This film is part of Free

It's Ridiculous

It’s 1977 in Northern Ireland; find out what people in the street are shouting about? It might not be what you expect.

News 1977 1 mins

From the collection of:

Logo for Northern Ireland Screen

Overview

Viewers in Northern Ireland might recognise David Dunseith sporting sunglasses at the end of this television advert. He began his career as a floppy haired police officer commanding the early Drug Squad. During the 1970s Ulster Television persuaded him to go from making occassional appearances to warn the public against drugs to a fully-fledged broadcaster.

Later poached by the BBC he hosted Talkback the country’s daily current affairs phone in show. It was a public sounding board during difficult times often referred to as the “people’s parliament”. Covering everything from the poignant to the absurd it became a cathartic outlet during the height of the conflict and the most popular phone in show in Europe. This material is Courtesy of the UTV Archive.