Tiswas © 1974 ATV Network Limited,
© 2004 Granada Media .
This is a non-profit site intended for education about the British televison
series Tiswas.
This site acknowledges all copyrights and presents material under the
'Fair Use' clause of international copyright law, for the purpose of review.
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Links to various websites with Tiswas connections, some strong, some
tenuous...
TV Cream's Tiswas pages
http://tv.cream.org/lookin/tiswas/index.htm
The best Tiswas webpages out there for some time, and definitely an inspiration for ourselves. TV Cream, having long given Tiswas their highest rating, expanded their entry to a page, then to two pages, then to three. It wasn't just because the TV Cream team liked the Saturday morning flanfest, it was because their content was being ripped off by a chancer who had registered tiswas.com. If you've never seen these pages before, do have a look. Lots of presenter information, delivered in the celebrated sardonic style typical of the site. The people who put them together gave some good advice to me when I set this place up, so I am quite biased... Matthew Butler's Tiswas Group
http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/matthewbutlerstiswasgroup/
Not quite a typical website, but a Yahoo group. Although this one has extra credance because it's been put together by Matthew Butler - a real Tiswas star. He was seen on the aged six, dressed as a bunny rabbit, singing "Bright Eyes". It was from this group that TiswasOnline was founded - webdesigner Peter Thomas recruited Matthew Butler and two eager fans (Lee Bannister and Andrew Wooding). Not a lot of activity here any more, and that's probably because TiswasOnline's own forums have taken over as the top place to talk about the show. Still, all the old messages are there, as are some old photos from Matthew's days on the show. Way better than the "Tiswas" Yahoo Group, though that's not difficult. Tiswas at UpAndHappy!
http://www.upandhappy.com/tiswas
A solitary webpage here, which acts as a signpost to this website. It's been put together by TiswasOnline web team member Lee Bannister. There are a few graphics around, which are ideal to act as forum avatars. Tiswas Yahoo Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tiswas/
Full of adult-orientated spam these days, and has been for several years. What could have been a good web-based mailing list on the show, has sadly turned into little more than an edition of the Daily Sport with all the news (both pages) ripped out. Dreadful, but if you delve far enough into the days when the moderator could be bothered to look after the group, there's some proper Tiswas discussion. As it stands, I wouldn't let under 18s view this group, and come to think of it, even us over 18s should steer clear of it. Lenny Henry
http://www.lennyhenry.com
Lenny Henry's website has a blog, tour news and a lengthy biography which mentions his time on Tiswas. Very professional looking! Carolgees' Candles
http://www.carolgeescandles.com/
Bob Carolgees has a shop near Frodsham in Cheshire, and this is the online version of it, selling mainly specialist candles (scented, customised, etc). The TiswasOnline team visted the shop and spent a long time in there perusing through hundreds of different types of candles - we were quite pleased with our purchases. There is a Spit The Dog game to play, so this ups the Tiswas quotient a little! Chris Tarrant (unofficial)
http://www.christarrant.net
Rachel Doyle is possibly Chris Tarrant's biggest fan, and has created this online shrine to him, featuring plenty of material from Tiswas, and of course, other shows he is notable for, such as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Even Man O Man is portrayed in a positive light. That's hardcore dedication! Fogwell Flax
http://www.fogwellflax.com/
Homepage of the resident impressionist from Tiswas' last series. This showcases his current and past performance work, with some nods to Tiswas, even if he didn't like being on the show. Fishathon
http://www.fishathon.co.uk/
Fishathon is a charity in aid of prostate cancer awareness, and organises angling events to raise funds. It's been set up by Sally James' husband Mike Smith, and another Tiswas connection is in the form of angling fanatic Chris Tarrant, who gives the charity vital backing. Gordon Astley
http://www.gordonastley.com/
Host of the final series of Tiswas, Gordon Astley has this site to showcase his current activities. He's a magician, a radio host, a handwriting analyzer and a corporate speaker. Not much in the way of Tiswas material, but you can see and hear how he looks these days. Unismart
http://www.unismart.co.uk/
Unismart is a Surrey-based clothing business set up by Sally, specialising in schoolwear. The Amazing Darts
http://www.amazingdarts.com/
The closest thing to an official Darts website. The Darts were a 50s style doo-wop band, of which Den Hegarty (anarchic and chaotic presenter in the final series of Tiswas) was a founder member. They even appeared on Tiswas in the late 70s. This Darts website tells you a bit about their history, including Den's role, and his departure from the band. The Darts Yahoogroup
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/THE_DARTS/
The official (or quasi-official) Yahoogroup mailing list/website thing for the Darts, a 50s style doo-wop band that Den Hegarty was in before he joined Tiswas as a presenter in its final series. Den Hegarty is subscribed to this list, but doesn't say much! Became a flurry of activity in summer 2005 when the Darts reformed (with Den) for a live gig in Southwark, Lodnon. Tom Bright
http://www.tombright.com
Personal website of the singer and composer of Tiswas' definitive theme tune "Today Is Saturday". Tom is a performer on the Blackpool cabaret circuit. At time of writing, his site consists of one page, stating it'll be changed from Jan 1st 2006. Cygneture Theatre Trust
http://www.cygneture.co.uk/
A theatre company run by Tiswas' first presenter John Asher. His son Laurie tells us it's based in High Wycombe, and "the company produces musicals and together with him directing, Dana Mistin, my mother choreographes. Thought I'd mention that as anyone who was around at the time in Birmingham whilst he was presenting Tiswas, will remember the amount of fans surrounding the church (and press coverage) when they were married". At the moment, the site is under construction. Saturday Mornings
http://www.saturdaymornings.co.uk/
Dedicated to children's Saturday morning TV shows, but you won't find much mention of Tiswas here because it keeps its focus almost entirely on the BBC's output. So I'm afraid it covers Swap Shop, but on the bright side, the Tiswas-inspired genius of Dick And Dom is also here. Very well written indeed. Other BBC Saturday morning shows of note are Saturday Superstore, Going Live, Live and Kicking, The Saturday Show, and the various strange experimental shows flung out in the summer. Whither Parallel Nine? SatKids
http://www.satkids.co.uk/
Hasn't been updated in years (literally), but covers almost every children's Saturday morning show screened on both channels since the Tiswas/Swap Shop era. A few slight inaccuracies here and there when it comes to covering the regional territories of ITV's 1970s output, but no-one else attempted to do this before SatKids did. Oh, and where else are you going to find any details on long-forgotten shows like Mashed, Scratchy and Co, Tricky, Telegantic Megavision or Fully Booked? TV Cream
http://tv.cream.org
An astonishingly large website, which is an encyclopaedia dedicated to all the memorable shows we grew up with in the 1970s and 1980s, even the bad ones. It ranges from the obscure (Wattoo Wattoo) to the depressingly prolific (Bagpuss), frowning on the cheap and simple "Wrong Kind Of Nostalgia" (that's references to Rainbow, Spangles sweets and Master Bates), and promoting their own take instead - sometimes cruel, sometimes inaccurate, but always an entertaining and sardonic viewpoint on the shows in question. Each show gets a rating, and these fellows have given Tiswas the highest possible score. There's also some theme tunes to download and a look at radio and films of that era. TV Ark - The Television Museum
http://www.tv-ark.org.uk/
Superb collection of video clips of opening titles from fondly remembered TV shows around the Tiswas era, including Tiswas itself. All ITV companies are represented, as are the BBC and Channel Four. Definitely one for your favourites list. ATV Lan
http://www.atvland.net
Stephen Thwaites' ATV Website profiles a lot of the entertainment and schools' output from the midlands station. There's news and details on DVD releases, and a chance for creative types to mock up the classic ATV logo. There's a forum too, where you can discuss topics ranging from ATV DVD offers to the ATV successors Central Television. Many Crossroads fans seem to be registered there... sub-TV
http://www.sub-tv.co.uk/
Heavily documenting facts and history about ATV, in addition to BBC/ITV Schools programme, sub-TV is a remarkable cult TV website. Lots of history, end production slides, programmes slides, all as a great tribute to Sir Lew Grade. The real coup for this site would be the pages on the ATV Centre, sourced from when the studios were being built. Very rare to see this level of detail being given to a TV company. Transdiffusion Network
http://www.transdiffusion.org
A fantastic array of British television history, which is mainly dedicated to what was on telly in between the programmes, as well as some incisive views on the politics of various TV companies. There's some fascinating insights into some long bygone names. Among the yesteryear companies, ATV is well profiled, and there are more than just a few references to Tiswas in there too! Unashamedly proud of their knowledge, which is refreshing in an era where intellectuallism is frowned upon, and offering popular and unpopular opinions with conviction, this is a prodigy among TV websites. The Continuity Booth
http://www.continuity-booth.co.uk/
A collection of various TV personalities that the average viewer probably won't recognise. They are all announcers/presenters from the older days of BBC and ITV. You have to remember that Tiswas began life as a links show, presented by a collection of ATV announcers and newsreaders, including one Christopher Tarrant. People from more obscure backgrounds are featured - do you recall Carole MacLean from Border Television? Maybe not...
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Tiswas Reunited is now available on DVD - an extended version of the show seen on ITV1 in 2007, with plenty of extras. TiswasOnline has been covering this revival project and has contributed to it. See the official blog and other show details at our Tiswas Reunited minisite!
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Random Tiswas quote:
"After a night on the sauce, Chris threw up in a bucket which was hidden under the desk. He then proceeded to throw it over a small child" - Sally James Random Tiswas fact:
Just before ATV was replaced by Central Television in the 1982 ITV franchise change, ATV ran a trailer about Central, re-assuring viewers that Tiswas would still be on air, featuring someone being flanned, with the pie-plate labelled 'Central'.
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