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Watching Neighbours Twice a Day...: How ’90s TV (Almost) Prepared Me For Life
In Watching the Nineties, much-loved comedian Josh Widdicombe tells the story of a strange rural childhood, the kind of childhood he only realised was weird when he left home and started telling people about it. From only having four people in his year at school, to living in a family home where they didn't just not bother locking the front door, they didn't even have a key.
Using a different television show of the time as it's starting point for each chapter Watching the Nineties is part-childhood memoir, part-comic history of 90s television and culture. It will discuss everything from the dangers of recreating Gladiators in your front room, to Josh's belief that Mr Blobby is one of the great comic characters, to being the only vegetarian child west of Bristol.
Together it tells the story of the end of an era, the last time when watching television was a shared experience for the family and the nation, before the internet meant everyone watched different things at different times on different devices, headphones on to make absolutely sure no one could watch it with them.
Using a different television show of the time as it's starting point for each chapter Watching the Nineties is part-childhood memoir, part-comic history of 90s television and culture. It will discuss everything from the dangers of recreating Gladiators in your front room, to Josh's belief that Mr Blobby is one of the great comic characters, to being the only vegetarian child west of Bristol.
Together it tells the story of the end of an era, the last time when watching television was a shared experience for the family and the nation, before the internet meant everyone watched different things at different times on different devices, headphones on to make absolutely sure no one could watch it with them.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published September 16, 2021
147 people are currently reading
1021 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 278 reviews
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May 7, 2021if all my favourite british comedians could stop churning out books i desperately want to read so my wallet can stop crying that’d be wonderful x
February 20, 2023
This hit all the nostalgic feels for me.
Considering that comedian Widdecombe and myself are practically same age, it stands to reason that we both watched the same programmes growing up during the 90's.
This pretty much features all the recognisable shows of that decade, whilst other televised events like the Euro '96 tournament and the funeral of Diana.
The book also charts his adolescent years and how TV played an important role.
I can definitely associate with that as the amount I watched as a teen easily surpasses time spent now.
I guess lack of commitments and being at school (I.e. lack of income) the main factor!
It's also funny how his team Plymouth and mine Brighton started the decade in the Second Division only to tumble down to the Fourth tier in roughly the same seasons.
Finding out scores on teletext in a pre-Internet age was certainly an experience.
Obviously Josh couldn't include everything, but one glaring omission for me was the Doctor Who TV movie on '96.
Admittedly we only the one outing of Paul McGann's incarnation of the Time Lord that instantly made me a fan of the show, I felt that it could have been included in The X-Files chapter.
But overall a great feel of the music, politics, sport and most importantly shows that I grew up with.
Considering that comedian Widdecombe and myself are practically same age, it stands to reason that we both watched the same programmes growing up during the 90's.
This pretty much features all the recognisable shows of that decade, whilst other televised events like the Euro '96 tournament and the funeral of Diana.
The book also charts his adolescent years and how TV played an important role.
I can definitely associate with that as the amount I watched as a teen easily surpasses time spent now.
I guess lack of commitments and being at school (I.e. lack of income) the main factor!
It's also funny how his team Plymouth and mine Brighton started the decade in the Second Division only to tumble down to the Fourth tier in roughly the same seasons.
Finding out scores on teletext in a pre-Internet age was certainly an experience.
Obviously Josh couldn't include everything, but one glaring omission for me was the Doctor Who TV movie on '96.
Admittedly we only the one outing of Paul McGann's incarnation of the Time Lord that instantly made me a fan of the show, I felt that it could have been included in The X-Files chapter.
But overall a great feel of the music, politics, sport and most importantly shows that I grew up with.
November 13, 2021
I felt a bit silly when I realised that Widdicombe is British (I’d assumed Australian, given the title, clearly forgetting that the Brits love Neighbours more than we do), which caused some relatability problems. Even though I appreciated the throwback to the communal experience of pre-internet television, the actual content of the pop-culture didn’t have that ring of recognition for me.
My full review of Watching Neighbours Twice A Day can be found on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
My full review of Watching Neighbours Twice A Day can be found on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
November 12, 2021
Josh Widdecomes take on the nineties and growing up I the Brit pop era.
Being a similar age I could relate to a lot of this book from my own experience of growing up. And some parts were literally laugh out loud funny. But after a while it felt a bit samey. And there wasn’t a lot of Josh in there. It’s like he wanted to write a book but hide behind facts and figures. It’s likely his childhood like a lot of us was pretty unmemorable but I would have liked to have known more and also more about his climb to comedy. It’s ok I found my self skimming the last half. But I love his comedy, shows and podcast.
Being a similar age I could relate to a lot of this book from my own experience of growing up. And some parts were literally laugh out loud funny. But after a while it felt a bit samey. And there wasn’t a lot of Josh in there. It’s like he wanted to write a book but hide behind facts and figures. It’s likely his childhood like a lot of us was pretty unmemorable but I would have liked to have known more and also more about his climb to comedy. It’s ok I found my self skimming the last half. But I love his comedy, shows and podcast.
September 24, 2021
Josh Widdecombe is the funniest comedian I have seen live, both times I cried with laughter but unfortunately the book didn't do it for me, maybe if you're more into football it would resonate more. Sorry but bit disappointed
October 27, 2021
This book is a very easy read for a very niche group of people who lived through the fun kids’ TV of the 90s. It’s really lovely to have a book like this aimed at my specific age bracket as I’m not a traditional 80s, 90s or 00s kid/teenager (having been born mid-decade in 1985) but somewhere in between. I loved reading the references to things I had entirely forgotten about (You Bet, the theme tune to Big Break, the Martins in Neighbours). It was also a real nostalgia trip and heartwarming to read the similarities in mine and Josh’s childhood from the growing up in the middle of nowhere (in my case, Norfolk), the small class sizes and the very minor cases of rule breaking (one whole class detention).
The whole book felt like a bored lockdown project with very gentle humour. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, it’s just a book for a very specific group of people who need an easy read. I also found the book to have been quite thrown together; lots of juggled writing (lots of mentions of things before their chapter - e.g. referencing a specific moment in The Simpsons before the chapter on The Simpsons).
All in all, this book isn’t going to set the world on fire but it is a gentle nostalgia trip I’d recommend to around 4 people I know. A nice read after I’d taken a break from reading for a while, which is exactly what I wanted.
The whole book felt like a bored lockdown project with very gentle humour. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, it’s just a book for a very specific group of people who need an easy read. I also found the book to have been quite thrown together; lots of juggled writing (lots of mentions of things before their chapter - e.g. referencing a specific moment in The Simpsons before the chapter on The Simpsons).
All in all, this book isn’t going to set the world on fire but it is a gentle nostalgia trip I’d recommend to around 4 people I know. A nice read after I’d taken a break from reading for a while, which is exactly what I wanted.
October 23, 2021
Joyful. Excellent nostalgia.
May 28, 2023
Absolutely brilliant — one of the best and funniest books I’ve read this year!
December 20, 2024
As much as I love him as a comedian the book was just ok. In all fairness, I’m not British, I didn’t watch TV growing up, and I think that massively limited how much enjoyment I could get from the book because I didn’t have any nostalgia reading any of it. It’s not bad but I just didn’t get enough out of it to give it more than 3 stars even
June 24, 2025
British comedian Josh Widdicombe talks about his favorite tv shows and moments from the 90s. I like Josh, but didn't expect much from this, so I was surprised how much I enjoyed and got out of it. Growing up in the 70s and 80s, my knowledge of British tv was Monty Python, The Young Ones, Red Dwarf, Doctor Who and whatever else my Boston PBS station was playing back in the day. And of course, once the internet and Youtube came along I was able to dive back into British shows, like Taskmaster, Luther, Would I Lie to You?, Bake Off, and Doctor Who. As you can see, there's a huge gap there, mostly the 90s. Widdicombe's book really did a great job filling in the gaps and learning where comedians and other "tv famous" folk came from and why they're now considered "national treasures".
September 20, 2021
Reflections and lessons learned:
“…to me everything about Neighbours was exciting - sometimes it was preposterous, sometimes it lacked a handle on reality, but that was part of the reason I loved it…”
Did I grow up in one of the best eras - pre internet but just at the tipping point of technology - fabulous. So many Peter Kaye style rememberings, all very necessary. I look forward to sharing this with my husband one day, and have already added it mental lists for several friends… ahhh, I do love a bit of nostalgia
“…to me everything about Neighbours was exciting - sometimes it was preposterous, sometimes it lacked a handle on reality, but that was part of the reason I loved it…”
Did I grow up in one of the best eras - pre internet but just at the tipping point of technology - fabulous. So many Peter Kaye style rememberings, all very necessary. I look forward to sharing this with my husband one day, and have already added it mental lists for several friends… ahhh, I do love a bit of nostalgia
June 5, 2022
I love Josh and this was such a brilliant reminder of 90's TV. I remember most of the shows and world events he talks about with such nostalgia - a lovely read.
June 25, 2025
I'm the same age as Josh and I also grew up watching a lot of tv in the 90s. As there were only four (and later 5) tv channels available to most of us, everyone was watching pretty much the same things. But, there are many shows I was starting to think only I remembered. So, it was something of a relief to listen to this audiobook and hear Josh mention kabaddi on Channel 4, Badger Girl, Strange But True?, and even a quick shoutout to Fist of Fun. I was surprised at how much of Neighbours still resided in my subconscious and I enjoyed hearing the backstory behind Eldorado. Unlike Josh, I was never into Gladiators or the Big Breakfast, but it least I now have some idea what I was missing out on (not much). I listened to the audiobook narrated by Josh himself, but it offers much more than the print edition, because each chapter ends in an interview with a celebrity of the day, and then the book ends with fellow comedian James Acaster interviewing Josh. The whole thing is good fun for anyone who was growing up in the UK at that time. It's well written and put together. Very much recommended for children of the 90s.
May 22, 2022
This was a great nostalgic read for me as I think I'm the same age as Josh Widdicombe. So many happy childhood and teenage TV based memories discussed in a warm and humorous style.
October 25, 2021
(no idea how this is out in Aus but still expected publication december first)
I've got a lot of friends and family members who are super nostalgic for the 90s, and reading this was a look into their brains, but told with the fantastic witticism of Josh Widdicombe. I think this is better than an average sort of biography, and really explores the fundamentals behind a person, and the culture that shapes them. We don't often get a chance to talk about the impacts of television (apart from news articles about the 'dangers'), so this was a refreshing read - a television equivalent of Acaster's "Perfect Sound Whatever". Can't wait for whatever Josh writes next!
I've got a lot of friends and family members who are super nostalgic for the 90s, and reading this was a look into their brains, but told with the fantastic witticism of Josh Widdicombe. I think this is better than an average sort of biography, and really explores the fundamentals behind a person, and the culture that shapes them. We don't often get a chance to talk about the impacts of television (apart from news articles about the 'dangers'), so this was a refreshing read - a television equivalent of Acaster's "Perfect Sound Whatever". Can't wait for whatever Josh writes next!
April 20, 2022
I loved this book. Josh Widdicombe was born in the same year as me and I can completely relate to watching all of the TV programmes that he discusses as being key parts of his childhood, ranging from Gladiators to Noel’s House Party, to X Files and finally ending with the first season of Big Brother. He’s so funny and insightful and this book was an absolute delight to read.
April 7, 2022
A funny nostalgic trip down memory lane - loved it
January 8, 2023
A nice easy read, doesn't really go anywhere though sorry Josh
November 19, 2021
I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. It brought back lots of memories of tv shows that we watched as a family. Very readable, amusing and quite touching in places.
April 6, 2023
This is alright. I think if you knew a lot of the shows he talks about you would have a really good time.
October 2, 2021
A great listen on Audible. Josh re-lives his childhood through the TV programmes and adverts he watched which brings back a lot of memories and laughs about some I did not watch being far older than Josh. My favourite memory was of Gus Honeybun, the rabbit puppet that read birthday messages on ITV South West in Devon. I live in Jersey, also part of South West, and we had Oscar Puffin but Gus covered during his holidays. Who knew he was being so controversial.
The audio book is read by Josh but also has a few interviews with stars of the 90s including Jet from Gladiators and Pat Sharp, and an interview about the book itself at the end with his friend James Acaster.
The audio book is read by Josh but also has a few interviews with stars of the 90s including Jet from Gladiators and Pat Sharp, and an interview about the book itself at the end with his friend James Acaster.
March 17, 2022
Josh Widdecombe seems like a thoroughly decent bloke and all-round ‘good egg’, so I feel slightly sheepish having to slate his book. But, unfortunately, “Watching Neighbours twice a day” is a pointless, vacuous exercise in lame nostalgia that has nothing original to say about its chosen subject of 1990s British Television.
“Watching Neighbours ...” reads like one of those projects where a publisher throws a book deal and topic at a well known comedian in the assumption that this name recognition will guarantee both sales and chuckles. Even so, it feels like the publisher has warned Widdecombe off from saying anything too contentious or interesting lest it spoil his every man image. This results in a book where the quips are blunted, every punch is pulled, and the genre of comedy being mined here could best be described as ‘remembering things’.
What is most peculiar about “Watching Neighbours ...” is that Josh Widdecombe isn’t an absolutely terrible writer, having cut his teeth with the estimable ‘When Saturday Comes’ magazine. But this book reads like a project cobbled together over lockdown while Widdecombe was twiddling his thumbs waiting for live stand-up to return.
Do yourself a favour and give this book a swerve, and maybe pick up a copy of ‘When Saturday Comes’ magazine instead.
“Watching Neighbours ...” reads like one of those projects where a publisher throws a book deal and topic at a well known comedian in the assumption that this name recognition will guarantee both sales and chuckles. Even so, it feels like the publisher has warned Widdecombe off from saying anything too contentious or interesting lest it spoil his every man image. This results in a book where the quips are blunted, every punch is pulled, and the genre of comedy being mined here could best be described as ‘remembering things’.
What is most peculiar about “Watching Neighbours ...” is that Josh Widdecombe isn’t an absolutely terrible writer, having cut his teeth with the estimable ‘When Saturday Comes’ magazine. But this book reads like a project cobbled together over lockdown while Widdecombe was twiddling his thumbs waiting for live stand-up to return.
Do yourself a favour and give this book a swerve, and maybe pick up a copy of ‘When Saturday Comes’ magazine instead.
September 26, 2021
Good god, fellow children of the 90s you must read this immediately. What a lush (and funny) trip down memory lane... it's autobiographical, but mainly full of the most niche but relatable flashbacks to 90s tv and pop culture... (including Blobbyland, which takes far more of a prominent position in my childhood than you'd think). Loved it!
November 23, 2021
I'm definitely not his target audience as I was 24 when the '90s started, but nevertheless I enjoyed this and watched the majority of the shows he talks about in this gently amusing book. I remembered the Brucie 'rap' from You Bet (and cringed along with him), and although he says adults shouldn't have enjoyed Gladiators, I did (at least, in the early days!), even if I was unconvinced by Wolf's evil persona! An easy read of pure nostalgia!
September 25, 2023
Two-for-one sale | I don't think this book or the people who approved it gave enough thought to figuring out who the audience would be | The listing for this book calls it a memoir more than once, but it very much isn't. Readers who pick it up because they're fans Widdicombe and want to learn more about him will get only two anecdotes that he hasn't already shared on The Last Leg, Would I Lie to You, or Graham Norton, in some cases all three. Readers who are the same approximate age and want to enjoy some light nostalgia are likely to find their attention wandering, as Widdicombe goes into such deep detail of everything as to explain each to someone who's never even heard of them. And readers who were not born until the new millennium and who could use the really detailed descriptions are unlikely to care that much about one specific episode of a tv show they've never watched. The book tries to be too many things and ends up being none of them. The interview with Acaster at the end of the audiobook was the most interesting part.
February 1, 2022
There's not many times over the past few years that I have actually found myself laughing out loud at a book. Maybe Romesh's Straight Outta Crawley, but this is right up there with it. The format is different to any other comedy autobiography and it allowed me a high level of nostalgia and reminiscence. I didn't ever get into TFI Friday but I can now understand what the appeal was - I just wasn't at that point in life!
Really good book would highly recommend to anyone who was born in the 80s...either side of that may still enjoy the book but not necessarily know the shows.
This comes from someone who is not necessarily a super mega fan of Josh Widdicombe, just someone with a normal level of fandom.
Really good book would highly recommend to anyone who was born in the 80s...either side of that may still enjoy the book but not necessarily know the shows.
This comes from someone who is not necessarily a super mega fan of Josh Widdicombe, just someone with a normal level of fandom.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 28, 2022
Have been a fan since we came to see his early standup shows many years ago. Have been looking forward to this book but ended up listening to it on audiobook instead and I think that made it even better, as his delivery adds humour. Read by Josh Widdicombe himself and with guest Interviews every few chapters. Alot of these shows I remember watching and some I'd never heard of. A nice nostalgic read/listen which made me laugh out loud in places.
September 18, 2021
Disappointed to say I gave up at 20%. I pre ordered this without even checking the synopsis because I love him as a comedian. The book was super disappointing though - written through the eyes of 90s TV shoes, which whilst was a good trip down memory lane, loses its appeal after the first few pages if you’re really not that fussed about TV.
January 1, 2022
Absolutely brilliant! As someone who grew up watching the same television and loving it, I like to think I got lots of the very niche references. So many great memories here, excellently told. Don't read in bed because you will end up Googling and YouTubing lots of mentions. I also think the book makes an excellent point about the importance of television in the pre-digital era. Great read!
May 27, 2024
I never actually finished the book but after reading 30% of it I was done. I do like Josh via his podcasts but I have no relation to 90’s television having been born in ‘97 so I’m afraid I couldn’t relate to the book. Found it tiring. If you love 90’s tv then 5* you will love it. Sorry Josh.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 278 reviews