| Freetime | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Children's Entertainment |
| Presented by | Mick Robertson Trudy Dance Kim Goody |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 11 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV (CITV) |
| Release | 8 December 1980 – 23 December 1988 |
Freetime was a children's television programme shown on ITV between 1981 and 1988. Its premiere episode debuted on 8 December 1980 and was listed as "Free Time" in the TV Times. But the series did not properly start until 17 April 1981. 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.
Robertson was initially joined on set by Trudi Dance, but she was soon replaced by Kim Goody, who co-presented the show with Robertson until it was axed by the network in 1985, at which time the show was being broadcast bi-weekly. The object of the show was to shed light on the manifold hobbies and interests that viewers might wish to pursue. However, not all of these were really possible. One famous show from the final season featured two teams of dogs playing football, with Robertson providing commentary, while Goody attempted to act as referee.
Following the show's finale, Robertson went on to help launch The Children's Channel, and was briefly reunited with Goody a few years later when she joined him as a presenter on his show, Roustabout. However, after a year or so, she left to pursue a career in music.
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
Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broadcast from 09:25 Monday morning to 17:15 Friday afternoon at which time it would hand over to London Weekend Television (LWT).
Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as 'Southern Television Limited' and the title 'Southern Television' was consistently used on-air throughout its life. However, in 1966, during the application process for contracts running from 1968, the company renamed itself 'Southern Independent Television Limited', a title which was used until 1980 when the company reverted to its original corporate name. Southern Television ceased broadcasting on the morning of 1 January 1982 at 12:43am, after a review during the 1980 franchise round gave the contract to Television South.
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Valerie Singleton is an English television and radio presenter best known as a regular presenter of the popular children's series Blue Peter from 1962 to 1972. She also presented the BBC Radio 4 PM programme for ten years as well as a series of radio and television programmes on financial and business issues including BBC's The Money Programme from 1980 to 1988.
Rainbow is a British children's television series, created by Pamela Lonsdale, which ran from 16 October 1972 until 6 March 1992, made by Thames Television. The series was revived by Tetra Films from 10 January 1994 until 24 March 1997, in two different formats from the original Thames series, with differing cast members.
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Night Network, Night Time and Night Shift were names given to the overnight schedule of the ITV network in the United Kingdom. The first ITV company began 24-hour broadcasting in 1986, with all of the companies broadcasting through the night by the end of 1988. At first, individual companies created their own services; however, before too long, many of the smaller ITV stations began simulcasting or networking services from others.
Michael Robertson is a former presenter of the ITV children's television magazine programme Magpie.
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This is a list of British television related events from 1986.
This is a list of British television related events from 1985.
This is a list of British television related events from 1982.
This is a list of British television related events from 1981.
This is a list of British television related events from 1980.
This is a list of British television related events from 1979.
This is a list of British television related events from 1978.
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