Through the Square Window

Samira Ahmed
  • 4.9 (38)
  • TV Reviews
  • Monthly

A podcast guiding you through the UK television we watched in decades gone by, presented by cultural journalist Samira Ahmed and TV journalist Graham Kibble-White.

  1. 5 hr ago

    EPISODE 12: July 1996

    This month Samira Ahmed and Graham Kibble-White are looking at programmes from July 1996... 05:26: The satrical show The Friday Night Armistice, hosted by Armando Iannucci with Peter Baynham and David Schneider. 20:40: The Carol Vorderman-presented delve into the occult, Out of this World. 32:44: An episode from the fifth series of the sitcom Men Behaving Badly. 42:29: The opening instalment of drama Takin' Over the Asylum. If you would like to contact the podcast, please drop us a line on email@squarewindow.co.uk Our website is: www.squarewindow.co.uk This is a Square Window production, with music by Local Teenagers. Podcast logo by Stuart Manning.

    57 min

  2. 10 Jun

    EPISODE 11: The Beatles on TV

    To (belatedly) mark the publication of Samira Ahmed's BFI Film Classics book on A Hard Day's Night, she and Graham Kibble-White look at a quartet of Beatles TV shows... 05:22: Around the Beatles from May 1964 - Rediffusion's racuous and stomping studio celebration. 21:41: James Paul McCartney from 1973 - an hour-long special with Macca and Wings, made to settle a dispute with ATV's Lew Grade. 39:18: The Music of Lennon and McCartney from 1965 - a Granada showcase of the songwriting duo's compositions. 50:49: Magical Mystery Tour from 1967 - the surreal Beatles-helmed film that aired on Boxing Day. If you would like to contact the podcast, please drop us a line on email@squarewindow.co.uk Our website is: www.squarewindow.co.uk This is a Square Window production, with music by Local Teenagers. Podcast logo by Stuart Manning.

    1hr 9min

  3. 13 May

    EPISODE 10: May 1987

    This month Samira Ahmed and Graham Kibble-White are looking at programmes from May 1987... 05:56: A season three episode - 'Blonde on Blonde' - of US romance Moonlighting. 20:42: Paul Daniels' BBC1 chrono-obsessed quizzer, Every Second Counts. 37:26: John Godber's idiosyncratic BBC2 nightclub comedy-drama, The Ritz. 49:04: Network 7, Jane Street-Porter and Jane Hewland's Channel 4, youth-orientated current affairs show, which believed "news is entertainment, entertainment is news". And huge thanks to Network 7's theme music composer, Steve Levine for his contribution to our discussion. You can find Steve on social media, @mrstevelevine If you would like to contact the podcast, please drop us a line on email@squarewindow.co.uk Our website is: www.squarewindow.co.uk This is a Square Window production, with music by Local Teenagers. Podcast logo by Stuart Manning.

    1hr 14min

  4. 8 Apr

    EPISODE 9: Graeme Garden

    In January 2026, Samira Ahmed and Graham Kibble-White visited the home of comedian, actor, author, artist, television presenter, writer, master of panel shows, medical doctor and - of course - Goodie, Graeme Garden to look back at his life in television. Our conversation covers the full gamut of his TV career, from Twice a Fortnight through to Star Turn, Bananaman, Bodymatters, The Adventure Game and If I Ruled the World, and via oddities such as the panel show about concepts The Very Idea, Graeme sharing teatime trivia with Nanette Newman on Tell Me More, and appearing on Barry Norman's proto-HIGNFY quiz, Scoop. Running through all of that is The Goodies; Graeme telling us about the trio's appearances on Top of the Pops, how a strike impacted upon one of their greatest-ever series, why they ended up working with Engelbert Humperdinck, salary discrepancies between the threesome and why the BBC fell out of love with the show. We really hope you enjoy this episode, and if you would like to contact us, please drop us a line on email@squarewindow.co.uk Our website is: www.squarewindow.co.uk This is a Square Window production, with music by Local Teenagers. Podcast logo by Stuart Manning.

    1hr 25min

  5. 25 Mar

    EPISODE 8: Barry Cryer

    Samira Ahmed and Graham Kibble-White present a special extra episode for March 2026. Our previous instalment looked at shows from March 1979, including Thames TV's The Kenny Everett Video Show. Writer, comedian and actor Barry Cryer, who passed away in 2022, was a key contributor to that series and in 2019, Samira visited Barry at his home to record an interview with him about the programme, intended to run in a future edition of TV Years magazine. That future edition never transpired, and so we're presenting their conversation for the very first time. If you would like to contact the podcast, please drop us a line on email@squarewindow.co.uk Our website is: www.squarewindow.co.uk This is a Square Window production, with music by Local Teenagers. Podcast logo by Stuart Manning.

    41 min

  6. 11 Mar

    EPISODE 7: March 1979

    This month Samira Ahmed and Graham Kibble-White are looking at programmes from March 1979. And they are... 05:39: The BBC's sci-fi saga Blake's 7, and an episode from its second series, 'Countdown'. 24:09: An edition of the documentary series, Man Alive, following a mum, dad and three children through a series of family therapy sessions. 40:23: Star Signs - the Michael Aspel hosted BBC2 panel show, based around astrology, graphology and other means of divining the future. With special guests Joanna Lumley and Peter Cook. 54:58: Thames TV's The Kenny Everett Video Show, featuring The Average White Band, Kiki Dee and David Essex.  01:12:05: Stay tuned for details about an additional episode coming later in March. If you would like to contact the podcast, please drop us a line on email@squarewindow.co.uk Our website is: www.squarewindow.co.uk This is a Square Window production, with music by Local Teenagers. Podcast logo by Stuart Manning.

    1hr 12min

  7. 11 Feb

    EPISODE 6: February 1969

    This month Samira Ahmed and Graham Kibble-White are looking at programmes from February 1969. And they are... 06:00: The pre-Python children's comedy, Do Not Adjust Your Set. 18:39: Civilisation - the groundbreaking BBC2 documentary, hosted and written by Kenneth Clark. 35:56: Saturday Night Theatre, and the play MacNeil, written by Alun Owen and starring Sean Connery. 48:20: Spy thriller Department S, specifically the episode 'One of Our Aircraft is Empty'. If you would like to contact the podcast, please drop us a line on email@squarewindow.co.uk Our website is: www.squarewindow.co.uk This is a Square Window production, with music by Local Teenagers. Podcast logo by Stuart Manning.

    1hr 5min

  8. 14 Jan

    EPISODE 5: January 2000

    HELLLLOOO!!! And a Happy New Year. This month, Samira Ahmed and Graham Kibble-White are looking at programmes that greeted the New Millennium in January 2000. And they are... 05:07 - Blue Peter's first edition of the year, in which they unearth the time capsule buried on the show back in 1971. 15:33 - The Coronation Street hour-long New Year's Day special, revealing how the residents of Weatherfield rang in 2000. 29:28 - The very first episode of Dom Joly's Trigger Happy TV. 41:35 - The BBC's grand, ill-fated "social" experiment, Castaway 2000. If you would like to contact the podcast, please drop us a line on email@squarewindow.co.uk Our website is: www.squarewindow.co.uk This is a Square Window production, with music by Local Teenagers. Podcast logo by Stuart Manning.

    1 hr
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4.9
out of 5
38 Ratings

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A podcast guiding you through the UK television we watched in decades gone by, presented by cultural journalist Samira Ahmed and TV journalist Graham Kibble-White.

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