91Èȱ¬

It started in 2005, when the Christmas Radio Times had a load of Doctor Who stuff in it to mark David Tennant’s debut in the role. I’m a huge Doctor Who fan, so I decided to keep it for posterity.

Then – and alarm bells should have been ringing at this point - I started thinking about how nice it would have been if I’d kept ALL the Christmas Radio Times’ from my childhood.

1978 Radio Times Christmas Special

As a square-eyed TV addict growing up in the 1970s and 80s, the magazine was always a huge part of the festive period for me. I would sit with it for hours, putting little biro circles around the programmes I wanted to watch, and desperately counting down the days… because on the fateful Saturday that you actually had to start using the Christmas Radio Times, you knew that the big day itself couldn’t be far away.

So, in a moment of madness, I looked on Ebay to see if it was possible to buy those long-lost old festive relics. And, to a mixture of horror and delight, found myself paying £20 for a pristine copy of the Christmas Radio Times from 1984. I gasped! As I read about how The Grumbleweeds would spend their Christmas Day. I dribbled! Over Delia Smith’s recipe for ‘praline pears dressed in chocolate’. I frowned! At John Craven’s Christmas Trackword Puzzle.

It was a glorious door opening to a bygone era, and from that moment on I was hooked.

So now I collect them. They have to be the North-East editions, and I’m limiting myself to 1972 onwards (the year I was born), or else all hell will break loose in the Fischer household.

But if you’ve any of these in your loft and you want to earn a few bob for them, you know where to find me…

91Èȱ¬ Radio Cleveland listings from 1978

91Èȱ¬ Radio Cleveland listings for 1978

Oh there are some treats in here! at 10am on Saturday 23 December you could have enjoyed Splash Down "for youngsters of all ages" or at 12.20pm on Wednesday 27 December Barney's Brass... The first of two programmes featuring the Barnard Castle Brass Band playing marches and waltzes - "Today - waltzes".

Here are the Christmas Day listings:

5.00amÌýÌýÌý As Radio 2
8.50amÌýÌýÌý On the Move - Keith Harrison empties his stocking and gets Christmas off to a lively start with his selection of jokes the Christmas Cracker men rejected, some music to stuff turkeys by and advice on what to do about that hangover...
10.20amÌý Young Sounds for Christmas
11.00amÌý Carols for Christmas
12 noonÌýÌý Top Team
12.30pmÌý Christmas Requests - presented by Larry Ottaway
2.00pm to 2.20am As Radio 2

Patrick Moore stars in police charity concert 1984

91Èȱ¬ Radio Cleveland Listings for 1988

Christmas Day on Radio Cleveland 1988 featured the likes of Keith Proud and Doctor Cox's weird and wonderful Christmas Show.

91Èȱ¬ Radio Cleveland schedule from 1988.

Here are the listings from Christmas Day:

8.02amÌýÌý Sunday Breakfast
9.03amÌýÌý Keith Proud, including the Queens speech at 10.00am
12.00am Stewart McFarlane
2.00pmÌýÌý Olympics Christmas Party
3.00pmÌýÌý Radio quiz
4.00pm to 5pm Doctor Cox's weird and wonderful Christmas Show.