In the 1930s, borstal was a much-feared institution designed to reform young offenders by enforcing compulsory work, education, discipline and intense physical activity. In its heyday, the system worked, with low levels of reoffending, in stark contrast to today's statistics. In a social experiment, 13 trouble-makers - some of whom have criminal convictions - volunteer to become borstal boys, spending four weeks in a castle in Northumberland. Will the experience set them on the straight and narrow? Taking on the role of governor is one of the UK's leading criminologists, David Wilson.
The Blunders is an animated children's television series co-produced by FilmFair and Central Independent Television, and broadcast on ITV in 1986.
Colin Voisey and Haydn Morgan created the show's characters: Ma Blunder, Pa Blunder, Bobby Blunder, Baby Blunder, a cat named Zebra, a dog named Trouble, and an eye-patched bird named Patch. They all live together in the town of Villa Shambles, where they keep finding trouble because of their clumsiness. In the episode "The Blunder Family Tree", the Blunders find that their ancestors lived in the Roman Empire.
Love and Kisses was a black-and-white British sitcom that aired on ITV in 1955. It was written by Glenn Melvyn, who also starred in it. It was made for the ITV network by Associated-Rediffusion and was a spin-off series from the film The Love Match which was also written by and starred Glenn Melvyn.
Teach My Pet to Do That celebrates the hidden intellectual potential of our nations pets. We are a nation of animal lovers with over half of us owning some sort of pet. Watching funny and entertaining pet's on line is a bit of a national obsession but rarely do we think our own pets are capable of such feats of brilliance. Teach My Pet to Do That will wipe away that misconception and, using only positive reinforcement training, will prove that any pet has the potential to be an internet superstar. The Teach My Pet, Pet School is a place where domesticated pets of all shapes, sizes and species enroll to be taught tricks that enrich the lives of animal and owner.
Freetime was a twice-weekly children's television programme shown on ITV between 1981 and 1985. Produced by Thames Television, it was a magazine format show devoted to hobbies and interests, and was designed to encourage viewers to get out and about rather than staying at home and watching television. It was hosted by the former Magpie presenter Mick Robertson.
He was initially joined on set by Trudy Dance, but she was soon replaced by Kim Goody until it was axed by the network in 1985. On 16 September 1988, Thames Television briefly re-launched Freetime, this time fronted by Andi Peters, but the series was cancelled after its fifteenth and final edition on 23 December 1988.
Three antique dealers are given the keys to a house where they can place secret bids on anything they desire. The homeowners can then decide whether to take the highest bid or turn it down.
From the Heart is a campaign initiative set up in 2013 by ITV to raise awareness for organ donations. The campaign took place between 11—15 February 2013. ITV shows including Daybreak, This Morning and ITV News.
The Goal Rush was a live ITV television programme that aired from 2001 to 2003 produced by Granada Television. The programme was broadcast on Saturdays as a rival show to Final Score on BBC One, and provided live football scores from the Premier League and the Football League. ITV ran the programme during the two of the three seasons that it held the rights to show Premier League highlights. After the rights were lost, The Goal Rush was axed. Coverage began on ITV2 and then continued on ITV from 4pm. The programme was presented by Angus Scott.
Miracles Take Longer was a United Kingdom drama series broadcast on ITV from January 1984 to May 1984 made by Thames Television.
The drama depicted the life and cases dealt with by a branch of the Citizens Advice Bureau.
The programme was networked at 15.30 on Mondays and Tuesdays excluding Bank Holidays and the March Budget. TVS and Central aired it on different days.
Only one series was made and was replaced by the UK soap Gems and different Australian serials around the country.
Disappearing London is a British documentary television series that was broadcast on ITV London. In each episode, Madness frontman Suggs "searches out the people and places that give London its quirky appeal and charm, and discovers why they may not be around for much longer".
Overall, there have been 2 series of 6 episodes each. Each episode lasts approximately 23 minutes.
Both series were produced by Wavelength Films for ITV London, and series one was also produced in association with Sky Travel.
Daybreak Northern Ireland was the regional news strand for Northern Ireland provided for the ITV breakfast station ITV Breakfast.
Unlike the ITV plc-owned regions, UTV - the ITV contractor for Northern Ireland - did not provide regional news broadcasts during Daybreak. This was due to a dispute between UTV and GMTV which dates back to 1994 when UTV opted out of the national breakfast contractor in breach of their broadcasting licence to provide live coverage of the breaking news of the Combined Loyalist ceasefire.
GMTV Northern Ireland was rebranded as Daybreak Northern Ireland in September 2010, when GMTV was replaced by new breakfast programme, Daybreak. Regional bulletins aired three times each weekday, and included a look at the days main headlines, a travel news update, and a weather forecast.
Holding Out for a Hero is an ITV entertainment programme in which contestants don't win money for themselves, but for somebody else, who they considered to be their hero. The show is presented by Gethin Jones. Every week three contestants compete to win a huge sum of money for a charity close to their heart.
Comedy Firsts is a short-lived British television series consisting of five unrelated sitcoms and one sketch show that aired in 1995. Two of the episodes later lead onto full series, Barbara and Sometime, Never.
Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show was a television programme shown every weekday on the British channel ITV from 3 January until 10 February 2006. The show was presented by Richard Hammond and Mel Giedroyc, and featured a variety of reports on popular and unusual topics. They talked about things that matter to the public, and test claims like "an unstainable suit" or "unbreakable crockery". The show was first aired in 2006 replacing The Paul O'Grady Show, which had moved to Channel 4.
It happens in almost everyone's life. There is a special day - a day of unusual significance. A turning point in life, perhaps in career, romance or fortune; a day to remember. This anthology of plays, each as individual as the people and events portrayed, looks at seven such Red Letter Days.