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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Programmes that have aged poorly and programmes that have aged well?

510 replies

HaveYouHadYourBreak · 05/04/2026 16:13

What programmes that you loved have surprised you on rewatching?

I've just finished the first series of This Life and was surprised at how well it has aged for the most part (but so much smoking!). It was refreshing to see people with imperfect teeth and pubic hair and wobbly bums living in a grotty house share past their early 20s. I'm re-living my youth with the music too.

But Coupling! Oof! I remember it being really good but some clips I've seen (like making sex videos without consent and the way women are talked about) demonstrate exactly why I've never seen any re-runs.

OP posts:
JustbrotherscarlenaNsoul · 08/04/2026 12:30

@CoffeeCantata how clean is your house most definitely exploitave .
There were other programmes involving benefits.i re one where a vulnerable woman was paying the new boyfriends garage bill .she had known him days.
The production team should have stepped in.

CruCru · 08/04/2026 12:37

AntiqueBabyLoanSmurf · 08/04/2026 12:24

Amazing that you have to be a doctor to be able to realise that fact!

The person I am thinking of said “But everyone’s shit stinks” and Gillian McKeith shouted “Not like yours!!!”. Awful.

AntiqueBabyLoanSmurf · 08/04/2026 12:41

TheGoldenOwl · 08/04/2026 07:07

Different tangent but early noughties ITV i think:

Ladette to Lady
Peckham finishing school for girls

Voyeueristic broken britain type programmes that would not fly now

ETA - i did watch and enjoy them though 🙈 Catriona are you on here?! 😂

Edited

Ah, yes - also Benefits Street and Wife Swap and many others. The whole idea of these programmes is supposedly that people are watching because they want to see the resolutions, when people stop warring and find respectful common ground; and people who do outrageous things learn how to behave much better.

In truth, of course, viewers only watched for the drama; and if anything, I bet the viewing figures for the later episodes - when the subjects had taken on board the error of their ways and transformed - were far down compared to the earlier ones with all the drama.

The TV makers would always keep upping the ante for more shock, though. The first couple of series of Big Brother were genuinely great - where the point of it was that they were ordinary, everyday folk in a very extraordinary situation. Inevitably, it didn't take the producers long to completely defeat the object of the experiment and dump the ordinary people in favour of the grab-your-popcorn, short-tempered 'characters' - often not especially bright or well-adjusted - who were all about the drama.

Then, when that got boring, they too were chucked out in later series as the producers actively looked for seriously broken people, for whom the very, very last thing they needed was to be paraded on national TV for the general public to judge them and vote them out (or keep them in if they were a thrilling enough 'freak show').

I'm sure I also read that they later showed the UK Big Brother in South Africa and had the public there paying to vote for whom to keep in or be evicted - way after it had all already finished and the results decided and winner crowned long ago.

AntiqueBabyLoanSmurf · 08/04/2026 12:44

CruCru · 08/04/2026 12:37

The person I am thinking of said “But everyone’s shit stinks” and Gillian McKeith shouted “Not like yours!!!”. Awful.

Madness that people actually chose to watch that! Like a monkeys-at-the-zoo version of "Shut it, you ain't mah mum!"... "Yes, I am; so get aht of mah pub!"

AntiqueBabyLoanSmurf · 08/04/2026 12:55

AnAlpacaForChristmasPleaseSanta · 08/04/2026 12:01

And referred to every woman's boobs as bangers. "Lets get those bangers out" used to be his catchphrase and made me shudder as much then as it does now.

Also around that time The X Factor was mahoosive and has aged really badly. Particularly the clips of Simon Cowell openly, gleefully trashing women over their looks and weight. It's such uncomfortable viewing.

And lol at Gillian McKeith. Who initially tried to claim she was DR Gillian and even had a book published using that title. Then had to admit after some newspapers did some digging IIRC that the only diploma she had was one she printed off herself from the internet. She was as much a doctor as Dr Fox or Pepper!

Edited

That also brings to mind that nasty Nigel Lythgoe and how horribly he bullied and hounded Kym Marsh for supposedly being disgustingly fat (when she wasn't at all) - threatening to end her career if she didn't drastically lose weight. She was also shamed for being a single mum - maybe the two were connected as having been pregnant and giving birth will obviously have left any woman horrendously fat and ugly and completely unlikeable by fans who are supposedly being asked to admire her musical talents anyway...

Danny was bigger built too - nothing out of the ordinary - but I don't recall him being hounded for not being stick-thin in the same way.

Look at them both now: Kym is a household name; whilst Nigel.........

The thought of Gillain McKeith printing her 'doctorate' off the internet reminded me of that episode in The Simpsons where Homer tapped a few keys on a website and was instantly ordained... then he pressed a button for his new dog collar to be sent immediately to his printer - magically ready perforated to be able to press out and put straight on Grin

CruCru · 08/04/2026 13:08

In a way, Animal Hospital (BBC) / Pet Rescue (C4) were exploitative too. Not just because of Rolf Harris but because of the number of people who had bought an expensive pedigree dog known for having health issues and then came on the show as they couldn’t afford vets’ bills. A British bulldog or pug would come on and we’d be shouting at the telly (and judging) when the owners were surprised that this weird looking dog needed treatment.

Denim4ever · 08/04/2026 13:39

AntiqueBabyLoanSmurf · 08/04/2026 12:55

That also brings to mind that nasty Nigel Lythgoe and how horribly he bullied and hounded Kym Marsh for supposedly being disgustingly fat (when she wasn't at all) - threatening to end her career if she didn't drastically lose weight. She was also shamed for being a single mum - maybe the two were connected as having been pregnant and giving birth will obviously have left any woman horrendously fat and ugly and completely unlikeable by fans who are supposedly being asked to admire her musical talents anyway...

Danny was bigger built too - nothing out of the ordinary - but I don't recall him being hounded for not being stick-thin in the same way.

Look at them both now: Kym is a household name; whilst Nigel.........

The thought of Gillain McKeith printing her 'doctorate' off the internet reminded me of that episode in The Simpsons where Homer tapped a few keys on a website and was instantly ordained... then he pressed a button for his new dog collar to be sent immediately to his printer - magically ready perforated to be able to press out and put straight on Grin

Edited

Re Kym Marsh - she's currently getting rave reviews for the play version of Single White Female. Go Kym 😀

Re printing off doctorates and ordination, I agree. Gillian and daughter were recently on a reality show, can't remember which one. First time she'd been seen in a while.

I think all that era of progs were a bit suss. There was How Clean is Your House, Supersize vs Superskinny, that plastic surgery one, the Trinny and Suzannah etc

CoffeeCantata · 08/04/2026 13:51

What's coming over to me about this brilliant thread is - we don't always notice the way society is changing when we're in the midst of it.

It takes a wander down Memory Lane into the recent past to see how attitudes have changed even in 10, and certainly 20 or 30 years. Some things may be worse (the horrendous plague of celebrity programmes, from my pov, for example) but TV companies could not now get away with the cruel exploitation of vulnerable people, or just ordinary members of the public, as they did in the past. It was a bit of a freak show at one time.

ThisJadeBear · 08/04/2026 13:59

‘Dr’ Gillian passing out on I’m A Celeb was iconic reality TV.
She’s currently touting her daughter around the beauty pageant circuit. Says daughter has also given interviews about being ‘close’ to Brooklyn Beckham.
Can anyone remember Secret Eaters?
I think people described very basically what they eat in a week and then secret cameras would follow them? They’d then see all the food laid out on a long table and be faced with the evidence.
It was usually 50 white thick slice loaves, 86 sausage rolls, 77 jam tarts, 134 cans of Vimto….
I would lie in bed watching it being very judgemental whilst scoffing a full pack of custard creams.
The OG 10 years younger was awful and the makeovers were rank. They always had some sort of huge plastic belt shoved on whatever outfit they’d been forced into.

AntiqueBabyLoanSmurf · 08/04/2026 14:08

Denim4ever · 08/04/2026 13:39

Re Kym Marsh - she's currently getting rave reviews for the play version of Single White Female. Go Kym 😀

Re printing off doctorates and ordination, I agree. Gillian and daughter were recently on a reality show, can't remember which one. First time she'd been seen in a while.

I think all that era of progs were a bit suss. There was How Clean is Your House, Supersize vs Superskinny, that plastic surgery one, the Trinny and Suzannah etc

One small point that I find interesting is that a disproportionately high amount of these 'reality'/exploitative/shaming people programmes are/were on Channel 4.

Channel 4 was originally promoted with its raison d'etre to be a more highbrow, ethical, intelligent, thinking-person's channel - maybe a kind of earlier forerunner to BBC4; yet it was also the vanguard of so many of these trashy shows as well. Eurotrash even made it blatantly obvious in its very name!

Channel 4, under Michael Grade, also brought us the 'Red Light Zone' season. The modern porn-riddled internet age makes it look retrospectively tame; but at the time, it was deliberately intended to culturally subvert with a deeply unpleasant agenda to appeal to the lowest common denominator.

TheignT · 08/04/2026 14:19

I've been binge watching ER while spend five days on the sofa with a virus.

I think it's aged really well but the poor babies screaming hysterically while being examined or having a pretend lumbar puncture. I know they won't have been hurting thm but is it ok to use babies/toddlers like that? I kept thinking why is their parent not stepping in and picking up their baby.

AntiqueBabyLoanSmurf · 08/04/2026 14:27

TheignT · 08/04/2026 14:19

I've been binge watching ER while spend five days on the sofa with a virus.

I think it's aged really well but the poor babies screaming hysterically while being examined or having a pretend lumbar puncture. I know they won't have been hurting thm but is it ok to use babies/toddlers like that? I kept thinking why is their parent not stepping in and picking up their baby.

I also detest it when programmes show people shouting, screaming and swearing at each other whilst there's a baby present. The adults know that they're just acting and can sit down together for a coffee and a friendly chat once the scene is in the can; but as far as the baby knows, this IS reality.

Denim4ever · 08/04/2026 14:37

AntiqueBabyLoanSmurf · 08/04/2026 14:08

One small point that I find interesting is that a disproportionately high amount of these 'reality'/exploitative/shaming people programmes are/were on Channel 4.

Channel 4 was originally promoted with its raison d'etre to be a more highbrow, ethical, intelligent, thinking-person's channel - maybe a kind of earlier forerunner to BBC4; yet it was also the vanguard of so many of these trashy shows as well. Eurotrash even made it blatantly obvious in its very name!

Channel 4, under Michael Grade, also brought us the 'Red Light Zone' season. The modern porn-riddled internet age makes it look retrospectively tame; but at the time, it was deliberately intended to culturally subvert with a deeply unpleasant agenda to appeal to the lowest common denominator.

I completely agree. Ch 4 and E4 still have lots of those kinds of shows now. Naked Attraction, MAFS and so on. Don't get me wrong, I love MAFS but it is the epitome of trashy tv on so many levels 🤣

TheignT · 08/04/2026 14:39

AntiqueBabyLoanSmurf · 08/04/2026 14:27

I also detest it when programmes show people shouting, screaming and swearing at each other whilst there's a baby present. The adults know that they're just acting and can sit down together for a coffee and a friendly chat once the scene is in the can; but as far as the baby knows, this IS reality.

Poor babies.

WhistPie · 08/04/2026 15:28

AntiqueBabyLoanSmurf · 08/04/2026 14:27

I also detest it when programmes show people shouting, screaming and swearing at each other whilst there's a baby present. The adults know that they're just acting and can sit down together for a coffee and a friendly chat once the scene is in the can; but as far as the baby knows, this IS reality.

Almost all the time, there isn't a baby present, it's a dummy.

ChamonixMountainBum · 08/04/2026 15:55

JustbrotherscarlenaNsoul · 08/04/2026 11:35

Annoying git Gillian Mckeith

Pretty sure Ben Goldacre when he was writing his 'Bad Science' column for the Guardian got the same 'doctorate' that she had for his dead cat.

Usernamenotfound1 · 08/04/2026 17:14

WhistPie · 08/04/2026 15:28

Almost all the time, there isn't a baby present, it's a dummy.

If you watch carefully if it’s a real baby it’s a soundtrack- the baby is fine.

i remember watching a programme on how they do the “effects”, blood and bodily fluids, babies etc. was quite cutting edge at the time.

Lalgarh · 08/04/2026 17:24

Usernamenotfound1 · 08/04/2026 17:14

If you watch carefully if it’s a real baby it’s a soundtrack- the baby is fine.

i remember watching a programme on how they do the “effects”, blood and bodily fluids, babies etc. was quite cutting edge at the time.

I do remember seeing some dramas from the 80s where it really IS a genuinely upset, screaming baby

C8H10N4O2 · 08/04/2026 17:48

AntiqueBabyLoanSmurf · 08/04/2026 14:08

One small point that I find interesting is that a disproportionately high amount of these 'reality'/exploitative/shaming people programmes are/were on Channel 4.

Channel 4 was originally promoted with its raison d'etre to be a more highbrow, ethical, intelligent, thinking-person's channel - maybe a kind of earlier forerunner to BBC4; yet it was also the vanguard of so many of these trashy shows as well. Eurotrash even made it blatantly obvious in its very name!

Channel 4, under Michael Grade, also brought us the 'Red Light Zone' season. The modern porn-riddled internet age makes it look retrospectively tame; but at the time, it was deliberately intended to culturally subvert with a deeply unpleasant agenda to appeal to the lowest common denominator.

Oh were those the films broadcast with the red triangle in the corner? Mostly vile shit, often featuring violence and sexual abuse of women, sometimes with bonus torture?

WhistPie · 08/04/2026 18:24

Usernamenotfound1 · 08/04/2026 17:14

If you watch carefully if it’s a real baby it’s a soundtrack- the baby is fine.

i remember watching a programme on how they do the “effects”, blood and bodily fluids, babies etc. was quite cutting edge at the time.

My nephew was an actor baby, he was taken off set when the action wasn't focused on him and it was two people screaming at each other. This was so he didn't react to the screaming and ruin the shot. Any baby crying etc was added afterwards. He was also very limited in the length of time he could work each day so they cut the time he was on set to the bare essential.

TheignT · 08/04/2026 19:14

WhistPie · 08/04/2026 18:24

My nephew was an actor baby, he was taken off set when the action wasn't focused on him and it was two people screaming at each other. This was so he didn't react to the screaming and ruin the shot. Any baby crying etc was added afterwards. He was also very limited in the length of time he could work each day so they cut the time he was on set to the bare essential.

The babies in ER are genuinely screaming and distressed.

TheignT · 08/04/2026 19:20

Just watching an episode, baby is screaming, face screwed up, baby thrashing from side to side. As the mother of four and grandmother of eight I diagnose this young baby as severely distressed.

Erloft321 · 08/04/2026 21:30

It's unimaginable that 'Queer as Folk' would be broadcast today. With the 'Stuart' character being portrayed sympathetically, anyway.

Carla786 · 08/04/2026 21:36

Erloft321 · 08/04/2026 21:30

It's unimaginable that 'Queer as Folk' would be broadcast today. With the 'Stuart' character being portrayed sympathetically, anyway.

That's a good change, at least. It's weird that Russell T Davies, (at a time when homophobia was much worse, too) wanted to portray a man preying on teens like that. It's put me off his work a lot, though I did think It's A Sin was good.

WhistPie · 09/04/2026 08:20

TheignT · 08/04/2026 19:20

Just watching an episode, baby is screaming, face screwed up, baby thrashing from side to side. As the mother of four and grandmother of eight I diagnose this young baby as severely distressed.

My experience is of UK drama and Equity regulations