Ready to take a trip to Tracy Island? In the latest episode of Very British Futures, host Gareth Preston is firing up the atomic engines for a deep dive into the 1960s puppet masterpiece: Thunderbirds.

To help navigate the high-stakes world of International Rescue, Gareth is joined by a powerhouse trio of guests from the Official Talking Pictures TV podcast: Mel Byron, Scott Phipps, and Daniel Reifferscheid.

The gang isn't just looking at the flashy vehicles (though, let’sbe honest, we all want to pilot Thunderbird 2). They’re gettinginto the nuts and bolts of what made Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s vision so enduring. Concentrating on three varied episodes: “Trapped in the Sky”, “Attack of Alligators”, and “Alias Mr Hackenbacker”. Since TPTV is the spiritual home of vintage telly, the guests bring their expert perspective on why Thunderbirds still looks "F.A.B." on modern screens.

Includes Dinky Toys, Busted and the most popular Blue Peter make ever.

It’s a warm, witty, and wonderfully nostalgic conversation.Whether you’re a lifelong fan who knows their Thunderbird 4 from their Thunderbird 5, or you just have a soft spot for Parker’s "Yus, M'Lady," this episode is a lovely tribute to acultural touchstone of British television.

Useful links

Very British Futures on Xhttps://x.com/FuturesVery

The home of Gerry Anderson shows https://gerryanderson.com/

The Official Talking Pictures TV podcasthttps://talkingpicturestvpodcast.libsyn.com/

More on Gilly’s Antiqueshttps://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/25842588.boltons-gillys-antiques-full-thousands-treasures/

Gilly’s Antiques on Ebayhttps://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/gillysantiques

Mel Byron’s home page https://www.melbyron.co.uk/

Welcome to Very British Futures, the podcast where we explore Britain’s past visions of tomorrow on the small screen — the futures that became part of pop culture, and the ones that somehow slipped through the cracks of television history.

We are launching a brand new season with an episode takes us back to 1977 and a groundbreaking docu-drama made when such programmes were relatively rare - Alternative 3.

Originally aired on ITV on the 20th of June that year and immediately caused confusion, alarm, and a fair bit of late-night debate in pubs and living rooms across the country. Was it a serious investigative documentary? A science fiction thriller in the vein of Quatermass? Or an elaborate hoax that proved more convincing than its makers intended?

Journalists on a science magazine show claimed to reveal a secret plan devised by world governments and scientific elites: a desperate response to a dying planet involving disappearing scientists, a secret space programme, and a supposed off-world escape route for the elite of humanity. It was bleak, conspiratorial, and delivered with astraight-faced authority that blurred the line between factualreporting and speculative fiction.

Nearly fifty years later, the programme still holds a strangeplace in British broadcasting history. It sits somewhere between Cold War paranoia, mischief, and the enduring fascination with hidden truths.

To help us untangle the story behind Alternative 3 — its production, its reception, and the long conspiracy-theoryafterlife it spawned — Gareth Preston is joined by actor, writer,broadcaster, and noted expert on the odd corners of British film and television, Toby Hadoke.

So settle in as we dig into a real one-off of British telefantasy.

Very British Futures is hosted and produced by Gareth Preston, with guest Toby Hadoke. Music by Chatri Art, and James Leatherbarrow. Artwork by Ken Moss. This is a Phantom Frame production.

Find out more about Toby Hadoke and his work -https://tobyhadoke.com/

Order his marvellous book on The Quatermass Experiment -https://tenacrefilms.bigcartel.com/product/the-quatermass-experiment-the-making-of-tv-s-first-sci-fi-classic

Toby Hadoke’s adaptation of Nigel Kneale’s The Road -https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0000y1d

IMDB page for Alternative 3https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075664/reference/

Visit our website at http://westlakefilms.uk/verybritishfutures/

Follow us on X at https://x.com/FuturesVery

In this episode, Gareth Preston is joined by Ken Moss and Andrew Roe-Crines to venture into one of the quirkier corners of British science fiction television: Terrahawks.

Zelda, a centuries old android with incredible powers over matter, an army of renegade aliens, and a grievance against all humanity, threatens the Earth. Standing in her way are the Terrahawks, a secret organisation of pilots and scientists and their fleet of advanced vehicles. Not to mention their Zeroids, ball-shaped self-aware robot soldiers.

Created by Gerry Anderson and Christopher Burr and first broadcast by ITV in 1983, Terrahawks arrived at a moment of transition for Anderson’s career. Mixing model work and puppetry with early video effects, broad humour, and moments of genuine darkness, the series has long divided audiences. Was it a deliberate satire of the Supermarionation era, a children’s show struggling with changing tastes, or something odder and more stylish than it’s usually given credit for? As ever, the conversation ranges across production history, aesthetics, tone, and legacy, asking what Terrahawks tells us about British television science fiction in the early 1980s—and why, decades later, it stubbornly refuses to be forgotten.

Hosted and produced by Gareth Preston. Guests Ken Moss (The Extonmoss Experiment) and Andrew Roe-Crines (Westlake Films).

Music by Chatri Art

Listen to The Extonmoss Experiment here

Find out more about Andrew S Roe-Crines' work

Buy the Big Finish Terrahawk stories

Visit Gareth Preston's blog for more info on the podcast