Tonight’s Anglia… in 1981 

21 February 2018 tbs.pm/65039

  • Kum-Kum, the Japanese animation series about a boy from the Stone Age, starts the broadcast day for Anglia on Saturday 21 February 1981. A filler for most of the ITV regions during this period.
  • Australian children’s drama The Lost Islands comes ashore at 9.45am and we raid the Canadian archives for cartoon ‘fun’ with Rocket Robin Hood at 10.10am.
  • Time for madcap mayhem with Chris, Sally and the gang. Yes, it’s TISWAS at 10.30am and clogging up most of the afternoon is World of Sport. Sporting highlights today include football, motor sport, racing, wrestling and the UK Hopscotch Championships from Rhyl.
  • Comic quiz Punchlines, hosted by giggly Lennie Bennett, starts your evening’s entertainment. That’s followed by the ITN news at 5.35pm and the Anglia weather forecast.
  • Sci-fi drama Buck Rodgers in the 25th Century is followed by finger twisting fun with Ted Rogers at 6.35pm in 3-2-1 and then your evening film, starring Sid James and Diana Coupland, is Bless This House at 7.35pm.
  • This movie version of the TV series shies away from the original cast a tad, as Carry On… stars June Whitfield, Terry Scott and Peter Butterworth (partnered with his real wife, the lovely Janet Brown) are Sid’s neighbours. Mike is played by ‘man of the moment’ Robin ‘whoops, there go my trousers’ Askwith.
  • Action drama The Professionals comes crashing onto our screens at 9.15pm and, after the ITN news & sport, it’s The Match of the Week at 10.30pm.
  • American comedy with Barney Miller at 11.30pm and then something to send you to sleep at midnight, a series on maritime history, Afloat. I’m ready for bed now… well we are At The End of The Day.

Let’s get regional now!

  • ATV – Adult education programmes to kick off the day in the Midlands, with Simply Sewing at 9.10am and at 9.35am As Good As New. Cartoon fun with The Fantastic Four at 10am links up nicely to TISWAS. No changes to the Anglia schedule until 11.30pm when it’s police medical drama with Quincy.
  • LONDON – It’s an early start for LWT this Saturday. Cartoons at 8.25am are followed by Sesame Street at 8.35am. Then it’s Australian drama with The Chopper Squad at 9.35am. Marlowe is your evening film on the LWT this evening. James Garner plays Detective Philip Marlowe. Finally, at 11.30pm, we are off to Monte Carlo… which is nice.
  • SOUTHERN – Starts at 9am with Sesame Street, followed by film news from Clapperboard at 10am. Before TISWAS we have time to see what the Southern weather is doing. We follow Anglia all the way up to 11.30pm, when we fit in some regional Southern news, then swiftly into drama with Lou Grant at 11.35pm.
  • YORKSHIRESimply Sewing at 9am, cartoon time with Spiderman at 9.25am and action from the very short lived American drama, 240-Robert at 9.40am. YTV ditches the Sid James movie for… a Sid James movie, Carry on Again Doctor and ends the day with American drama series S.W.A.T.

Your cover star is of course Tom Selleck aka Magnum, PI… mmm… now I want an ice cream.


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You Say

11 responses to this article

Arthur Nibble 21 February 2018 at 11:59 am

Whoever owned this edition of TV Times was a fan of Sally James and Paula Wilcox, as can be seen by the X’s next to their names in the listings!

Arthur Nibble 21 February 2018 at 1:22 pm

The “Match Of The Week” was Peterborough United 1 Torquay United 3 in the old Fourth Division. Peterborough finished fifth and missed out on promotion by three points, mainly due to drawing no less than 18 of their 46 league matches.

Alan Keeling 21 February 2018 at 3:42 pm

There couldn’t be a more ideal time for the Aussie kids series called The Lost Island, about a bunch of shipwrecked teenagers of varying nationalities. We’re on episode 4 of this 16mm film series, co-produced by Network 10/Pacific Films & Paramount Television.

Alan Keeling 21 February 2018 at 3:55 pm

Rocket Robin Hood at 10.10 is a US/Canada cartoon series about the fictional hero & his merry men set on the Sherwood Asteroid in the year 3000. Another co-production made by Trillium Productions/Krantz Films & Grantray Lawrence Animation. This pre-Tiswas programme is a repeat of episode 4.

Rob Horspole 21 February 2018 at 6:57 pm

I find it hard to believe that LWT, ATV, Southern or Yorkshire showed “Match of the Week”. Southern most probably showed LWT’s “The Big Match”, ATV had “Star Soccer”. I can’t recall what Yorkshire called their programme at that time.

Alan Keeling 21 February 2018 at 8:36 pm

Following the news, its Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, a 2 season sci-fi series from Universal Studios, in episode 16 from season 1, there’s a host of guest stars that includes, Jack Palance, Peter Graves, Frank (The Riddler) Gorshin, Buster Crabbe (the 1939 Buck Rogers) & Ray Walton.

steve brown 21 February 2018 at 9:23 pm

Star Soccer on ATV gave us Derby 1 Orient 1,The Big Match on LWT had Fulham beating Portsmouth 3-0

steve brown 21 February 2018 at 9:25 pm

FTR Yorkshire showed Sheffield Wednesday beating Swansea 2-0,and they have met in this year’s FA Cup 5th round!

Mark Jeffries 21 February 2018 at 11:20 pm

“Punchlines” was basically an attempt by producer Bob Stewart to revamp one of his first hits as an independent producer “Eye Guess,” where contestants tried to answer general knowledge questions by remembering where the answers were hidden on a board. Stewart’s changes were inspired by the U.S. comedy panel show burst in the 70s, with shows like “(Celebrity) Hollywood Squares” and “Match Game” (“Blankety Blank”). And unlike some of those other shows, they didn’t have to hide the fact that the panel was reading scripted material. The pilot didn’t sell in the U.S., but did in the UK, running for a respectable length of time amongst LWT’s Saturday night heavy hitters.

Alan Keeling 22 February 2018 at 10:32 am

The slot for action/violence is 9.15 with The Professionals re-runs with episode 8 from season 3. At 11.30, the last but one programme is US videotaped sitcom Barney Miller, featuring the cops of NYPD Precinct 12, now at season 4 with episode 16, part one of a two parter called The Eviction.

Simon Wise 30 August 2018 at 7:06 pm

Southsport Soccer had one of its occasional broadcasts that Saturday night, cover the 2-2 draw between Brighton & Hove from the Goldstone Ground. Sorry, Brighton and Liverpool… http://carousel.royalwebhosting.net/itv/Southern.html

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