The Good Old Days (British TV series)

The Good Old Days
Opening title (8 February 1974)
GenreOld Time Variety, music hall
Presented byDon Gemmell (First 2 shows)
Leonard Sachs
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series30
No. of episodes245
Production
ProducerBarney Colehan
Production locationLeeds City Varieties
Running time45-60 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC Television Service (1953-64)
BBC1 (1964-83)
ReleaseJuly 20, 1953 (1953-07-20) 
December 31, 1983 (1983-12-31)

The Good Old Days is a BBC television light entertainment programme produced by Barney Colehan which ran for 30 years from 20 July 1953 to 31 December 1983.

It was performed at the Leeds City Varieties and recreated an authentic atmosphere of the VictorianEdwardian music hall with songs and sketches of the era performed in the style of the original artistes.

The audience dressed in period costume and joined in the singing, especially "Down at the Old Bull and Bush" which closed the show each week. The show was compered throughout its whole run (except for the first two shows) by Leonard Sachs, who introduced the acts from a desk situated at the side of the stage. In the course of its run it featured about 2,000 performers. Each show was up to an hour long.