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As a kid I was fascinated with magic tricks. I had several books on card tricks and simple magical illusions, and also my prized Paul Daniel’s Magic Tricks. Paul Daniels was on the TV quite a lot when I was growing up so he became one of my childhood heroes, which is the main reason why I used to watch Wizbit.
Wizbit appeared in 1985 and was really aimed at younger children than I was at that time, yet so great was the draw of Mr. Daniels that I still tuned in to watch the adventures of the titular large yellow conical creature and a gigantic white rabbit called Wooly. The show was intended to get kids thinking, as it was more about solving puzzles than magic tricks, although given that Wizbit was actually an alien magician from the planet Wow (short for World of Wizards) there was the odd trick too.
The idea was that Wizbit was visiting Earth for a year and a day, although he ended up in a place called Puzzleopolis which is like no town I’ve ever been too. Puzzleopolis was inhabited by a number of strange folk, most of whom were related to the world of light entertainment. Some of the more obvious choices here included clowns and mime artists, although there were walking dice and playing cards, and a big round red thing with massive lips which I assume was meant to be one of those sponge balls magicians use in tricks.
Paul Daniels and his assistant (wife), the lovely Debbie McGee (as Paul always referred to her), also lived there apparently, as did the aforementioned Wooly, who whilst a bit dim witted quickly became Wizbit’s friend and guide to Puzzleopolis. I also remember a big purple lump of slime who sounded like a blues singer who went by the name of Squidgy Bog, but I don’t quite remember what he did other than sound laid back and cool.
Animal Magic is yet another example of a BBC children’s TV show that ran for absolutely ages. It first came on air in 1962 and lasted 21 years, finishing in 1983. It came to an end because the BBC deemed it “not educational enough” which considering it was a programme telling kids about different kinds of animals I find quite amusing.
Some kids TV shows will forever remain stamped in your memory, but some end up buzzing around the a fly against a window, where the more you struggle to remember them the more annoyed you get with yourself. Cloppa Castle is a perfect example of just such a show for me.
One of the most successful series of children’s books I remember from my childhood was the 
You’ll need to be one of the older Children of the 1980’s to remember Fingerbobs, since it was actually a 1970’s kids show. I have very fond memories of sitting watching this excellent show, spellbound by it despite the fact it was so very simple. Even now the show oozes with a charm that is simply missing entirely from todays kids tv shows, and at the end of this post you can check out an episode for yourself. But first, what was Fingerbobs for those that don’t know?
Put simply, Star Fleet is the best puppet TV series never made by Gerry Anderson. Sure, I love Gerry’s stuff, but Thunderbirds, Joe 90, Stingray and the rest of them were not of my era – Star Fleet was and when the series first aired on Saturday morning British TV in 1982 I was hooked. Well, it featured space ships and giant robots! What more could a young boy want?
Supergran started as a series of childrens books written by Forrest Wilson. Unsurprisingly they were about Granny Smith, a grandmother who had super powers from the town of Chiselton. Her arch-enemy was the villainous Scunner Campbell, who ironically gave her the powers in the first place when she got hit by a beam from one of his strange contraptions.
Jimmy Saville really is one of the UK’s national treasures, and not just because he’s beginning to get on a bit now! Whether using eggs to demonstrate the perils of not using a seatbelt, hosting Top of the Pops or running the London Marathon whilst smoking a cigar, he is always supremely confident in anything he does.
