I’m just going to put it out there that about 30% of this book did pass me by.  Not having grown up in the UK in the 70s/80s meant that I missed a lot of cultural reference points in here. Even obvious things like Bagpuss - I mean, I have seen it, but it wasn’t part of my upbringing.

The reason I bought the book is because a very funny friend of mine contributed three pieces to it.  Even though I didn’t get everything, the bits that I did remember (Inspector Gadget, Knight Rider, why Sarah Beeny thinks you’re a twat, etc) were fantastic. I particularly love the chapters on Jah-neen’s Evil Hug Face and Jim from Neighbours’ amazing CV. Even the bits I didn’t quite ‘get’ were still generally amusing as there are a lot of personal stories - how telly affected people, rather than just the show itself.  There are also pieces from Emma Kennedy and Boyd Hilton, both of whom I love to bits.

Definitely one for the telly-loving 30-something year old on your Christmas list but maybe not so much for the foreign friends in your life.

Shouting at the Telly (edited by John Grindrod)