Top of the Box explained

Genre:Comedy
Documentary
Entertainment
Director:Tim Hopewell
Jonathan Megson
John Piper
Zoë Thorman
Presenter:Matthew Kelly
Country:United Kingdom
Num Series:1
Num Episodes:4
List Episodes:
  1. Episodes
Executive Producer:Pam Cavanagh
Kieron Collins
Damon Pattison
Location:Dock10 studios[1]
Camera:Single-camera
Company:BBC Studios
Network:Channel 5

Top of the Box is a British television series created by BBC Studios for Channel 5, who have re-titled the series under names such as Greatest TV Moments of the 1980s,[2] Greatest TV Moments of the 1990s and TV Gold[3] since is original transmission.

Presented by Matthew Kelly, each episode counts down the Top 20 most viewed TV shows in the UK during a particular year – the series was billed as the "TV time machine". The programme ran for a single series of four episodes. The first episode, "1985", was broadcast on Channel 5 at 9 p.m. on 20 May 2018, while the final three episodes were broadcast at 10 p.m. the following Sundays. As well as the countdown, each episode featured punditry from guests such as Lionel Blair and Maggie Moone, and correspondence from stars of the time (such as Janet Ellis and Rustie Lee), who discussed either the comedy, entertainment, soap or children's TV shows of that year.

The first episode of Top of the Box, "1985", was noted for featuring the final interview with comedian and Bullseye host Jim Bowen, who died a few weeks after filming, whilst the "1989" episode features interviews with Wayne Dobson, Les Dennis and Barry Cryer.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Top of the Box for Channel 5 filmed at dock10 . . 20 September 2021.
  2. Greatest TV Moments of the 1980s, a BBC Studios production for Channel 5, broadcast on 6 February 2022 (Radio Times 5-11 February 2022, page 60: Channel 5 schedule)
  3. Greatest TV Moments of the 1990s, a BBC Studios production for Channel 5 branded on-screen as TV Gold: 1995, broadcast on 13 February 2022 (Radio Times 12-18 February 2022, page 54: Channel 5 schedule)
  4. Web site: My5. Channel5.com. 24 February 2022.