Rewind TV has unveiled its March lineup, and it’s a mixed bag of sharp comedy, cult drama, and classic sci-fi – with several titles that haven’t been seen on television for a very long time.
The retro-focused channel is bringing Steven Moffat’s acclaimed drama Press Gang to its schedule alongside the rarely seen Maureen Lipman sitcom Agony, the cult anthology series Rik Mayall Presents, the second series of Space: 1999, and more.
It’s a month that leans heavily into bold writing and memorable performances – and for fans of classic British television, there are some treats buried in there.
“This is exactly the kind of television Rewind TV was created to champion,” says Rewind TV’s Jonathan Moore. “From cult classics and iconic performances to long-unseen gems, our March lineup celebrates bold storytelling and unforgettable personalities.”
Where to Find Rewind TV
Since launching on Sky in May 2024 and expanding to Freeview that September, Rewind TV has established itself as a reliable home for classic British programming that might otherwise remain locked in archives.
You can currently find it on Freeview Channel 81, Sky Channel 182 (satellite only), and Freely Channel 141 (only on the aerial-connected version of Freely).
The channel remains absent from Sky Stream, Sky Glass, and Freesat. (unlike rival channel Talking Pictures TV, which has a Freely streaming channel and an app).
Press Gang
Press Gang arrives March 2 at 1.05pm and 6.30pm, and it’s arguably the headline addition this month.
Steven Moffat’s BAFTA-winning drama about a group of teenagers running a local newspaper remains one of the most acclaimed British series of its era – and this was long before Moffat went on to reshape Doctor Who and co-create Sherlock.
Julia Sawalha stars as the brilliant, uncompromising editor Lynda Day, alongside Dexter Fletcher as the effortlessly cool American reporter Spike Thompson, with Paul Reynolds and Kelda Holmes rounding out the core cast.
What made Press Gang remarkable was its refusal to talk down to its audience. Despite airing in CITV’s afternoon slot, the show tackled topics such as solvent abuse and firearms, alongside its central will-they-won’t-they romance.
Moffat wrote all 43 episodes across five series, and the origin story is almost too good to be true. His father Bill Moffat, a headteacher, pitched the idea to producers visiting his school – then suggested his son write the script.
The result was what producer Sandra Hastie called “the best ever first script” she had read.
The show eventually found a wider adult audience when Channel 4 picked it up for early evening repeats, proving what fans already knew – this was never really just a children’s programme.
Agony
Agony starts March 2 at 12.35am and 7.00pm, bringing back a series that has been quite hard to find on television in recent years.
Maureen Lipman stars as Jane Lucas, a hugely successful agony aunt whose advice columns and radio call-ins make her the go-to voice for other people’s problems – while her own personal life lurches from one disaster to the next.
Made by London Weekend Television and first broadcast in 1979, Agony was co-created by Len Richmond and real-life agony aunt Anna Raeburn, and it was considerably more adventurous than most sitcoms of its era.
The series tackled racism, abortion, and interracial relationships at a time when most British comedies were still playing it safe.
Most notably, it was the first British sitcom to portray a gay couple as non-stereotypical, intelligent, and happy – a quietly revolutionary move that predated similar representation by years.
Simon Williams plays Jane’s unreliable psychiatrist husband Laurence, Maria Charles is her overbearing Jewish mother Bea, and a young Bill Nighy turns up as the libidinous Vincent Fish.
Carrott Del Sol
Carrott Del Sol arrives March 1 at 3.00pm, and it’s a proper time capsule of early 1980s British comedy.
Jasper Carrott stars as Sago, a confident lad from Birmingham who heads to Spain with his mates Wayne and Kevin for a classic package holiday – sun, sangria, and the promise of a good time.
What follows is exactly what you’d expect: the holiday doesn’t remotely match the brochure. Sago loses all their money in a game of backgammon, enters the lads into a talent contest to try to win some back, and the whole thing descends into comic chaos.
Filmed on location on the Costa del Sol in 1981, it’s a warm, observational comedy that captures everything recognisable about the British abroad – the sunburn, the cultural misunderstandings, the dogged determination to have a good time regardless.
The Gaffer
The Gaffer starts March 2 at 8.30am and 7.30pm, making a welcome return after a very long absence from screens.
Bill Maynard stars as Fred Moffatt, the owner of a struggling Midlands engineering firm that’s perpetually one bad week away from going under.
Fred spends his days dodging creditors, the taxman, the bank manager, and his own shop steward Harry (played by the excellent Russell Hunter), while trying to keep the whole operation from collapsing entirely.
Made by Yorkshire Television and written by businessman Graham White, The Gaffer ran for three series between 1981 and 1983, and its backdrop of small businesses battling recession felt uncomfortably authentic at the time.
Maynard had previously starred as the bumbling Selwyn Froggitt, but Fred Moffatt was a deliberate departure – sardonic, cunning, and focused purely on survival.
Maynard even changed his physical appearance for the role, swapping Selwyn’s too-small suits for oversized, lived-in ones that gave Fred a permanently crumpled look.
Pat Ashton rounds out the cast as Fred’s long-suffering secretary Betty, and the interplay between Maynard’s improvised delivery and White’s wordy scripts gave the show a distinctive, slightly unpredictable energy.
That creative tension reportedly contributed to the show’s abrupt end – a planned fourth series was cancelled after disagreements between star and writer over script changes.
Rik Mayall Presents
Rik Mayall Presents returns March 7 at 9.20pm, and it’s a series that showcases a side of Rik Mayall that casual fans might not expect.
Best known for the anarchic physical comedy of The Young Ones and Bottom, Mayall used this anthology series to prove he had far more range than frying pans to the face.
Each episode is a standalone comedy drama with Mayall playing a completely different character – from a paranoid TV host to a compulsive liar posing as a gangster to a man whose date spirals into escalating comic violence.
The series ran for two batches of three episodes on ITV in 1993 and 1995, originally under the working title The Rik Mayall Playhouse.
The guest cast reads like a who’s who of 1990s British talent: Helena Bonham Carter, Peter Capaldi, Alan Cumming, Amanda Donohoe, Saffron Burrows, Lee Evans, Michael Kitchen, Helen McCrory, and Eleanor Bron all appear across the six episodes.
Mayall’s performances earned him a Best Comedy Performer award at the British Comedy Awards, and the series remains a cult favourite – a reminder that behind the manic energy was a genuinely skilled actor who could carry a dramatic scene just as convincingly as he could take a pratfall.
Space: 1999
The second and final series of Space: 1999 arrives March 24 at 10.00am and 2.40pm, completing the run of Gerry Anderson’s ambitious science fiction epic.
Martin Landau and Barbara Bain – the husband-and-wife team previously known for Mission: Impossible – return as Commander John Koenig and Dr Helena Russell, still guiding the inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha through deep space after the Moon was blasted out of Earth’s orbit by a nuclear explosion.
The big addition for series two is Catherine Schell as Maya, a shape-shifting alien from the planet Psychon who joins the Alpha crew.
At the time of production, Space: 1999 was the most expensive series ever made for British television, with a combined budget of £6.8 million across both series.
The second run took a notably different approach to the first, leaning into more action-oriented storytelling and character dynamics – a shift that divided fans then and continues to spark debate among the show’s dedicated following today.
Plans for a third series and even a Maya spinoff were discussed but never materialised. What remains, though, is one of the most visually striking and distinctive science fiction programmes British television has produced.
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Sorry Alan, I forgot to add that the That’s music channels 70s, 80s, 90s and Rock can all be found in the live tv section of the Rakuten app if you want these. There’s also VEVO’s music channels and a couple of Stingray too. I often bob in and out for the That’s 70s channel and picture quality is pretty good.
The TV app store position is bad position to be in and really renders the tv unfit for purpose. If you have purchased the tv less than a year ago, I would argue the fact that under the the Consumer Credit Act and take it up with the retailer.
Cheers
Thanks again Chunky. I was aware of those music channels (and radio stations too) and I also occasionally access them. I would access them more often, if they were on the Freely (streaming only) guide! I’ve been looking through the “Eden” schedule and there’s music on there! It’s only “Top of the Pops”, but that’s better than nothing!
As for the app store, my Freely telly is over a year old. But I’m not worried about it, as I’ve never needed to download apps before. When I bought the telly it came with about eighty apps. Since then TiVo has downloaded a lot more apps, it’s nearly one hundred and sixty now.
So I’m reasonably confident that TiVo will keep downloading apps (like Discovery Plus) and-or fix the app store (soon-ish). As you say, a device without a working app store is not fit for purpose.
Hi Alan
Yes it’s the amc channels on Rakuten.
Download and install Discovery+ and use the browse option. Cursor down to channels and choose TLC. You can view TLC through the app with/without signing up and the picture quality is acceptable if not FHD.
Thanks for the info, Chunky. Unfortunately “Discovery Plus” is not on my Freely telly, and the app store is also “… currently not available on your device!” (Very strange!). I recently had a software update (perhaps I should say it was a down-grade!).
I guess I will have to keep waiting for “T.L.C.” to appear on the Freely (streaming only) guide.
Hey Alan
Even stranger if the channel is a +1. I’d forgot about that. There’s no epg info for it at the moment. Could it just be a test stream? Do you think u@ will add the rest of their +1 channels especially when the app is available on Freely for streaming? The addition of Eden adds all the u@ fta channels to Freely so I’m glad to see it’s finally come but it’s taken them a while!
I’d still like to see Rewind and That’s channels added. They’d really compliment the Freely WiFi bouquet. There’s no sign of the amc channels although they can be found in the live section of the Rakuten app.
To be honest, Chunky, I was surprised that “U.K.T.V.” even bothered to put Dave Ja Vu on the Freely (streaming only) telly guide. And I have no idea about any more of their “+1” channels, as I would most likely stream old content anyway.
Like you, I’m glad to see Eden on the guide, as I previously posted. As well as waiting for Rewind, That’s (for music?), and the W.B.D. channels.
I could watch “T.L.C.” on Rakuten, but it’s so much easier, and better, on the Freely guide, so here’s hoping they will arrive soon!
Chunky,
I’ve just realised that you posted “… A.M.C. channels … can be found in … Rakuten app”, which I read as “… W.B.D. channels …”. So I went looking for “T.L.C.”! But it’s not in Rakuten, or Pluto or Plex either! So I Googled it, and Google says it’s only available, for free, on Freeview or Freesat.
So we’re still waiting for the (three extra) W.B.D. channels to arrive on Freely (streaming only)!
Morning Alan
Thanks for the heads up but what strange numbering? Think it may change later today because putting Dave ja Vu on 259 is ridiculous especially if Eden is on 71. I’d expect all the u& channels in the 70s.
Morning Chunky,
Dave Ja Vu is a “+1” channel, and Freely deliberately puts those channels lower down the telly guide. Freely doesn’t really want “+1” channels, as they would prefer people to stream on-demand.
Morning Alan
Thanks for the heads up but what strange numbering? Think it may change later today because putting Dave ja Vu on 259 is ridiculous especially if Eden is on 71. I’d expect all the u& channels in the 70s.
We need Rewind to follow TPTV and to provide a streaming service which would enable us to watch their shows in decent quality. The broadcasts are terrible, as if the sharpness has been turned down. Rewind, TPTV, Thats tv and more. They all suffer from the compromise required by Freeview. TPTV Encore allows us to watch their programmes in dvd quality with their Footage Detectives actually being in HD.So come on Rewind catchup with catchup.
@Or Goren
Any chance you can find out if/when Rewind will be coming to Freely WiFi/No aerial? I’ve not been able to get a response and I am sure many on here would love to see it added to the 130IPTV channels already available. Cheers.
Hey Chunky,
There are two new channels on Freely (streaming only) today:
71 Eden
259 Dave ja vu