Older I get, the deeper, richer, more downright *sad* "One Better Day" by Madness seems to get. Such a beautiful song. Right now, it's beginning to nudge at "Michael Caine" as my favourite Madness single. www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qOw...

Holy bloody hell.

Just been looking at the imdb page for "Telstar". A film I've seen and thoroughly enjoyed - but which I obviously didn't pay enough attention to or I would have spotted not only Ralf Little as Chas Hodges and Justin Hawkins as Screaming Lord Sutch but also MATTHEW BAYNTON AS RITCHIE BLACKMORE

As always, I need to recommend "Out of the Unknown"'s adaptation of this, which genuinely looks like they were making television in 1909 and this just happens to be a tape that survived from back then. It's an *incredible* version. Did Forster more than justice.

Bonus anniversary content: it’s ten years since this winning name/title combination on BBC News

King Cinder? Mandog? The Amazing Robert Baldick?!! Don't promise what you can't deliver, Channel 5

It's the little adjustments that Taskmaster makes which are so special. As a mechanical horse enrages Andy, fires Sam off even further into his own private universe and seriously compromises the dignity of John and Matt, a virtually immobilised Maisie gets a gently rotating flying carpet. Lovely.

The same task resulting in one contestant painting their face green and hiding in a hedge, one dressing as Genghis Khan and opening a cafe and one giving nearly a grand to charity is as good an example of why the show never gets old as you’ll get I think.

This splendid wee 15 minutes worth from Hotdog Soup running down the best 16k ZX Spectrum games was quite the memory jogger. So many in here I'd totally forgotten about. If I lose a chunk of the Christmas break joyfully revisiting "Cookie", "Psst" and "Trans-Am" (all Ultimate!) this is why

Sarah Cracknell and Jarvis have teamed up to teach prime numbers to KS2 kids.

Innes Lloyd night tonight on BBC4. I thought it was Christmas Eve they were doing this, but evidently not. A bit of Troughton Doctor Who kicks us off; the extraordinary documentary "The Producer" follows, then Michael Palin's "East of Ipswich" to finish.

We got a nice console room out of it, and I imagine "Boom" would have been quite a tough one to do without those remarkable resources but - yep, I can't really see that Disney money did much apart from make everything a bit bigger. But then, I've got a tin eye for these things.

When you realise you can't say "Aqua Kind" without going "quack"

Story from Joolz Denby over on Facebook. A bad day at TotP in 1985 with New Model Army, and Chris Rea suddenly appearing and being compassionate and gernerally decent.

“Well, it’s bless your little…yes, bless your little.. bottibooes. Well, I’ve never been called upon to spell it, actually. Ah, that *is* your job… but I’d hazard a guess and say - bee oh double tee, bee double oh, ee ess. But I don’t think that the last “e” is statutory”.

67 years old, and still one of the BBC's towering achievements. Appropriately for a serial concerned with collective memory, QatP lives in my head, haunting me. The sequence where Sladden suddenly starts running *like a Martian* and what happens when he hits the churchyard chills the blood.

Moving interview with Manchester United's Rhys Bennett, who lost his Dad to suicide in October. He speaks with so much grace and dignity. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

you wanna see a dead body

"But what was it like, this near-death experience? What did you see?" "I felt so safe. There was this tunnel of light. I heard music. I felt a soft touch on my hand. A small bear with a marmalade sandwich between his ears guided me to heaven. And accidentally knocked St Peter into a pond".

Local tough crumbles into a weeping, gibbering mess on hearing that his wrongdoing has reached the ears of Mr Whiskers.

I grew up loving Paddington. The books, the Hordern TV series. His regular chaotic interruptions of the Blue Peter annuals. The Whishaw films are beaituful things. This grim reaper stuff is... terrible. I don't see any of Michael Bond's creation in there. Nothing at all.

Just seen the Paddington / Chris Rea thing. This shit needs to STOP, please. It's twee, offensive and awful, all at once.

When Radio Caroline restarted in August 1983 after more than 40 months off air, the first record they played was Elkie Brook's cover of Chris Rea's "Fool If you Think It's Over". I've always rather liked that.

I remember being quite startled when he turned up on Gone Fishing a while back. He seemed to have gone through some terrible things. Very, very sad news.

Betrayed while he is sleeping Betrayed while he's awake It's Avon, he's on Gauda Prime And he's on the hunt for Blake

The War Behind The Land and the Sea. The story of one woman's slow mutation into a fully armed Womble.

Saw Stike and Tina Turner once. She stood at the front and sang "Proud Mary" while he ranted about the might of the glorious Sontaran empire before disintegrating into instant foliar feed which rained down over the hacienda in a fine paste.

5 programmes across BBC1, BBC2 and ITV1 tonight from 6PM tonight which have the word "Celebrity" in the title. Not looking like a vintage schedule...

Out and about, listening to the new remix of Purple's "Rapture of the Deep" and I might have barked out loud with laughter at the world weary lyrics to "MTV". "Mr Grover 'n' Mr Gillian You must have made a million The night that Frank Zappa caught on fire"

Why precisely is this being describes as a banana cleaner "for husband"? I'm sure there are reasons which will leave me much clearer-eyed and slightly sadder, but I can't think of them right now.

Readers with long shanks and spindly noses will know that I try to be nice at all times. Look for the positive, just don't talk about the stuff I don't like. BUT

"By Friday afternoon, Waldo Jefferson was set. He was thoroughly packed, wrapped in Christmas paper and the Post Office had agreed to pick him up at three o'clock and deliver him to his good friends Lou and John. He tried to picture the look of awe and happiness on their face"

Every single time. Every single time. Watching a Doctor Who season finale when Russell T Davies is doing it, is like Charlie Brown and the fucking football. Here we all are, in mid-air, descending to the ground with a massive THWAM. Again.

Gotta love a breathy, slowcore, piano-driven version of a beloved rock song * Under no circumstances have you got to love a breathy, slowcore, piano-driven version of a beloved rock song

Gotta love a Russell T Davies final episode. * *under no circumstances have you got to love a Russell T Davies final episode

Christ, I think some sort of public humiliation involving stocks and rotten fruit need to be arranged.

A triple whammy of a weekend.

There they are. Ncuti and Bang-Bang

Don't forget the final episode of "The War Behind The Land and the Sea" tonight, folks

The PDF Archive for the Doctor Who Season 21 Blu-ray Collection has finally been locked, so here's what's going to be included this time round - a total of 7706 pages of material, the second largest so far. It brings the running total across the 19 releases to 78,493 pages!

The Derry Girls Bake-Off special is on the Food channel at the moment, and it's quite brilliant. Barely any degree of baking competence on display. Everybody messing up everywhere. Bullshit levels through the roof of the tent, and the jokes flying thick and fast. It's ridiculously great.

The Monkees sing "Riu Chiu". 100 seconds of beautiful vocal work, with a bonus moment where as Micky sings, Peter and Davy exchange a look of pure delight. www.youtube.com/watch?v=riG8...

BBC1 listings for 21st Dec, 1963 and 1981. The Day of the Plunger and Gauda Prime, in context. Just a couple of little unforgettable TV moments, planted in the schedules. Waiting to ambush the unwary.

21st December 1963. The day that *this* happened. A menacingly waggled sink-plunger, and Jacqueline Hill selling the moment *totally* with the best terrified scream in television history.

One day something will happen — a wedding, a graduation, a job promotion, Jake Paul getting knocked out, Andrew Tate getting knocked out the next day — and you’ll want the right outfit to celebrate. Buy that special outfit now, so you’re ready when that next unexpected moment arrives.

We’ve been making fun of Geese a lot on here lately but I think we haven’t been mean enough

Also - Happy Gauda Prime Day, or the day in 1981 when Paul Darrow completed his mutation into a lead singer for a NWOBHM band. If he'd broken into a chorus of "Murders in the Rue Morgue" towards the end of Blake's 7's best ever half-season I wouldn't have been surprised.

Not only are we Halfway Out of The Dark, but it's 2112 day as well. Attention all planets of the solar federation. We have assumed control. We have assumed control. WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL

Last six years of winners. Bill, Rose, Hamza, Ellie, Chris, and now Karen. Sometimes the loveliest people do actually get what they deserve. #Strictly

Funny thing, but god - that final dance every year when all the contestants return and just *celebrate* is one of the most downright joyous bits of telly of the year. It's pitch dark outside, but the sun's shining in here. #Strictly