ITV1

The English Programme

Long-running series for schools and colleges produced by Thames Television which comprised classic plays, contemporary dramas, poetry anthologies, documentaries and other material suitable for English language and literature syllabuses.

The Cedar Tree

The Cedar Tree was a television serial that ran from 1976-1979 on ITV in the United Kingdom. It involved the story of the Bourne family, hailing from an aristocratic background, before the turn of the Second World War. The Cedar Tree was an ATV Production and recorded at the ATV Centre, Birmingham. Two established cast members were the veteran actress Joyce Carey and Susan Skipper, who played one of the Bourne family's daughters. In February 2013 it was announced the first 1976 series was to be released on DVD.

Star Maidens

Star Maidens is a British-German science-fiction television series made by Portman Productions for the ITV network. Produced in 1975, and first broadcast in 1976, it was filmed at Bray Studios and on location in Windsor and Bracknell, Berkshire, and Black Park, Buckinghamshire. The series was partly financed by a German company, Werbung im Rundfunk.

George and Mildred

A middle-aged housewife feels frustrated with her mean and miserable husband, the married couple adapting to life in an up-market housing estate.

The Muppet Show

Go behind the curtains as Kermit the Frog and his muppet friends struggle to put on a weekly variety show.

Lucky Feller

Lucky Feller is a 1976 ITV sitcom written by Terence Frisby and produced by Humphrey Barclay. It featured David Jason and ran for just one series of 13 episodes. It is reported that London Weekend Television later tried to revive it in the 1990s but Jason did not agree to this as he felt at the time he was being over-exposed. About two brothers in South-East London, the basic set-up can be seen as a dry run for Only Fools and Horses, except with David Jason playing the nerdy "Rodders" part, Shorty Mepstead. The other brother, Randolph Mepstead, was played by Peter Armitage. In the sitcom, Jason was in love with a girl, who was sexually infatuated with - and indeed pregnant by - Randolph Mepstead. Despite her feelings for Randolph, she was engaged to Shorty and had to bed him before the end of the series to make sure that he would think he was the father. But despite her best attempts, and Jason's feelings for her, the consummation never quite happened. Guest stars included such names as Pat Heywood, Prunella Scales and Mike Grady as well as international stars such as Bert Kwouk and Saeed Jaffrey. The show was directed by both Gerry Mill and Mike Vardy and was mainly filmed in and around South London. The show was offered a second series, however writer Terence Frisby didn't feel he had enough ideas for the series to continue and therefore the show was axed after the final episode.

Victorian Scandals

Featuring dramatised versions of true stories that shocked mainstream Victorian society.

Maggie and Her

The XYY Man

The XYY Man began life as a series of novels by Kenneth Royce, featuring the character of William 'Spider' Scott, a one-time cat-burglar who leaves prison aiming to go straight but finds his talents still to be very much in demand by both the criminal underworld and the British secret service. Scott has an extra "y" chromosome that supposedly gives him a criminal predisposition - although he tries to go straight, he is genetically incapable of doing so. Royce's original books were : The XYY Man; Concrete Boot; The Miniatures Frame; Spider Underground and Trap Spider, though he returned to the character in the 80s with The Crypto Man and The Mosley Receipt. Regular characters included Scott's long-suffering girlfriend Maggie Parsons; British secret service head Fairfax; Detective Sergeant George Bulman, the tenacious policeman who wants nothing more than to see Scott back behind bars; journalist Ray Lynch; gay photographer Bluie Palmer and KGB chief Kransouski. In 1976 the first of Royce's novels was transferred to British television by Granada TV, in a three-part adaptation with Stephen Yardley playing Scott. The adventures of Scott caught the public imagination and ten more episodes followed in 1977. He is often co-opted into working for shadowy civil-servant and MI5 officer Fairfax. Doggedly on his trail is his nemesis Bulman and his assistant, Detective Constable Derek Willis.

The Feathered Serpent

The Feathered Serpent is a British children's television series. Set in Aztec Mexico and starring former Doctor Who Patrick Troughton as the scheming High Priest Nasca, two series were made for ITV by Thames Television and transmitted in 1976 and 1978.

Bill Brand

Following the death of the sitting Labour Party Member of Parliament, Bill Brand is selected as Labour candidate for a Lancashire textile constituency.

Tell Me Another

Personal anecdotes as told to Dick Hills.

The Ghosts of Motley Hall

The Ghosts of Motley Hall is a British children's television series written by Richard Carpenter which was produced and directed by Quentin Lawrence for Granada Television, and broadcast between 1976 and 1978 on the ITV network. The series relates the adventures of 5 ghosts who haunt Motley Hall. Each ghost is from a different era and all with the exception of Matt are unable to leave the confines of the building and Matt himself is unable to travel outside the grounds of the Hall. The only regular character who is not a ghost is Mr Gudgin the caretaker of Motley Hall. Carpenter wrote a companion novel for the series for Puffin Books in 1977. A 3 DVD set containing the complete series was released by Network in 2005.

The Fosters

The first sitcom written both for and starring black actors, The Fosters showcased the early work of Lenny Henry (riding high on a recent win in talent series New Faces) as the budding artist son of easy going family man Samuel Foster (Norman Beaton, who would go on to gain fame in ‘90s comedy Desmond’s). The series follows the day-to-day trials of Samuel and his lively wife Pearl (both immigrants from Guyana) and their three children on a South London housing estate. It was created and developed by Jon Watkins, who adapted the American sitcom, Good Times, developed by Norman Lear, and created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans. It was the first British sitcom to have an entirely black cast. It was the predecessor to many future British television programmes that featured a predominantly black cast:.

The Secret Policeman's Ball

A series of benefit shows staged initially in the United Kingdom to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International. The shows started in 1976 featuring popular British comedians but later included leading musicians and actors. The Secret Policeman's Ball shows are credited by many prominent entertainers with having galvanised them to become involved with Amnesty and other social and political causes in succeeding years.

Luke's Kingdom

A family of British pioneers in 1829 Australia.

Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings

Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings is a British children's animated series about the adventures of a young boy named Simon, who has a magic blackboard. Things that Simon draws on the chalkboard become real in the Land of Chalk Drawings, which Simon can enter by climbing over a fence near his home with a ladder. The stories often revolve around the unintended effects that Simon's drawings have on the Land of Chalk Drawings, such as when an upset Simon draws a picture of his angry self, which goes on a rampage.

4 Idle Hands

Two teenagers try to secure gainful employment after leaving school.

Arrows

Arrows was a pop television series aimed at the teen market, which aired in 1976 and 1977 in the UK. The show was produced by British TV legend Muriel Young, and ran for two full 14 week series on the ITV network, produced by Granada Television. The Arrows show format was that the band would perform their own songs, and they would introduce the guest artists. There was also a pop dance troupe called Him and Us who were regulars on the series. The Arrows were Alan Merrill, Jake Hooker and Paul Varley. Guests on the Arrows show included such artists as Marc Bolan, The Bay City Rollers, The Drifters, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Peter Noone, Alvin Stardust, Gene Pitney, Slade, Pilot, Billy J. Kramer, The Real Thing, and many more.

Rock Follies

Rock Follies, and its sequel, Rock Follies of '77, was a musical drama shown on British television in the 1970s. The storyline, over 12 episodes and two series, followed the ups and downs of a fictional female rock band called the "Little Ladies" as they struggled for recognition and success. The series starred Rula Lenska, Charlotte Cornwell and Julie Covington as the Little Ladies, with support from Emlyn Price, Beth Porter, Sue Jones-Davies, Stephen Moore and Little Nell among others. The series was made with a very low budget for Thames Television, with a style inspired by fringe theatre. The series was a success, winning three BAFTA Awards and the soundtrack album reaching No.1 in the UK Charts.