Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    Banner
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
      • Playlists
    • Television
      • Shows by Decade
        • 1950s Television
        • 1960s Television
        • 1970s Television
        • 1980s Television
        • 1990s Television
      • Shows by Genre
        • Comedy
        • Drama
        • Kids TV
        • Variety
        • News & Sport
        • Advertisements
      • Shows by Country
        • UK TV
        • USA TV
        • Australia & NZ TV
        • Canada TV
        • Europe TV
        • Japan TV
      • Shows A to K
        • Shows A
        • Shows B
        • Shows C
        • Shows D
        • Shows E
        • Shows F
        • Shows G
        • Shows H
        • Shows I
        • Shows J
        • Shows K
      • Shows L to Z
        • Shows L
        • Shows M
        • Shows N
        • Shows O
        • Shows P
        • Shows Q
        • Shows R
        • Shows S
        • Shows T
        • Shows U
        • Shows V
        • Shows W
        • Shows X
        • Shows Y
        • Shows Z
      • Shows 0 to 9
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • 1950s Music
        • 1960s Music
        • 1970s Music
        • 1980s Music
        • 1990s Music
      • Music A to K
        • Music A
        • Music B
        • Music C
        • Music D
        • Music E
        • Music F
        • Music G
        • Music H
        • Music I
        • Music J
        • Music K
      • Music L to Z
        • Music L
        • Music M
        • Music N
        • Music O
        • Music P
        • Music Q
        • Music R
        • Music S
        • Music T
        • Music U
        • Music V
        • Music W
        • Music X
        • Music Y
        • Music Z
      • Music 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • 1950s Movies
          • Movies 1950
          • Movies 1951
          • Movies 1952
          • Movies 1953
          • Movies 1954
          • Movies 1955
          • Movies 1956
          • Movies 1957
          • Movies 1958
          • Movies 1959
        • 1960s Movies
          • Movies 1960
          • Movies 1961
          • Movies 1962
          • Movies 1963
          • Movies 1964
          • Movies 1965
          • Movies 1966
          • Movies 1967
          • Movies 1968
          • Movies 1969
        • 1970s Movies
          • Movies 1970
          • Movies 1971
          • Movies 1972
          • Movies 1973
          • Movies 1974
          • Movies 1975
          • Movies 1976
          • Movies 1977
          • Movies 1978
          • Movies 1979
        • 1980s Movies
          • Movies 1980
          • Movies 1981
          • Movies 1982
          • Movies 1983
          • Movies 1984
          • Movies 1985
          • Movies 1986
          • Movies 1987
          • Movies 1988
          • Movies 1989
        • 1990s Movies
          • Movies 1990
          • Movies 1991
          • Movies 1992
          • Movies 1993
          • Movies 1994
          • Movies 1995
          • Movies 1996
          • Movies 1997
          • Movies 1998
          • Movies 1999
      • Movies A to K
        • Movies A
        • Movies B
        • Movies C
        • Movies D
        • Movies E
        • Movies F
        • Movies G
        • Movies H
        • Movies I
        • Movies J
        • Movies K
      • Movies L to Z
        • Movies L
        • Movies M
        • Movies N
        • Movies O
        • Movies P
        • Movies Q
        • Movies R
        • Movies S
        • Movies T
        • Movies U
        • Movies V
        • Movies W
        • Movies X
        • Movies Y
        • Movies Z
      • Movies 0 to 9
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Radio
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Television»Shows by Decade»1960s Television
    1960s Television Kids TV Shows A UK TV 4 Mins Read

    Adventure Weekly

    'Fred' Somers, 'Tubby' Taylor, Andy Rogers, 'Swot' English and Peter Perkins with their newspaper.
    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    1 9 6 8 – 1 9 6 9 (UK)
    13 x 20 minute episodes

    Five budding journalists set up a junior newspaper called the Adventure Weekly.

    Peter Perkins (Brent Oldfield) is the ingenious 12-year-old editor with a fertile imagination and a father who owns the local paper, the Cliffsea Recorder. This well-developed imagination had landed Peter in trouble for years (the deplorable incident of the camel rides on the beach is recalled in Episode One), but it gives him a sharp sense of what news is, and where to look for it.

    The sports editor is Tubby Taylor (Ian Ellis). This well-padded enthusiast admires all sports – from a sitting position. He has no wish to spoil them by joining in. His admiration for Cliffsea United – the local club – leads Adventure Weekly to one of its greatest scoops.

    A more serious note is struck by ‘Swot’ English (Frank Barry). He supplies news items from all the surrounding schools. Some of his stories about the masters are so scandalous that only Adventure Weekly would dare to print them. Swot is not always serious. With his spectacles off he can’t see so well, but he fights much better.

    The last of this happy quartet is Andy Rogers (Len Jones). He is one of those belligerent boys who always knows how the engines work, how to mend transistor radios, what makes nuclear reactors react, and other mechanical problems that baffle adults. He owns a good camera, which makes him the official photographer of the newspaper.

    His pictures are a feature of the front-page stories, and if some of them are a little blurred and crooked, this only proves how exciting the event was.

    A later arrival is Frederica – commonly known as Fred (Elizabeth Dear). She makes a bad start with the boys, as she does most things better than they do. But after she has led them to one of their biggest front-page stories, Fred becomes one of the team.

    Together, the five become involved in a whole series of adventures spread over 13 episodes which include capturing a team of post office robbers and covering the story of an unexploded WWll bomb.

    The kids befriend Mr Filling (Bartlett Mullins) who works as a typesetter for the Recorder – itself an ailing publication with a very modest circulation which is faced with imminent closure until it is bought out by London-based newspaper magnate Lord Huntingford.

    The newspaper lets the gang use the press to print the Adventure Weekly and Mr Filling often (reluctantly) gets involved in their schemes and plans. The gang often find themselves in trouble with local bobby PC Cullis (Michael Wisher).

    The series was originally conceived as a seven-part children’s drama by the late Shaun Sutton, who was later to become BBC TV’s Head of Drama, but when the extra episodes were added Sutton realised that he was too involved with other projects and he called in Victor Pemberton to write six of them.

    It was Pemberton’s first job for the BBC and he remembers it with affection: “Although the idea was hardly earth-shattering, the series and characters were really very appealing. I enjoyed the job very much, not only because it gave me valuable television writing experience, but also because it gave me the chance to work with the late Joan Hickson, that enchanting Miss Marple in a later BBC TV series.”

    The series was filmed on location in the Seaford/Newhaven area which doubled for the fictional town of Cliffsea, while the interiors were filmed at the BBC studios in Bristol.

    The series was made in black and white and subtitled “five boys, a girl and a printing press.”

    Frederica ‘Fred’ Somers
    Elizabeth Dear
    Andy Rogers
    Len Jones
    Mr Filling
    Bartlett Mullins
    Peter Perkins
    Brent Oldfield
    ‘Swot’ English
    Frank Barry
    ‘Tubby’ Taylor
    Ian Ellis
    PC Cullis
    Michael Wisher

    Related Posts

    • aquarius-burton
      Aquarius
      1 9 7 0 - 1 9 7 7 (UK) ITV arts programme, Aquarius, was originally edited and presented by Humphrey Burton,…
    • All the Green Year
      All the Green Year
      1 9 8 0 (Australia) 6 x 25 minute episodes An elderly man named Charlie Reeves (Alwyn Kurts) recalls his teenage…
    • Hold The Front Page
      Hold The Front Page
      1 9 7 4 (UK) 30 minute episodes This Thames Television series debuted on Wednesday 16 January 1974 at 4.20 pm. Based…
    • mystery&imagination1
      Mystery and Imagination
      1 9 6 6 (UK) 13 x 50/65 minute episodes 1 9 6 8 (UK) 3 x 60 minute episodes…
    • American Dreamer
      American Dreamer
      1 9 9 0 - 1 9 9 1 (USA) 17 x 30 minute episodes After graduating from NYU in 1972,…
    • Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
      Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
      1 9 9 3 - 1 9 9 4 (USA) 66 x 30 minute episodes The syndicated series - based…
    • arabianknights036
      Arabian Knights, The
      1 9 6 8 (USA) 18 x 10 minute episodes This regular cartoon segment of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour began…
    • compact15
      Compact
      1 9 6 2 - 1 9 6 5 (UK) 373 x 25 minute episodes The 1960s saw commercial television in…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleEddie Capra Mysteries, The
    Next Article Waverly Wonders, The

    Comments are closed.

    NC Radio Player
    Search the site
    Nostalgia Central has been a labour of love since 1998. The site carries no advertising, and I rely on donations to help with running costs and to keep the site running for your entertainment and education.

    If you find the site informative or enjoyable, please consider a donation – no matter how small.
    Thank you so much. Enjoy your trip in the time machine!
    You may also like

    • happygolucky5
      Happy Go Lucky
      1 9 5 9 - 1 9 6 3 (UK) 30 minute episodes This 30-minute weekly Tyne Tees production starred…
    • atv1955
      Deadline Midnight
      1 9 6 0 - 1 9 6 1 (UK) 39 x 60 minute episodes Years before Lou Grant became a massive hit…
    • Adventures of Annabel, The
      Adventures of Annabel, The
      1 9 5 5 - 1 9 5 6 (UK) 6 x 30 minute episodes This six-part Saturday night drama series…
    • ichabod00
      Ichabod and Me
      1 9 6 1 - 1 9 6 2 (USA) 36 x 30 minute episodes The character of newspaper editor and…


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Copyright © 1998, 2023 Nostalgia Central. Run by volunteers. Funded by donations.
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.