iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Marcus Payne

Michael Spicer @michaelspicer.bsky.social · 18h

Most TV is just this now.

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

What do you mean, I’ve got too many beautiful, retro TV ident clocks from @hiddenbritain.bsky.social?

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

I know a fair bit about archive television but I'd never heard of the show which sits at number one on this list. Obviously, I'm desperate to watch it now. But predictably, all six episodes have been wiped so I can't. Bugger. www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2026/07/1...

telegraph.co.uk

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

What a difference a single letter can make. With the O at the end, Alberto is a sophisticated and stylish Italian hairdresser. Without the O, he sounds like a character in Coronation Street. #AlbertoBalsam

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Even the dog can’t believe that Laura Kuenssberg used this analogy with David Blunkett.

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Interesting choice of image to put front and centre on a reminder to renew your TV Licence. "Remember this terrible version of Doctor Who which tanked? Renew your licence fee and we promise not to make any more of it for a good year or two!"

TV Licence renewal advert with a very prominent photo of Ncuti Gatwa as Doctor Who. Which is no incentive to renew whatsoever.

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

It’s all kicking off in Richmond.

TGJones in Richmond. The name has been crossed out and replaced with WHSmith (its former name) by a disgruntled graffiti artist.

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

"Richard Madeley Goes To Prison. No, hang on, Lynne. In Prison With Richard But Not Judy. Not the kind of bars she's interested in."

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Another random piece of archive TV ephemera has made its way into my collection: an original commercial break caption card from Jemima Shore Investigates (Thames, 1983).

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

@transdiffusion.org “the woman on the left is reading a Pan edition of "The Spirit and the Flesh" by David Weiss. That gives me a terminus post quem for the photo — 1965, the year it was published.” Similarly, the car bottom right was registered between August 1964 and July 1965!

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

TV friends! This is a photo of ATV Elstree in 1975/76. I’m assuming the backlot on the left is the site of the original #eastenders Albert Square. So my question is, where is the new Albert Square?

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

@transdiffusion.org I found this cute little book in a chazzer today. He certainly knew his stuff. RIP, Andrew.

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

Spotted in an antique shop in Kingston this weekend. Lovely but not lovely enough to make me part with £400.

An original (I assume) On Air light as used in a BBC studio. From the 1980s would be my guess.

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

Bursting with… what? I’ll pass, thanks.

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

From the final issue of TV Action as they try to get you to buy TV Comic next week. What a bizarre choice of photo. Where does it even come from @nothinglane.bsky.social?

A terrible photo of Jon Pertwee as Doctor Who. He looks crazy and not in a good way.

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

Also, who would even want to look at this, let alone pin it on their wall? They’re straight out of Royston Vasey.

A harrowing 1973 pin-up of a band called Middle of the Road. Also, who calls their band that?

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

The past - in this case 1973 - truly is a foreign country.

A reader letter from Polystyle’s TV Action.

Close up of what a female Dalek might look like. I mean, really…

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

This remake of The Saint from 1980 was rubbish. Simon Templar drove an Austin Maxi and had a hub cap for a halo.

Pictured on the 18th February 1980, car dealer Mr George Macleod, MD of Distinctive Marks of Hatfield, poses with The Saint’s car number plate, which was presumably for sale.

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

Some more Thames stuff I’ve acquired recently. I’m guessing the logo plate would have been on the wall at Teddington or Euston. Does anyone have any photos of it in situ at the time?

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

[2/2] How do I know? Because I’ve now acquired that very paintbox and here it is. It’s very big and very lovely. Now I just need to work out what I’m going to do with it! @transdiffusion.org @tvark.bsky.social

Exterior of a mock paintbox used in a 1988 Thames TV promo

Interior of a mock paintbox used in a 1988 Thames TV promo

Close up of interior of a mock paintbox used in a 1988 Thames TV promo

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

[1/2] Back in 1988 when this promo was made, computer graphics were in their infancy. There was still a need for physical props and rostrum cameras. The paintbox seen here, for example, was a real, specially made object.

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

Picked this up in a charity shop for £30. I thought why not because I very much enjoyed the series, it’s a nice piece of art and the signatures are genuine. It’ll go up in value, I thought. So on that note, I casually looked it up on eBay and… bloody hell! #DesperateHousewives

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 24/05/2025

And then there was this character. OK, so he’s a paedophile, but on the other hand, he’s a great accountant and he’s always got a smile on his face. Different times. #Crossroads

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 24/05/2025

These days, soap operas have serial killers, exploding pubs, planes falling out of the sky… you name it. Back in the 1970s, though, this was Crossroads’ idea of high drama. Imagine the cliff hanger!

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

@jazwiseman.bsky.social Hi Jaz. I’ve just acquired a couple of ITC catalogues. The first is from 1960. Do you have these? I don’t think they’re mentioned in your book.

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

Happy Easter. Remember, the Easter Bunny knows if you’ve been good or not.

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

Director: We need to make Nigel look like the Easter bunny. Make Up Artist: OK, I’ll paint some whiskers on his cheeks. Director: They won’t look like a pair of bollocks, will they? Make Up Artist: Definitely not. #eastenders @vizcomic.bsky.social

EastEnders’ Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley) made up to look like the Easter bunny with dubious looking whiskers.

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

Tell that to Michael Barrymore.

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

If anyone’s looking for the Thames News logo that used to hang on the wall in the Euston Road studios in the 1980s, it’s at my house now.

Original Thames News set dressing from the 1980s.

The same Thames News set dressing seen on air with Robin Houston in the 1980s.

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

“Meal Deals with Joe Swash.”

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

In all my years of buying books both new and old, I’ve never come across this before: instructions on how to handle a book. Parts of this might be overkill (a pillow?!) but most people don’t treat books with care and respect and that’s why I never let anyone borrow mine!

Instructions on how to handle a book without damaging it

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

@transdiffusion.org Phwoar! Look at this beauty! When was it in use?

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

Two of my comedy heroes in one photograph.

Steve Delaney (left) who plays Count Arthur Strong and Graham Fellows (right) who plays John Shuttleworth

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

I think somewhere along the line this lorry driver has upset someone… @vizcomic.bsky.social

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

We had two foxes sleeping in our garden for most of today. I left them alone because they were cute. The best description of foxes I’ve ever seen goes as follows: “cat software running on dog hardware”.

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

I know Simon Templar was a bit of a ladies man but what possessed the makers of Return of the Saint to give him a number plate that implied he had a Sexually Transmitted Infection?

Ian Ogilvy as Simon Templar in Return of the Saint (1978)

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

I guess this stuff just increased in value then. #LondonLive

London Live launch memorabilia from 2014

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

Well this is a shame but the channel is now a far cry from the one I launched a decade ago. And let’s face it, this was always going to be the outcome.

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 05/01/2025

I’ve just put my foot through this chocolate and sent M&S the bill. Disgusting. @vizcomic.bsky.social

M&S chocolate monstrosity which, by design or accident, brings anal sex to mind…

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Reposted by Marcus Payne

TRANSDIFFUSI⭕️N @transdiffusion.org · 01/01/2025

The toast today, as always on New Year’s Day, is “absent friends”. To Rory, to Ollie and to others who are no longer here… cheers. x

media.tenor.com

a drawing of a person 's hand pointing at something with a blue background

ALT: a drawing of a person 's hand pointing at something with a blue background

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

Like a live-action version of the old board game “Guess Who?”

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

Tonight’s episode of Police Woman on @rewindtv.bsky.social sounds bonkers.

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

I’ve waited 6 years to have a use for this photo. #morrisons

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Marcus Payne @nowtro.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

From January, my migration from Twitter (I refuse to call it X because it’s a stupid name) will be complete and then this place will be home to my posts about old TV and general silliness. In the meantime, Merry Christmas!

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