BBC One

City Lights

Hapless bank clerk Willie Melvin dreams of being a successful writer but is held back by his own incompetence, the dodgy dealings of his best friend Chancer, and lack of support from his mother, the bank's manager Adam McLelland and his obsequious fellow teller, Brian.

The Clothes Show

The Clothes Show is a British television show about fashion that can currently be seen weeknights on Really. It was formerly broadcast on BBC One from 1986 to 2000.

Casualty

Drama series about the staff and patients at Holby City Hospital's emergency department, charting the ups and downs in their personal and professional lives.

Call Me Mister

Brush Strokes

Jacko (Karl Howman) is a painter and decorator with an eye for the ladies. He works with Eric (Mike Walling), who's married to his sister Jean (Nicky Croydon). The painting and decorating firm they work for is owned by Lionel Bainbridge (Gary Waldhorn). Other characters include Lionel's wife, Veronica (Elizabeth Counsell), his daughter Lelsey (Kim Thomson, later Erika Hoffman) and wine bar owner Elmo Putney (Howard Lew Lewis).

The Monocled Mutineer

The Monocled Mutineer follows the rebellion that took place at the notorious Etaples Training Camp in northern France on the eve of "The Battle of Passchendaele" in 1917. After the mutiny, the dashing Percy Toplis takes flight, dressed as a British officer, soon to embark on a love affair with beautiful young widow, Dorothy. A solder in the First World War, the real Percy Toplis was a rake, rogue and master of disguise who became the most wanted man in Britain. This controversial BBC dramatisation of high romance, hilarious impudence and savage retribution was adapted by Alan Bleasdale from the book by William Allison and John Fairley.

Hell's Bells

Hell's Bells is a 1986 British sitcom produced by BBC Television starring Derek Nimmo as traditionalist Dean 'Selwyn' Makepeace, who finds himself consistently at loggerheads with modernising new Bishop Godfrey Hethercote.

Bread

Bread is a British television sitcom, written by Carla Lane, produced by the BBC and screened on BBC1 from 1 May 1986 to 3 November 1991. The series focused on the devoutly-Catholic and extended Boswell family of Liverpool, in the district of Dingle, led by its matriarch Nellie through a number of ups and downs as they tried to make their way through life in Thatcher's Britain with no visible means of support. The street shown at the start of each programme is Elswick Street. A family called Boswell had also featured in Lane's earlier sitcom The Liver Birds and Lane admitted in interviews that the two families were probably related. Nellie's feckless and estranged husband, Freddie, left her for another woman known as 'Lilo Lill'. Her children Joey, Jack, Adrian, Aveline and Billy continued to live in the family home in Kelsall Street and contributed money to the central family fund, largely through benefit fraud and the sale of stolen goods.

Omnibus Presents Comic Relief

The comedy event of the year took place in April 1986 at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London. All those taking part gave their services free in order to support the famine relief camp in Umbala in the west of Sudan. Tonight Omnibus, in collaboration with Charity Projects, presents the best comic talents in Britain today. Among those appearing: Rowan Atkinson, Frank Bruno, Kate Bush, Graham Chapman, Billy Connolly, Ronnie Corbett, Paul Eddington, Ben Elton, French and Saunders, Stephen Fry, Bob Geldof, Terry Gilliam, Lenny Henry, Howard Jones, Terry Jones, Hugh Laurie, Hank Marvin, Rik Mayall, Michael Palin, Cliff Richard, Pamela Stephenson, Spitting Image, Midge Ure, The Young Ones.

Jossy's Giants

Jossy's Giants was a children's footballing comedy drama that ran on BBC1 between 1986 and 1987. The show's plot centred on a boys' football team, the Glipton Giants, and their enthusiastic Geordie manager Joswell 'Jossy' Blair. The show was written by darts commentator and television personality Sid Waddell, himself a native of Newcastle upon Tyne. In total, only ten episodes were made. The Producer/Director Edward Pugh became an Executive Producer and ran Children's Programmes Department at BBC Manchester after the series. The distinctive theme music was written by Mike Amatt. Football scenes were shot at a since demolished Oldham Town fc site off Middleton rd Chadderton, exterior scenes were shot in and around Stalybridge, and the studio material was shot at BBC Oxford Road.

The ChuckleHounds

The ChuckleHounds was a BBC Children's TV Series staring the The Chuckle Brothers as dogs.

You Should Be So Lucky

You Should Be So Lucky! was a BBC children's television programme hosted by Colin Bennett in the character of Vince Purity. It was a game show, during which contestants played on a giant snakes and ladders board. Points were earned by their team partners through talent tasks.

Dear John

Dear John is a British sitcom, written by John Sullivan. Two series and a special were broadcast between 1986 and 1987. This sitcom's title refers to letters - known as "Dear John" letters - from girls to their boyfriends breaking off a relationship. John discovers in the opening episode that his wife is leaving him for a friend, and he is forced to find lodgings. In desperation, he attends the 1-2-1 Singles Club and finds other members mostly social misfits. The series was also re-made for the U.S. market.

Every Second Counts

Every Second Counts was a game show which aired on BBC One between 8 February 1986 and 29 October 1993 and was hosted by Paul Daniels. It is based on the American game show of the same name. Produced in association with Talbot Television & Group W Productions.

The Really Wild Show

The Really Wild Show was a long-running British television show about wildlife, broadcast by the BBC as part of their CBBC service to children. It also runs on Animal Planet in the US. The show was broadcast continuously since 21 January 1986. In April 2006 the BBC announced that the show would be axed that summer, and as such the last ever episode was shown in April 2006, giving the show a run of 20 years.

Running Scared

Running Scared is a British television children's drama serial produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC 1 in 1986, based on the Bernard Ashley novel and is set in Woolwich with the Woolwich Ferry featuring in a key scene. A gritty series, Running Scared deals with a teenage girl, Paula, whose life is put at risk when she uncovers evidence that could put a local criminal gang leader behind bars. The series is notable for its use of the then recently released Kate Bush pop song Running Up That Hill as its main theme tune.

Bluebell

Bluebell is a British television drama series produced by the BBC in 1986. The series was set before and during the Second World War and was based around a dance troupe performing in Europe. The leading cast members were Carolyn Pickles, Philip Sayer, Carmel McSharry and Annie Lambert. The drama series was based on Margaret Kelly Leibovici and her dance troupe named the Bluebell Girls. Margaret Kelly is often referred to as Miss Bluebell. Carolyn Pickles played Miss Bluebell.

Lovejoy

The adventures of the eponymous Lovejoy, a likeable but roguish antiques dealer based in East Anglia. Within the trade, he has a reputation as a “divvie”, a person with an almost supernatural powers for recognising exceptional items as well as distinguishing genuine antique from clever fakes or forgeries.

Jimbo and the Jet Set

Jimbo and the Jet Set is a British animated cartoon series broadcast in the 1980s, featuring the adventures of the eponymous Jimbo, a talking aeroplane. Created by Maddocks Cartoon Productions, it originally ran for 25 episodes between 1985 and 1986. The premise of the cartoon is that Jimbo was originally intended to be a Jumbo Jet, but his designer could not tell the difference between inches and centimetres, resulting in his diminutive size. If Jimbo's designer switched the imperial measurements of the Boeing 747 for metric, the result would have been an aircraft with a fuselage length of 91 ft; this would make Jimbo roughly the length of an early-series Boeing 737. The television series features various talking airport-type ground vehicles: Tommy Tow-Truck, Claude Catering, Amanda Baggage, Phil the Fuel Truck, Sammy Steps and Harry Helicopter. Other plane characters appear from time to time, such as Old Timer, a Vickers Wellington bomber who gets into the story while flying to or from an airshow. The story is based at a fictional "London Airport", under the command of an irate controller who frequently ends episodes screaming "I want words with you, Jimbo!".

The Krankies Elektronik Komik

A family variety series presented by the Krankies which also featured magic from the Great Soprendo and live music from pop bands. The series was their third solo programme since Crackerjack, this time on the BBC. Featured in a total of three series.