Andy Pandy, Muffin the Mule, Bill and Ben, The Woodentops, Mr.Turnip, Hank the Cowboy, Hopalong Cassidy, The Bumblies, Billy Bunter, Sooty, Ivor the Engine, Tony Hancock, The Cisco Kid, Crackerjack, Robin Hood, Rin Tin Tin, Dixon of Dock Green, Captain Pugwash, Maigret, Bilko, Whacko!, Whirlybirds..... and loads more!


Everyone feels some nostalgia for the TV programmes that they watched when very young, so here we attempt to bring back to you some of the flavour of television in the Fifties.

IntroductionWelcome, An introduction and the bits in between
An introduction to TV in the Fifties, testcards, the BBC Clock and the major milestones of TV progress in the '50s feature in this section. A few video clips are included to illustrate how it all worked.

Interludes and AnnouncersNext, the interludes and the announcers
The Potter's Wheel, London to Brighton in Four Minutes and those Announcers with the BBC accents like MacDonald Hobley and Sylvia Peters.
The ProgrammesNow the important bit, viewing the programmes!
Use the Contents menu over on the left. Open the folders to reveal the programmes and categories. This is the main section and is split into children's programmes and those for the not so young. You can also use the A to Z index and the search button at the top of the page.
The AdvertsAnd to view some old commercials, Click Here!
The first commercial shown on ITV was for toothpaste. Find out which brand and also see some video clips of other popular commercials.
An elephant never forgets!Read the nostalgic memories of a television kid of the '50s
Gerry George is an actor who was in his teens in those early days of television. In this section, he records for us his memories of the performers, programmes and events of the decade. So grab a cuppa, sit down comfortably and click on the elephant.
Radio DaysNow, visit our companion 1950's radio programme website
Here we present information about radio programmes such as Take it from Here, Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh, The Goon Show and lots of other programmes of the period.

Visit the Whirligig 1950's British TV and Radio Message Board

Visit our YouTube Channel

 

BFI have released two vintage Enid Blyton Famous Five film serials on DVD

For more information or to order DVDs, click on the picture.

The Whirligig Snippets pages hold information which is not always specific to a particular programme but is of general interest, or perhaps anecdotes from those involved in broadcasting during the '50s. So if you have any snippets to contribute,
please send them to us!

Listing of classic TV video and DVD suppliers

Radio Times Back numbers


Mr Turnip
If you have any comments, questions
or further information of interest,
please e-mail:
mr.turnip@whirligig-tv.co.uk

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