Friday, 12 December 2025

Radio Times Nostalgia

 It arrived safely on Wednesday - The double issue of Radio Times. All the TV and Radio listings for two weeks over Christmas and new year..........From my 10 issues for £10 subscription. 

 Another Wallace and Gromit cover -similar to last year .....



If only the covers were like The Good Old Days..................


A Christmas Radio Times cover from December 1923. An image of a well-dressed English family on the cover.
Issue 13 from 1923 priced 6d = 2½p
 

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They had lovely Christmas covers back in the early days, the one above is from 1936.  From 1965 below. Early Original covers are very collectable now.


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 The history of the RT...........

Radio Times is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manager of the British Broadcasting Company, it was the world's first broadcast listings magazine.[2] In September 2023 it became the first broadcast listings magazine to reach and then pass its centenary.

HERE' (or https://ukchristmastv.weebly.com/christmas-radio-times-covers-1936-1968.html)  is a website with many, many more covers pre 1969. Except for the war years they had full colour cover, even though there were only radio programmes listed and a long time before colour TV.

Then Here are covers from 1969 0nwards (or https://ukchristmastv.weebly.com/christmas-radio-times-covers-from-1969.html)

A Christmas tradition in many households even if never bought during the rest of the year.

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Day 11 of the coffee advent calendar was Italian and more than enough for 1 cup again. 


24 comments:

  1. Reminds me of my late Mum who always bought the Christmas edition. There was always something exciting to watch over the Christmas period, sadly not like the repeats or rubbish shown today. Maybe we have too much choice with many channels and streaming services!

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    1. We only had it at Christmas when I was young - like many people.

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  2. I was ALWAYS SO Excited when Mum bought this! It was such a treat to find out what would be on! I remember when it only had BBC1 AND BBC2 and the TV Times was the one with ITV and Channel 4. Actually tempted to buy it this year!

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    1. I'm plenty old enough to remember having to buy both too!

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  3. My parents were given a fancy leatherette cover for the RT. It was stored with the Christmas decorations and came out once a year for the Christmas edition, as they couldn't afford to buy the RT every week!

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    1. We only had it at Christmas too, just the daily EADT newspaper and the News Of The World on Sunday. I wonder why the News of The World as it was rubbish!

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  4. I remember my father in law coming and circling all the things he wanted to watch over Christmas in the Radio times. I stopped buying it as there is never any time to sit and watch TV here at Christmas we tend to play games more.
    We are staying two nights in a hotel near my mum's ...last time the batteries in the remote needed changing but reception couldn't find any! Our only chance to relax and watch something for an hour!

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    1. Being alone for more hours than I will have with other people it will be the TV keeping me company as usual over most days

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  5. We only but the Christmas edition and love looking through everything.
    Penny

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    1. I'm saving it to look at and do the puzzles nearer the time. The £10 offer was good - must remember to cancel it in January

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  6. every time i see these i think of you

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    1. Oh dear - that's not good! But it does fill a blog post every December

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  7. Yay, mine came yesterday, I was beginning to think it wasn't coming. I've not even read the last one that was delivered yet. We've had the Radio Times since I was a child, my Dad used to love it. I switched to the TV Times when I got married the first time, but switched back after I left him. As kids we used to love circling all the programmes that we wanted to watch, and it was always a thrill to see what the big Christmas Day film was going to be.

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  8. I remember my father marking the programmes he thought we'd all like to watch.

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  9. Have they started listing all of the streaming services now and where to find all of the movies or programs that are offered there? It's getting so complicated over here to find the shows that have moved from regular TV to various different services that you might need a subscription for. Ugh!

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  10. Have they started listing all of the streaming services now and where to find all of the movies or programs that are offered there? It's getting so complicated over here to find the shows that have moved from regular TV to various different services that you might need a subscription for. Ugh!

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  11. I remember the Radio Times. It was a kind of staple item. Looking through it to find programs and seeing Under Milk Wood repeated about a dozen times a week, they went mad filling in with it!

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  12. My Granny always bought the Radio Times at Christmas and I've carried on buying it, but only at Christmas. A whopping £6.50, but there is a lot of reading in it. Xx

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  13. Lovely covers from past Radio Times -two Ronnies and Morecambe and Wise seemed to feature in the 1970s. Catriona

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  14. This was definitely part of our Christmas. It was the only time we had the RT and we poured over it, marking things with big Xs and hoping they weren't on at the same time. Later, it became the aid to laying on the floor and programming the video recorder. Then all we had to do is hope that we had set it up properly and that we had actually got the end of the programme recorded.
    I'm not sure I would find much to watch now.

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  15. Thank you everyone for comments - I shall enjoy the double issue nearer the time but I do love the old covers rather than the more recent

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  16. I've never seen the RT in the US.
    We had a TV Guide, but it just listed daily TV shows. Nothing special.
    The RT sounds like so much more and greatly enjoyed by many. I agree, the older covers were lovely.

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  17. I have never seen this Radio Times in Canada either. However it looks really interesting.

    God bless.

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  18. I think I've said this before, but the only time I remember us getting the radio Times was at Christmas when we would go through and determine what 'specials' we'd watch over the holidays. Fun memories!

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