique.
From Quiz: Their Finest Hour
Answer: Penelope Keith
"The Good Life" was a BBC production that starred Richard Briers and Felicity Kendal as Tom and Barbara, and Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith as Margo and Jerry. In the US it appeared under the title "Good Neighbors" on various PBS stations in the early '80s.
"The Good Life" ran from 1975 to 1978. The show was number nine on the 2004 list of "Britain's Best Sitcom". The series revolved around Tom and Barbara who wished to adopt a simple and self-sufficient lifestyle, by turning their front and back gardens into a farm, and growing fruit and vegetables, as well as keeping chickens, two pigs and a goat. All this horrified their affluent neighbours, Margo and Jerry.
The final episode of the series "When I'm Sixty-Five", was performed live in front of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, at a Royal Command Performance, following which, the cast was presented to the Queen and Prince Phillip.
The series was written by Bob Larbey and John Esmonde, who both together and separately, wrote many British TV shows, such as "The Dick Emery Show", "Please Sir', "Brush Strokes", and "As Time Goes By".
From Quiz: UK Sitcoms from the '70s Golden Age - Vol. 2
Answer: Dandy Nichols
"Till Death Us Do Part" was once held up by Mary Whitehouse as a shining example of the BBC's moral laxity. Giving us memorable phrases such as "silly moo", Alf's normal description of his wife, and "randy scouse git", his description of his son in law, it was also one of the first programmes to use the word "bloody" in normal conversation. It was a true reflection of a lot of things in 1960s Britain, and was an instant hit.
Una Stubbs and Patricia Hayes were both in the series. Una Stubbs played Alf's daughter and Patricia Hayes a neighbour.
From Quiz: "The Play What I Wrote"
Answer: 1,000 pounds
Running from 1955 until 1968 and hosted by Hughie Green, who positively oozed sincerity, this was a simple general knowledge game show where contestants answered questions starting at £1 and doubling their money with each question up to £32. They could then come back the next week and go on the "Treasure Trail" where they could win up to £1,000. The very first "Treasure Trail" contestant was the magnificently named Mr Plantaganet Somerset Fry, who won £512 and overnight fame.
From Quiz: I'll Take What's Behind Door #2
