Ooh, You Are Awful... But I Like You! Dick Emery and Saturday Night Television

Ooh, You Are Awful... But I Like You! Dick Emery and Saturday Night Television

Author: Oliver Colling August 4, 2026 Duration: 21:37
Welcome back to My 70s TV Childhood! This week, I'm looking back at one of the biggest stars of Saturday night television, a man who entertained millions with a remarkable gallery of comic characters. Dick Emery was a fixture on BBC One for over a decade, and his catchphrases entered everyday conversation across the country. From the unforgettable Mandy to the Toothy Vicar, the Bovver Boy to the controversial Clarence, his characters were as familiar as members of our own families. Before we ...

Remember the crackle of a television warming up on a rainy afternoon? My 70's TV Childhood, hosted by Oliver Colling, is a deeply personal audio scrapbook dedicated to that exact feeling. It’s more than a nostalgia trip; it’s an exploration of how the shared experience of television shaped a generation growing up in Britain. Each episode digs into the programmes, adverts, and presenters that formed our collective memory, examining their lasting impact on our culture and society. You’ll hear specific discussions about everything from classic sitcoms and Saturday morning shows to the gritty dramas and fantastical series that defined the decade. This podcast serves as a conversation starter, reviving the watercooler moments of a pre-internet age. It’s about the stories we watched and the stories of our own lives that unfolded around the glowing screen. Oliver invites you to join this ongoing dialogue, to revisit the iconic and the forgotten, and to reflect on how those flickering images in our living rooms helped to make us who we are. Your own memories and suggestions for topics are always a welcome part of the journey.
Author: Language: en-gb Episodes: 50

My 70's TV Childhood
Podcast Episodes
Quiz #78: One Season Wonders! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:13
Welcome back to the My 70s TV Childhood Quiz. This week Round One takes us into the world of the one-hit wonders of television: shows that had everything going for them, except a second series. Some were cancelled. Some…
Farewell Richard O'Sullivan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:23
Welcome back to My 70s TV Childhood! This week we are marking the sad passing of Richard O'Sullivan, who died peacefully at Brinsworth House in Twickenham on 4 September 2026, aged 82. In his time, Richard was one of the…
Quiz #77: It's the Muppet Show! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:40
Welcome back to the My 70s TV Childhood Quiz. This week Round One marks a rather special occasion: the fiftieth anniversary of The Muppet Show, which first aired in September 1976. Five questions about Kermit, Miss Piggy…
She Spun Around and Saved the World! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:44
Welcome back to My 70s TV Childhood! This week I am heading back to a Saturday afternoon in 1978, when a spectacular American import arrived on BBC One and stopped children in their tracks across the country. The theme m…
Quiz # 76 - Can You Pass the Blue Peter Quiz? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:19
Welcome back to the My 70s TV Childhood Quiz. This week Round One is dedicated to one of the longest-running and most beloved programmes in the history of British children's television: Blue Peter. Five questions coverin…
Don't Mention the War! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:49
Welcome back to My 70s TV Childhood! This week, I'm looking back at what many people reckon is one of the greatest British sitcoms ever made. A sitcom that lasted just 12 episodes, and yet more than 50 years later remain…
Quiz #75: Watch With Mother [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:27
Welcome back to the My 70s TV Childhood Quiz. This week marks a rather satisfying milestone: our 75th quiz, three quarters of a century of questions about growing up with British television in the 1970s. To celebrate, Ro…
Quiz #74: Seaside Special [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:42
Welcome back to the My 70s TV Childhood Quiz. This week Round One is all about the summer variety show Seaside Special, a fixture of Saturday night television throughout the mid to late 1970s, plus a few other seaside-re…
The Flashing Blade: A Summer Holiday Classic [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:16
🎲 The My 70s TV Childhood Board Game is launching very soon! We are launching a playable version of our regular theme tune quiz, and we are planning some extremely special events that you may have the opportunity to take…
The Quiz #73: Commercial Break [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:28
Welcome back to the My 70s TV Childhood Quiz. This week Round One takes us back to the golden age of 1970s television advertising. I will give you some information from a famous advert and you have to tell me the product…