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The Golden Age of Children's TV: The shows we loved growing-up, the perfect gift
'Sincere love, detailed memory and deep knowledge make this dive into children's TV history truly joyful' - SAMIRA AHMED
'I love this book. It's important, invaluable and oddly emotional' - GRACE DENT
'A fabulous deep dive into an Atlantis of nostalgia' - DAVID QUANTICK
'Tim Worthington is the acknowledged master of this kind of entertaining but authoritative media scholarship' - STUART MACONIE
A Nostalgic Look at Brilliant British Telly!
For decades, British children's TV was surely the finest entertainment in the world. From Thunderbirds to The Clangers, Blue Peter to Magpie, Camberwick Green to Tiswas, and Captain Pugwash to The Magic Roundabout, there was a huge variety on offer for kids - and adults - to enjoy.
Now, in The Golden Age of Children's TV, Tim Worthington brings back the joy of those times and the programmes we loved, sharing a deep-dive behind the scenes of key programmes, how they came about and the stories behind the shows. From Saturday morning telly to teatime favourites, discover everything you never knew about the programmes you loved as well as the gossip from behind-the-scenes.
Written with affection but also with a wry appreciation of the shortcomings of the times, this is the hugely engaging and entertaining story of a key part of our pop culture, from a time long before streaming and the internet, when we sat down together to watch brilliant British telly.
'I love this book. It's important, invaluable and oddly emotional' - GRACE DENT
'A fabulous deep dive into an Atlantis of nostalgia' - DAVID QUANTICK
'Tim Worthington is the acknowledged master of this kind of entertaining but authoritative media scholarship' - STUART MACONIE
A Nostalgic Look at Brilliant British Telly!
For decades, British children's TV was surely the finest entertainment in the world. From Thunderbirds to The Clangers, Blue Peter to Magpie, Camberwick Green to Tiswas, and Captain Pugwash to The Magic Roundabout, there was a huge variety on offer for kids - and adults - to enjoy.
Now, in The Golden Age of Children's TV, Tim Worthington brings back the joy of those times and the programmes we loved, sharing a deep-dive behind the scenes of key programmes, how they came about and the stories behind the shows. From Saturday morning telly to teatime favourites, discover everything you never knew about the programmes you loved as well as the gossip from behind-the-scenes.
Written with affection but also with a wry appreciation of the shortcomings of the times, this is the hugely engaging and entertaining story of a key part of our pop culture, from a time long before streaming and the internet, when we sat down together to watch brilliant British telly.
- GenresNonfiction
346 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 24, 2024
7 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Tim Worthington
22 books13 followersWriter and occasional broadcaster. Somewhere between Jennifer Eccles and King Midas In Reverse.
"The Dominic Sandbrook of things that don't matter" according to one reader.
Lots more to read at http://timworthington.blogspot.co.uk/
"The Dominic Sandbrook of things that don't matter" according to one reader.
Lots more to read at http://timworthington.blogspot.co.uk/
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 6, 2025
★★★ ★★
LOVED THIS!
Brilliant read. The Golden Age of Children's TV is a detailed, affectionate and endlessly entertaining dive into the history of British children's television, from the early days of the medium onwards.
It triggered so many memories for me. Some I hadn’t thought about in years, others pulled from the deepest corners of my mind. A proper nostalgia trip, but also a great piece of broadcasting history. Loved the background on how these shows came to be, the BBC vs ITV battles, the presenters, the politics behind the scenes — all told with warmth and plenty of good anecdotes.
I especially appreciated the long section on The Box of Delights, one of my childhood favourites, and it was great to see it given the attention it deserves.
As others have said, what Tim Worthington doesn’t know about this subject isn’t worth knowing. If you grew up in the UK or were exposed to British TV during those years, this is essential reading.
LOVED THIS!
Brilliant read. The Golden Age of Children's TV is a detailed, affectionate and endlessly entertaining dive into the history of British children's television, from the early days of the medium onwards.
It triggered so many memories for me. Some I hadn’t thought about in years, others pulled from the deepest corners of my mind. A proper nostalgia trip, but also a great piece of broadcasting history. Loved the background on how these shows came to be, the BBC vs ITV battles, the presenters, the politics behind the scenes — all told with warmth and plenty of good anecdotes.
I especially appreciated the long section on The Box of Delights, one of my childhood favourites, and it was great to see it given the attention it deserves.
As others have said, what Tim Worthington doesn’t know about this subject isn’t worth knowing. If you grew up in the UK or were exposed to British TV during those years, this is essential reading.
May 16, 2025
Disappointing. Tim Worthington opts for quantity rather than quality so much of the book reads like a list of programmes with explanatory notes. The early chapters on Tiswas v Swap Shop and the Gerry Anderson puppet series have a narrower focus and are better for it.
January 27, 2025
Very enjoyable, lots of memories of programmes I loved, plus I got to find out a bit about ITV things I missed as we weren’t allowed to watch it! Would have been fire stars if it had had a few more case studies about specific programmes (a lot of it reads like a list) and a photo section. Happy days though!
November 18, 2025
An exhaustive run-through of children's TV in the UK from the 50s through the 90s. It was too big a topic for one book and as a result, it often becomes just a straightforward list of programme titles.
March 3, 2025
Anyone can provoke a reaction with a list of "d'ya remember, eh?" pop culture references; where Tim Worthington's book differs is in its combination of knowledgable but entertaining factual content and the relatable off-screen detail peppered throughout, evoking his (and I suspect in many cases, our) experiences with the programmes described. A comprehensive coverage, with even the shorter but sweeter descriptions getting the message across, this is a go-to text on an increasingly popular topic.
January 11, 2025
Tim Worthington knows more about esoteric and well documented British TV than anyone else so is highly qualified to write this. An exhaustive compendium of children’s or children adjacent tv screened in the UK. Definitely have made a note of exploring the ones I’ve never heard of in the pre late 70s on YouTube. I’m hoping some generous publisher gets the rights to reprint this book so it can have some glossy photos for each of these programmes mentioned although I suspect it means this book will be twice as big. You’ll find yourself going ‘oh yeah, I remember that one!’
His podcast ‘Looks Unfamiliar’ is also essential. Check it out!
His podcast ‘Looks Unfamiliar’ is also essential. Check it out!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews