| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Num Series: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 10 |
| Producer: | BBC |
| Runtime: | 90 minutes |
| Channel: | BBC Two |
| Related: | I Love the '70s I Love the '90s |
I Love the '80s is a BBC television nostalgia series that examines the pop culture of the 1980s. It was commissioned following the success of I Love the '70s and is part of the I Love... series. I Love 1980 premiered on BBC Two on 13 January 2001 and the last, I Love 1989, on 24 March 2001. Unlike with I Love the '70s, episodes were increased to 90 minutes long. The series was followed later in 2001 by I Love the '90s. The success of the series led to VH1 remaking the show for the US market: I Love the '80s USA, which is known simply as "I Love the '80s" in the US itself. The following repeat version in 2001 was cut down to an hour per year, then in 2019, the series was repeated again, this time cut down into a 30 minutes per year "highlights" version removing certain pop-culture and/or contributors.
The series used many regular contributors, which included Peter Kay, Clare Grogan, Dee Hepburn, Kate Thornton, Stuart Maconie, Emma B, Ice-T, Toyah Willcox, Tommy Vance, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, Ross Noble, Jamie Theakston, and many others.
Presented by Larry Hagman. Opening titles and introduction to show: "Call Me" by Blondie. Ending credits: "Jump to the Beat" by Stacy Lattisaw.
Flashback commercial of 1980: Monster Munch - Three Monsters (actually aired in 1978).
Presented by Adam Ant. Opening titles and introduction to show: "Prince Charming" by Adam and the Ants. Ending credits: "Swords of a Thousand Men" by Tenpole Tudor.
Flashback commercial of 1981: Kit Kat - Pop Band (actually aired in 1984).
Presented by Dave Lee Travis, Mike Read and Tommy Vance in TOTP set. Opening titles and introduction to show: "Fantastic Day" by Haircut 100. Ending credits: "Poison Arrow" by ABC.
Presented by Roland Rat. Opening titles: "Karma Chameleon" by Culture Club. Introduction to show: "Young Guns (Go for It)" by Wham!. Ending credits: "Calling Your Name" by Marilyn.
Presented by Holly Johnson. Opening titles: "Two Tribes" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Introduction to show: "Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)" by Eurythmics. Ending credits: "Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)" by Scritti Politti.
Presented by Grace Jones. Opening titles and introduction to show: "Take On Me" by A-ha. Ending credits: "Let's Go Crazy" by Prince and the Revolution.
Presented by Patsy Kensit. Opening titles and introduction to show: "Walk Like an Egyptian" by The Bangles. Ending credits: "Ain't Nothin' Goin' on But the Rent" by Gwen Guthrie.
Presented by Richard E. Grant. Opening titles and introduction to show: "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" by Whitney Houston. Ending credits: "Respectable" by Mel and Kim
Presented by Raphael and Leonardo of The Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles. Opening titles: "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car" by Billy Ocean. Introduction to show: "The Only Way Is Up" by Yazz. Ending credits: "Tell It to My Heart" by Taylor Dayne.
Presented by Jason Donovan. Opening titles: "All Around the World" by Lisa Stansfield. Introduction to show: "Pump Up the Jam" by Technotronic. Ending credits: "Days" by Kirsty MacColl.
Flashback commercial of 1989: Carling Black Label - Mission Impossible Squirrel.
The series was repeated on BBC Two in 2002.[1] In 2019, the same channel broadcast edited episodes lasting thirty minutes.[2]
In 2023, the BBC made a new version of the series for Channel 5, again featuring a number of 'talking heads' analysing footage from the BBC archives on a single year. Unlike the original series, ten non-sequential years from 1968 to 1990 were picked as they were deemed to be the most controversial, while instead of having a different in-screen presenter each week, a voice over by Jan Leeming was used throughout the series. Debuting as Totally 1976: That Was The Year That Was on 23 September 2023,[3] the programme was retitled as Controversially...That Was The Year That Was and Most Shocking Moments during its outings on the channel.[4]