A cat burglar with a spare chromosome, a Tory MP dating a Cockney model and the man who helped inspire Austin Powers are all arriving on Freeview and Freesat this October.
They’re among seven classic British series joining Rewind TV, split fairly evenly between crime and comedy. What most of them share is how rarely they’ve been seen, with several barely repeated since their original runs.
“October brings together exactly the kind of programmes Rewind TV was created to rediscover,” says co-founder Jonathan Moore. “We’re delighted to give viewers another chance to enjoy them.”
Where to Find Rewind TV
Since launching on Sky in May 2024 and expanding to Freeview that September, Rewind TV has become a reliable home for classic British programming that might otherwise stay locked in the archives.
Following its arrival on Freesat in June, it now reaches every major over-the-air free TV platform in the country.
You can find it on:
- Freeview Channel 81
- Sky Channel 182 (satellite only)
- Freely Channel 141 (aerial-connected version only)
- Freesat Channel 164
Streaming is still the gap. There’s no app, no catch-up and no true streamed channel. If you miss an episode, you miss it.
Department S
Department S returns September 28 at 12:00pm, bringing back one of ITC’s most stylish adventure series.
A special Interpol division takes the cases too baffling for everyone else. Joel Fabiani leads as field agent Stewart Sullivan, with Rosemary Nicols as computer expert Annabelle Hurst and Wyngarde as Jason King, a novelist who solves crimes by asking what his own fictional hero would do.
It was created by Dennis Spooner and Monty Berman, and ran for 28 episodes between 1969 and 1970.
King was the breakout. He got his own spin-off, Jason King, in 1971, and the moustache, cravats and velvet suits outlived the show: Mike Myers has named Wyngarde’s character as a major inspiration for Austin Powers.
The XYY Man
The XYY Man starts September 29 at 12:00pm, and it has rarely been seen on television since its original run.
Yardley plays William ‘Spider’ Scott, a cat burglar trying to go straight, whose skills keep getting him recruited by both the criminal underworld and the British secret service. The title refers to Scott’s extra Y chromosome, which the story blames for both his height and his urge to steal.
It’s based on the novels by Kenneth Royce and ran on ITV from 1976 to 1977.
Don Henderson plays Detective Sergeant George Bulman, who outlasted the show. He went on to front Strangers in 1978, which in turn spun off into Bulman in 1985. Not bad for a supporting copper.
The Other ‘Arf
The Other ‘Arf starts September 29 at 2:30pm and 9:00pm, another rare outing for a series television has mostly left alone.
Lorraine Chase plays Cockney model Lorraine Watts, whose romance with aristocratic Conservative MP Charles Latimer (John Standing) sends ripples through his privileged social circle. Patricia Hodge, James Villiers and John Cater also appear.
The show was built around Chase, who had become famous through a hit Campari advert. Terence Howard, who worked on those ads, came up with the idea, and Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais developed it.
It ran on ITV from 1980 to 1984, made by ATV and then its successor, Central.
Faith in the Future
Faith in the Future starts September 29 at 8:30pm, and all 22 episodes are included.
Lynda Bellingham stars as Faith Greyshott in this sequel to Second Thoughts. Newly single and set on enjoying her independence, Faith finds her plans derailed when daughter Hannah, played by Julia Sawalha, moves back home.
Sawalha is also a returning face for Rewind TV viewers: she was one of the regulars in Time Gentlemen Please last month.
Jeff Rawle, Charlie Creed-Miles and a pre-Spaced Simon Pegg also feature. It ran on ITV across three series from 1995 to 1998, written by Jan Etherington and Gavin Petrie.
Doctor on the Go
Doctor on the Go starts September 30 at 10:00am and 8:00pm, the next stop in Rewind TV’s run through the Doctor franchise.
Following directly from Doctor at Sea, it brings Robin Nedwell and Geoffrey Davies back to St Swithin’s Hospital as Dr Duncan Waring and Dr Dick Stuart-Clark, with Ernest Clark returning as the formidable Professor Sir Geoffrey Loftus.
It ran for two series and 26 episodes on ITV between 1975 and 1977.
One episode was co-written by Graham Chapman of Monty Python and a young Douglas Adams, a few years before The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Bowler
Bowler starts September 30 at 2:30pm and 9:00pm, and it’s one of British comedy’s long-unseen curiosities.
George Baker plays Stanley Bowler, an East End criminal fresh out of prison and determined to prove money can buy class. Fine art, fashionable clothes and high society follow, with predictably disastrous results.
It was created by Please Sir! writers John Esmonde and Bob Larbey as a spin-off from The Fenn Street Gang, and lasted a single series of 13 episodes in 1973.
Esmonde and Larbey did rather better a couple of years later, when they wrote The Good Life.
The Good Guys
The Good Guys starts October 1 at 12:00pm and 6:00pm, after years away from the schedules.
Nigel Havers plays upper-class former Army officer Guy McFadyean, and Keith Barron plays businessman Guy Lofthouse. They have nothing in common except a first name, and they keep stumbling into mysteries together.
The comedy drama ran for two series and 16 episodes on ITV between 1992 and 1993, made by LWT.
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