The legacy of a crumbling federation

The regional framework of ITV companies is as good as dead and buried.

I was watching Granada Plus last night and wondered, which programmes will you remember as being the pinnacle of ITV entertainment, and what are your fondest/earliest memories of a time when ITV made programmes that people enjoyed watching and were derived from regional talents and (at the time, as good as) independant producers?

Ok, to throw my trilby in the ring:

Spitting Image – Central Independent TV : An all time classic that still makes one chuckle over ten years on. Perhaps only watchable for those who remember the Thatcherorite regime.

Hale and Pace – London Weekend TV : ITV’s answer to Smith and Jones. Not quite as good, but a wheeze nevertheless. Later episodes were not much cop, and plunged to profanity in a desperate attempt to get laughs. .

The Price is Right – Unknown : The version I remember from my childhood was presented by Leslie Crowther. It was glitzy and cheesy.

Tales Of The Unexpected – Anglia TV : The first episode I ever saw was called “the sound machine” and was a short story about a man who invented a machine that could hear flowers scream when they were cut.

Rainbow – Thames TV : Perhaps ITV’s best remembered children’s TV show. Every episode was a fun packed story with Zippy, Bungle, George and Geoffrey. Occasionally accompanied by Rod, Jane, and Freddy.

Emu’s World – Central TV? : Bizarre TV show that I can’t remember being about anything in particular featuring Rod Hull, Grotbags, an assortment of children and of course Emu.

Puddle Lane – Yorkshire TV? : A magician and talking cauldron recount stories… can’t remember this one all that clearly, other than the puddle that looked like an illuminated foot spar.

Anyway, some classic TV there and a few of my memories, so what are the greatest ITV programmes you remember?

I can confirm it was YTV, and my uncle made the book that one of the major props in the programme (he worked for a bookbinders)

Does anybody know if their are any vidoes or dvd's available for these clut programmes, especially (although I didn't mention it initally because I couldn't remember what channel it was on) Button Moon?

Indeed, http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005NI8P/ref=sr_aps_dvd_1_1/026-7151166-1287633

and very reasonably priced.

The Price is Right was made by Central at their Nottingham studios. It was later a Central production for BSkyB when it aired on Sky1 in about 1990 - presented by Bob Warman.

The Bruce Forsyth version (although good...was never the same!! Not without punch-a-price!) was made by Action Time and Yorkshire Television.

Was a classic piece of television. I watched the first programme at the Bradford TV archive thing...and well worth it.

To Lord W; there are many DVD's available from Fremantle Media which have many Thames kids shows on them and I am certain Button Moon is one and the good news is that these DVD's are cheap, the only one I have is The Rainbow 30th Anniversary Special Edition, £4.99 from HMV was very good.

But keeping in the style of things from what I recall of early childhood memories these are the programmes I remember but I won't go into detail.

Good Morning Britain (TV-am), Wacaday (TV-am), Playbox (Central), Rosie and Jim (Central), when it went out at 12.10, Rainbow (Thames), Channel Four Daily (ITN) The Sooty Show (Thames) PC Pinkerton, Postman Pat, Fireman Sam (all BBC), Crosswits (Tyne Tees) Countdown (Yorkshire)

A bad diet of early 1990's Daytime TV, to be blunt.

Thank you for the link SE

I'm in the process of ordering the product now.

Adding to my list of classics, T-Bag (who can remember T-Shirt who, in later episodes towered over t-bag?)

Ooooh I remember that! That freaked me out. Also remember some quite creepy Sapphire & Steel episodes. Remember the baby in the cot with the man's face? *shudder*

I was a good story, I did try and catch it again on Plus, but I got fed up of looking... I'm not sure how many episodes of Tales of The Unexpected were made, but I'd guess a fair few.

It's a shame that this classic television has been relegated to DVD, ITV2 is a dumping ground for repeats, why not put some cult programming on?

You've said "unknown".

I think it was made by Granada. I'm sure that I remember it always starting with the exact same "From Granada, Manchester..." voiceover, as used in more recent years on Stars In Their Eyes.

Incidentally, Leslie Crowther (who was a man, just in case the name leaves people unsure) was also the original host of Stars In Their Eyes for a few series. But "Tonight, Leslie , I'm going to be..." never entered the mass consciousness like the "Matthew" version of that phrase has done.

Oh, and Chris Tarrant was the host for the untransmitted pilot edition of Stars In Their Eyes, which was shown only to TV execs etc, but by the time it hit our screens as a series, Leslie was the host.

As I said, The Price is Right was a Central production. How could you forget that when the introduction over all those screaming people with glittery gold pound signs on the walls would go "It's Saturday night....ALRIGHT!?" - Classic television. And Cliffhanger was by FAR the best game - glad that survived into the Yorkshire era.

Also, bring back Cluedo...you HAD to love Richard Madeley/Chris Tarrant being very scary describing the motives whilst watching Tom Baker look scared or Leslie Grantham look smug.