... Colourful characters keep the fun moving This week we focus on the small-screen world of children's programmes BY KAT WOOOTTON While my cronies and I have reached the age at which we get nostalgic about children's television in the seventies, my kids are currently having their future TV reminiscences imprinted upon them. In 20 years time, they will get all misty-eyed at the mention of ...

... On his own, Burnside turns into Monkfish The problem with Burnside (ITV, Thursday, July 6, 9pm) is Burnside himself. By far the most charismatic character at The Bills Sun Hill Police Station, Burnside enlivened every episode he appeared in with his cheery growl, dubious techniques and no-nonsense attitude. Convincingly portrayed by Christopher Ellison, Bumside was the heir to the tradition ...

... Addicted to celeb excess stories BY HARRY VENNING What with all the natural disasters, wars, plagues and famines forever grabbing the headlines, the sad plight of the rich and famous is often overlooked. So let us raise a cup, cut a line, or put a monkey on an accumulator in celebration of Celebrity Rehab (C4. Wednesday, July 26, 8.30pm), a dishonest, salacious, trite and wickedly enjoyable ...

... Welcoming talent to the jungle By DON WEBB Presence. It's a gift most television performers would die for. It is what the people that make the programmes are looking for. In the case of Stars of Tomorrow (BBC1, Sunday, November 19, 8.10pm) the search was quite literal. In what was probably a puDiic relations exercise wnen it started, the Beeb embarked on a countrywide pursuit of young ...

... Faithful story of a lady who sang the blues By Tara Conlan One thing I nevef understood about As You Like It, no matter how many times my English teacher went through it. If all the world's a stage, then where is backstage and, more importantly who is selling the ice creams and programmes, as I would like a synopsis? For Janis Joplin all the world was a stage. Like many performers, she felt ...

... RATINGS WATCH ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^M*il:MWJJMdJli1MJlWIJ'4.-l Oh dear, it looks like further bad news for poor old Peter Salmon. Only this week some smartypants researcher with a name like an allotment comes up with more lists to show how the BBC1 controller is floundering (excuse the pun) in his struggle to swim with the big boys of ITV. Now the list below doesn't look likely to produce the ...

... Ideally pitched for the big tent BY Don Webb The commissioning brief for Blackadder Back and Forth (Sky One, Sunday, October 1, 9pm) must have been a lulu. Hi, Richard? It's Ben. What we need is something that will amuse 1,000 folk at a time. Something to appeal to everyone from babes in arms to toothless crinklies sitting in a big, draughty tent in the outer reaches of Greenwich, without ...

... FOR WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 26 If you are one of the many British tourists to have spent your time on holiday in Turkey, then you will realise that no longer are visitors from the United Kingdom assailed with the plaintive offer of jiggy-jiggy?- In its place now there is the dawn to dusk chorus of luvverly jubbly to be heard in cafes and bars the length of Bodrum. So, John Sullivan, you ...

... Ross gets a Frosty reception from master of the interview BY DON WEBB BBC2 controller Jane Root gave I her view on her repositioning of the channel last week. It is going to be an upmarket offering, clever and sophisticated. It will no longer be a minority player in this new multi-channel world but a star turn with a much bigger share of the available watchers. This is the kind of stuff ...

... Oh Ricky, you were so fine BY HARRY VENNING So, farewell Ricky Butcher. Your departure was more or less inevitable after Bianca left The Square. Ricky without Bianca was like Ernie without Eric, Garfunkel without Simon, Ridgeley without Michael. She was the light of his life, and her absence rendered him dimmer than ever. With a malice that was as enthusiastic as it was undeserved, the ...

... Uncomfortable portrait of isolated lives inside By Harry Venning My friend Geoff, who earns more money than is decent, recently cried off Sunday morning football, blaming a previous engagement. When questioned, he sheepishly admitted that he was going to attend the Lotus Drivers' Annual Rally and Picnic instead. A Lotus drivers convention is, I am sure you will agree, a vision of hell worthy ...

... Frightening vision of pop's monstrosities BY HARRY VENNING Until his dying day, my father could not bring himself to forgive Teddy Johnson for introducing a whistling interlude into Sing Little Birdie, the legendary duet with Pearl Carr which represented the UK at the 1958 Eurovision Song Contest. Based on no evidence at all, father maintained that we were coasting to victory up until the ...