Saturday mornings were not for sleeping in as a kid. They were also not for doing anything such as housework, homework or any other type of work. Saturday mornings were for grabbing the biggest cushion you could find and parking your butt four inches from the T.V. for the next three hours till Grandstand or World of Sport Came on.
The Multi-coloured Swap shop was the first show to pop up that I paid attention to. Noel Edmonds, Maggie Philbin, Keith Chegwin and John Craven were the regulars of this (what they call) Magazine style show. Little bit of this, little bit of that, cartoons, music, humour and prizes to win!
You could always swap things. I always wanted to swap my sisters roller skates but never got picked. The show was always popular, no matter what happened. Even when it ran into some stiff competition from Tiswas.
Tiswas, ah Tiswas, this was where kids shows changed forever. Each Saturday morning was a riot. Buckets of water , Chris Tarrent, custard pies, Lenny Henry, sketches, cartoons, more pies, John Gorman, a cage in which to put people to throw water and pies, and Sally James! Tiswas did what Swap Shop couldn’t, it pulled in an adult audience. Mainly due to the humour that kids thought was funny but didn’t get and the adults got and still had Sally James to ogle at. As Jasper Carrott once said, “come on kids, come and watch Tiswas. We don’t want to watch Tiswas, You’ll bloody well watch Tiswas!”
For me I loved Tiswas. Its crazy antics always gave it the edge over Swap Shop.
What was your favorite?
For those who don’t want to click the links above I’ll leave this entry with a reason why I watched Tiswas.
Things I Wasted Too Much Time On. 
I remember finding British Saturday morning television quite surreal on my first trip there in 1984. Style Council were being asked by some weird host and a crowd of kids what they would like to be if they weren’t musicians. (One blanked and the other said private dick, which made the first one say me too.) Saturday mornings in my childhood were pure cartoons, until the teens took over at noon with American Bandstand. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around a show that seemed to mix the two.
It’s nice to see that sitting in front of the television (telly?) on Saturday mornings is a universal behavior. I had a huge floor cushion and a favorite blanket I would grab and lay as you mentioned, just inches from the screen to take in the entire lineup of cartoons. “Live action” shows came a bit later in my youth; but I have fond memories of Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker, Tom and Jerry, and a host of others that would keep me entertained throughout the morning.
Come the noon hour, “American Bandstand,” the iconic dance show for teens and pre-teens would come on. I watched closely, and would practice my dance moves – trying to replicate what I would see the ‘big kids’ on TV doing.
Ah, youth. Now, Saturday mornings are usually filled with projects, errands, cooking, and domestic chores around the house. What I wouldn’t give to return to my childhood for just one Saturday.
Thanks for prompting me to remember the ‘good ‘ol days.’
Swap Shop and Tiswas were always the big show, but then there was also the Banana Splits that I loved, And during the school holidays Why Don’t You, a show about not watching television and going out and doing something less boring instread. Never seemed to work because after WDY Top Cat came on!