COUNTDOWN - Countdown is THE programme watched by anyone at home in the early afternoon. The prizes are practically non-existent (the Countdown boardgame, 
or the big prize is the Oxford English dictionary!) Every pensioner in the UK watches, & is just waiting for their turn in the audience.
It was (until his recent death) hosted by Richard Whitely, bungling local news presenter, whose previous claim to fame was appearing on blooper shows being savaged by a ferret. He became a favourite of the blue-rinse brigade, he made lame jokes about a town called 'Wetwang'. The town loved it so much, they ELECTED HIM MAYOR. Yorkshire people are like that (it's made in Leeds at Yorkshire TV). The other presenter is Carol Vorderman
or Carol Vorderperson as she is sometimes jokingly referred to.
She is a highly qualified graduate & maths wizard, she has the highly responsible job of inserting nine cardboard letters into nine slots, then rearranging them into the longest possible word& also pressing a button (which for some reason she has to stretch up to reach... maybe the set designer doesn't like her) which causes 3 red LEDs to flash up 3 random numbers. She then wows the audience by solving the number puzzle (if the contestants don't get it first). Carol Vorderman is now famous for wearing revealing outfits to various showbiz bashes, & promoting her healthy diet book. Since Richard Whitely died, after a brief period of mourning, the show is now back, with new presenter Des Lynam (the housewives choice of moustachioed ex-sport programme presenter). The town of Wetwang has voted in the local TV weatherman as it's new mayor and it's all true!!
RAINBOW - Lunchtime fun for kids off school (the ones
like me who went home for dinner, or the ones wagging it). Rainbow was hosted by a normal-looking bloke (Jeffery) who apparently lived with a small pink furry hippo with long eyelashes (& a deep voice, because he was male) called George, a strange fuzzy creature with a round head & big eyes, no nose & a mouth that zipped up if he was naughty. His name was, perhaps slightly more logically, Zippy. The final housemate was a big brown bear named Bungle: who Zippy always called 'Bunglebonce'. A trio of singers in brinylon white flares used to pop & to do a ditty every episode. They were Rod, Jane & Freddy. Jane was easy to identify because she was female. The other two both had long hair, & one had a beard, but I never worked out which was which. Strange silent cartoons used to be on it as well. Zippy was very fond of sausages.
THE WOMBLES - It's a little known fact that Bjorn Borg 
was nearly floored by a Womble in one of the early matches of his career. It was trying to collect an old string which he had carelessly discarded from his raquet. Unfortunately it then tried to retrieve his trainer laces. Unleashing a furious backhand on the hapless creature, Borg went on to win in straight sets.
SOOTY - Long running kids' show about a man, Matthew, who lives with 3 puppets: Sooty the Bear, Sweep the Dog and Soo the Panda.
Australian Alternative: Agro
BAGPUSS - The story of a little girl who owned a shop in which lives Bagpuss - a pink and white striped stuffed toy cat that came to life after she left.In the 13 episodes made we meet such various characters & illustrious personages as The Bony King of Nowhere, The Owls of Athens & The Wiseman of Ling-Po, as well as learning the ‘true’ origin of dragonflies, & the latin name for the plant ‘old man’s beard’. In a programme aimed at the under sevens!
The following sums up everything that’s gone wrong with British TV & the Education system since their heyday (the 70s)
1969: Oliver Postgate’s introduction from ‘Clangers’ (knitted pink aliens whose peaceful existence is sometimes interrupted by space-junk) On our first sighting of the Clanger’s planet ‘...this calm, serene orb, sailing majestically among the stars of the firmament... let us watch carefully, & listen’
1994: Teletubbies ‘Eh-oh’ (translation: hello)
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