30 July 1981

ITV - Thames/LWT

Source: TV Times 25-31 July 1981 (Thames/LWT)

09.40 Cities: "Rome" - A look at the eternal city of Rome with writer Anthony Burgess.

10.30 The Outsiders: "Charlie Cole, Esquire" - Charlie (Andrew Keir) takes on an official post with the Australian Federal Government and becomes involved in political intrigue.

11.20 A Big Country: "A Funny Place" - At the age of 58, Margaret Powell began her second life when she published her first book, Below Stairs.

12.00 The Ark Stories: "Crockle and the Kite" - Another story in this series about animals of Noah's Ark, presented and illustrated by John Ryan. Animal voices are by Percy Edwards.

12.10 Stepping Stones: "Building Tall, Building High" - Vicky Ireland mixes entertainment and education for young viewers. With puppet Stiggy, she finds out why some buildings are taller than others. They also look at skyscrapers and lighthouses. Today's story, "The Three Surprises", is by Mary Burn.

14.00 Here Today: Today's edition of this magazine, presented by Marjorie Lofthouse and Richard Wyatt, focuses on silk. There is a look at the silkworms from which the thread was spun for Lady Diana's wedding dress. Also, Diana Moran studies the latest silk fashions. The guest is Elaine Paige, silky star of the West End musical "Cats".

14.25 Sea of Sand: Richard Attenborough, John Gregson, Michael Craig - The action takes place in North Africa in 1942, just before the famous battle of El Alamein, and centres on the Long Range Desert Group - a formation designed to knock out selected targets behind enemy lines.

16.15 Foghorn Leghorn: "Weasel Stop" - The loud-mouthed barnyard rooster, Foghorn Leghorn, teams up with a small but ambitious weasel, who's been unsuccessfully trying to raid the chicken yard.

16.20 Survival: Richard Briers, "In Praise of Penguins", by Colin Willock. Most people think of penguins as primitive, rather backward birds - perhaps because they can't fly. This programme sets the record straight, showing how magnificently they are adapted to their chilly surroundings.

16.50 Sierra: "Poachers" - Chief Ranger Jack Moore is seriously injured while out fishing.

18.40 The Comancheros: John Wayne, Stuart Whitman, Ina Balin, Nehemiah Persoff, Lee Marvin - Gambler Paul Regret kills a man in a gun duel. Avoiding arrest, he heads for Texas, travelling on a riverboat aboard which he has an affair with Pilar.

20.30 Rule Britannia: "Pictures of a People Like Us" - Family Fortunes: Second of a six-part series, written and presented by James Bellini, which seeks to uncover the underlying attitudes that have made the nation what it is. In 1880 William Lever was able to earn a fortune making soap. A hundred years later another Liverpudlian, part-time entertainer Johnny McDonough earns a bit of extra cash telling jokes. James Bellini examines the changes which have occurred in the business of making money.

21.00 Spearhead - In Hong Kong: "Night Games" by Nick McCarty - The men of Six Platoon are back in a six-part drama series which follows the fortunes of these British soldiers. The Wessex Rangers are nearing the end of their two-year tour of duty in Hong Kong. Preventing immigrants from China entering the Colony, 'preserving our way of life', is a job Sgt. Bilinski doesn't exactly relish. But Six Platoon has the highest score of captures, and Lt. Pickering is determined it shall stay top of the league.

Thames News Headline

22.30 Secrets of Midland Heights: Jordan Christopher in "Letting Go" - Drama in the American college community of Midland Heights.

23.30 Christians Under Fire: How is Christianity relevant to Britain in 1981? There is tremendous conflict amongst Christians on many of the major issues in our society, and each week Dick Taverne chairs a debate between people with radically different views on Christian attitudes. Tonight's debate is whether it is possible to be both a Christian and a capitalist. Leading protagonists are Professor Brian Griffiths and Colin Barnett.

00.00 What the Papers Say: A journalist looks at what the papers have been saying this week.

followed by Closedown