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Soap hotlines

Before the internet, kiddo! (January 2019)

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RE
Revolution
When Eastenders started my parents said there was a British Telecom automated phoneline and you would hear Wendy Richard telling you the latest news.

It seems Home and Away was another to use a hotline back in the 90s, pricey though! Wonder if any other soaps, or other popular dramas had phone numbers to keep up to date.

DA
davidhorman
and you would hear Wendy Richard telling you the latest news.


What, miners' strikes and IRA bombings, that sort of thing?
WH
Whataday Founding member
When Eastenders started my parents said there was a British Telecom automated phoneline and you would hear Wendy Richard telling you the latest news.


Yea I've got a cassette recording of one of those somewhere (my dad recorded it for a radio show he used to host). From memory, I'm pretty sure it was read as Wendy Richard rather than Pauline Fowler, but I may be wrong.

I also have a recording of another BT hotline called The Telefun Show. It was comedy based, with pretty awful jokes and sketches and was apparently huge for about 6 months in the mid 80s. I'm pretty sure the recording I have mentions it was sponsored by the Daily Mirror.

They were introduced following the privatisation of BT. Presumably the novelty wore thin once the phone bills started coming through.
DJ
DJGM
Whataday posted:

I also have a recording of another BT hotline called The Telefun Show. It was comedy based, with
pretty awful jokes and sketches and was apparently huge for about 6 months in the mid 80s.
I'm pretty sure the recording I have mentions it was sponsored by the Daily Mirror.


I remember The Telefun Show as presented by Mitch Murray, and when it was originally available on a local number 246 8070 prefixed by whatever your local area code was, before it eventually transferred to an 0898 number (25p per minute off-peak and 36p per minute at all other times). It usually ended with a continuing story based sketch about a rubbish gangster called Reggie Chainsaw McPickles!

When it switched to the premium rate number each call would've cost about £1-£2 depending on the time of day or night, rather than just 25p on the local number. This was round about the time when certain types of "chatlines" were starting to become "popular" ... !
Last edited by DJGM on 18 January 2019 9:53pm
WH
Whataday Founding member
The only thing I can remember about it was a jingle that went "Telefun, Telefun, Telefun Show!"
DJ
DJGM

The only thing I can remember about it was a jingle that went "Telefun, Telefun, Telefun Show!"


I remember that too. Perhaps uploading an MP3 of it to Mixcloud (or similar) might refresh our memories.

Cool Wink
WH
Whataday Founding member
Hang on a second, when I say I remember it, I mean I remember listening to the tape of it... I wasn't born when it was live, let's make that clear! Very Happy

Unfortunately I don't have the cassettes at mine but I will see what I can do next time I visit home.
DJ
DJGM

Hang on a second, when I say I remember it, I mean I remember listening to the tape of it...
I wasn't born when it was live, let's make that clear! Very Happy

Unfortunately I don't have the cassettes at mine but I will see what I can do next time I visit home.


LoL! I'd have been about 10 years of age when I used to phone up to listen to The Telefun Show when it would go "live" at about 11pm on Sunday nights ... or about half an hour or so after That's Life had been broadcast on BBC1!

#showingmyage
WH
Whataday Founding member
That's Life? Is that a spin off channel of the popular That's TV network? Wink

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