Bring back 80's kids TV

BBC breakfast TV this morning was talking about children’s TV and how that only 17% of kids TV these days is "home grown", so made in the UK. They were saying that there are more cartoons these days and not as many factual or drama programmes for children. So I thought I’d list the things I remember watching on TV.

· Mr Ben
· Bertha
· Charlie Chalk
· Fireman Sam
· Sharkey and George (US I think)
· Poddington Peas
· Play Days
· Spot
· Blue Peter
· Byker Grove
· Art Attack
· The Really Wild show
· Morph and the art show he featured on - can't remember the name of it.
· grange hill
· live and kicking
· the racoons (US)
· postman pat
· noddy
the demon headmaster

I know noddy is still going today, (although it has been digitally remastered and now looks more like a computer game!) and also the really wild show, art attack, blue peter. I’m not sure about grange hill; I think it is still going.

Things like postman pat and fireman Sam are available on DVD and video I think. So parents who remember then could show them to their kids that way. I know I would.

I caught a glimpse of a kids programme on BBC the other afternoon, it’s this latest craze called Lazy Town, which seems to be set in the future and the space age. The main character is a young girl who has bright pink hair. With one other real human being and then the rest of the characters were cartoons. What confused me though (as I think it is supposedly a "home grown" programme) was that the main character has an American accent yet every other character has a British accent.

One programme I do think it positive these days which is aimed at pre teens I think is Tracy Beaker, based in a series of books. It looks at children’s home, fostering and adoption - dealing with real issues as well as the light hearted day to day stuff of a pre teen likes fashion and boys etc. In my list it was Biker grove that used to handle these issues.

The news says teenagers are the most poorly served with TV. With channel 4's hollyoaks being the only programme really. But I never watched hollyoaks as a teen, but then we all know I was never a normal teen!

Surely these days’ teenagers are probably more likely to be online, on msn chatting to friends etc than sat in front of the TV.

And anyway normally in the news they are constantly saying that kids should be out and about playing with friends, being active, so they don't become obese! So which is it more British TV? Which they want the government to put more money into. Yet then you can guarantee that they will say kids are sitting in front of the TV too much again.

Talk about mixed messages!