When I was growing up I wasn’t generally allowed to watch TV. It would be on when my parents wanted to watch something and occasionally during dinner, but for the most part it was just not a thing I was allowed to do. Of course, during those moments I was alone in the flat [which, come to think of it, were fairly frequent which I hoped was more due to my parents believing me to be independent at a primary school age rather than being unable to find a sitter!] I would take the opportunity to watch TV.

I would approach it rather sneakily – remembering the exact position of the remote control on the living room table, making a mental note of the TV channel that was last on when the TV was switched off, as well as listening closely to any noise outside the flat that could indicate an early return!

I would watch the Gummy Bears, She-Ra, Inspector Gadget, The Racoons and many other cartoon shows though I’ve probably watched more of that as an adult.

One of the shows that my mum used to watch and would happily let me watch at the same time was I Dream of Jeannie or the German name of it – Enchanting Jeannie. I wanted to be Jeannie and remember running round the flat trying to do magic whilst at the same time – even as a six year old – thinking that it looked stupid. I wanted to live in her bottle and was intrigued that it was only a sofa though always thought just how impractical that is.

It’s the show that was made by Larry Hagman. RIP.