Ali Catterall This is what you want: between the satire boom and the Alternative scene, before the Irony years and the comedy of Cruelty, Tiswas - it stood for 'Today is Saturday Wear A Smile' (among other acronyms) - roared into LWT like a coachload of Midlands monkeys and kids' telly was never the same again. Where would SMTV or Going Live be without Tiswas? (You can't really blame Tiswas for Noel's House Party though).Every Saturday morning a still-cool Chris Tarrant and co-host, saucy Sally James, borough flan-flying anarchy to the box, while bemused children stood around crying with fear, and grown men and women, who knew this programme was really for them, clambered into cages for a violent drenching. (Later, the Tarrant-fronted OTT attempted the formula for an adult audience, but they needn't have bothered.) In my day, you were either a 'Swap Shop' person or a 'Tiswas' person. 'Swap Shop' was on a the same time on BBC1, and was for nice middle-class kids with 'hobbies', whose idea of fun was exchanging Mousetrap for a gonk or making pen-pals with a buck-toothed girl from Luxembourg. No contest.One of this reviewer's favourite moments was when Lenny Henry's Trevor McDoughnut is surprised by the real Trevor McDonald, invited on set for a laugh. A stunned Henry is momentarily lost for words. Then, regaining his composure, embraces the newsreader, and in Trevor's own clipped tones remarks, "Well... good morning, Daddy."

ShadeGrenade Well, which did you prefer? 'Multi-Coloured Swap Shop' or 'Tiswas'? To tell the truth, I never watched a complete edition of either, preferring to channel surf, but of the two, 'Tiswas' was clearly the best. Its also the only programme I've ever liked with Chris Tarrant in. The Hee-Heeing Blonde One led a team of comics which included Lenny ( 'This Is Trevor McDoughnut' ) Henry, John Gorman ( of 'The Scaffold' ) and Bob ( Spit The Dog ) Carolgees. Sally James ( she of the 'almost legendary pop interviews' ) was devastatingly sexy, even to us kids.'Tiswas' was like a children's tea party had been invaded by fifth-form students weened on Spike Milligan. Its anarchic sense of humour was refreshing. Everyone involved seemed to be having a good time. Must have been something in those condensed milk sandwiches...One of the funniest moments was when Chris and co. made Lenny the subject of a 'This Is Your Life' spoof. They even managed to get his mother into the studio! Tarrant and the gang eventually quit 'Tiswas' to do an 'adult' version - 'O.T.T.'. Only Sally James stayed behind. She was wise to do so because 'O.T.T.' was the P.I.T.T.S. Naked men dancing with balloons and Bob Carolgees saying 's--t'. It managed to be childish in a way 'Tiswas' simply was not.Many shows have tried to copy 'Tiswas' over the years, but none have come close. Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a postcard I simply must walk through...

psyduck-psyduck I enjoyed watching Tiswas, but felt that O.T.T. was unfairly treated. Tiswas was a great programme and I don't care what people say about Dick and Dom, you cannot compare it to Tiswas. The thing about Tiswas is it had few if any rules, which is what made it so great. I cannot in a million years imagine Dick and Dom grabbing kids and pulling them from behind the desk by their ears, within five minutes it would be taken off the air. Tiswas is a classic children's show and will never be repeated or bettered by Dick and Dom or anyone. I can say this because, the world has become so stupid, what with political correctness and various other things. Half the things done on Tiswas were just great fun, now they would be close to child abuse. Tiswas was a reflection of how the world of Saturday morning kids TV should have stayed, if it hadn't been for political correctness idiots and people who watch programmes so they can write in and complain about them hence (O.T.T.) It was Tiswas, with semi naked ladies, if you knock O.T.T. your knocking Tiswas

jarod34 When I was at junior school in tne 70's the kids at the front of the class watched swap shop and blue peter, and the kids at the back of the class watched tiswas and magpie. Tiswas was far too good for kids on a saturday morning, a lot of it was beyond us. I always remember my dad used to sit with me and my sisters laughing more than we were. In the early eighties they tried to do an adult version called O.T.T, it was awful. Why make an adult version when the kids' version had the adults laughing more than the kids. I occasionally see kids t.v on a saturday morning, how much happier they'd be if they had the phantom flan flinger and Algernon Razzmatazz.