Articles
Stories behind the programmes you grew up with, newest first.
Blake’s 7
2 November 2026
A band of convicts and rebels on a stolen alien ship, taking on a ruthless Federation that rules the galaxy. Blake's 7 ran on BBC One from 1978 to 1981 and ended with one of the most shocking final episodes ever shown on British television.
Are You Being Served?
2 November 2026
"Ground floor: perfumery, stationery and leather goods." Step out of the lift on the first floor of Grace Brothers and you were among the most quotable shop assistants in British comedy. Are You Being Served? ran on BBC One from 1972 to 1985.
Bless This House
2 November 2026
Sid James as a harassed dad trying to understand his teenage children in 1970s suburbia. Bless This House ran on ITV from 1971 to 1976 and was one of the most popular comedies of its day.
Rising Damp
2 November 2026
A shabby boarding house, a nosy landlord and three tenants who just wanted to be left alone. Rising Damp ran on ITV from 1974 to 1978, and Leonard Rossiter's Rigsby is still one of the great comic creations.
Porridge
2 November 2026
Ronnie Barker's old lag Fletch made doing time at HMP Slade the funniest place on television. Porridge ran on BBC One from 1974 to 1977.
Rentaghost
2 November 2026
What do you do when you're a ghost with time on your hands? Start an agency hiring out ghosts, of course. Rentaghost haunted BBC One's children's schedule from 1976 to 1984, and many of us remember the theme tune long before anything else.
‘Allo ‘Allo
2 November 2026
In a small café in occupied France, René Artois tried to keep the Germans happy, the Resistance happy, his wife happy and his waitresses happier still. For ten years on BBC One, 'Allo 'Allo! turned the Second World War into one of television's best-loved farces.
The Professionals
2 November 2026
Bodie and Doyle crashing through a window, a Ford Capri skidding round a corner and Cowley barking orders. The Professionals brought CI5 to ITV from 1977 to 1983 and became the action show every boy in the playground wanted to act out.
Battlestar Galactica
2 November 2026
A ragtag fleet of survivors, a giant battlestar and the menacing red eye of a Cylon centurion sweeping from side to side. Battlestar Galactica arrived from America in 1978 with effects that looked like a night at the cinema.
The Good Life
2 November 2026
On his 40th birthday, Tom Good gave up his job, dug up his garden and set out to live off the land. In Surbiton. The Good Life ran on BBC One from 1975 to 1978 and remains one of Britain's best-loved comedies.