What Did ITV Do For Me? (ITV1)

When Blue Peter Became Abba (C4)

IF David Jason hadn't been discovered on the end of the pier, he wouldn't be where he is today - one of TV's top stars.

Now I'm sure most of us can think of a few celebrities we'd gladly push off the end of the pier. I'm equally certain that Jason is not one of them as What Did ITV Do For Me? called him "best loved" which, in TV terms, means he always gets good ratings.

Sir David, to give him his proper label, recalled his early showbiz days as part of ITV's 50th birthday celebrations in a programme that took six stars and showed how ITV provided a stepping stone to stardom. Bruce Forsyth, Roger Moore, Victoria Wood, Chris Tarrant and Simon Cowell were the others in this odd bunch.

I'm not convinced that being rude to people on TV talent shows entitles Cowell a place among them. More worrying was how TV history was changed to ensure that ITV got all the credit for their success. Only Fools And Horses, being a BBC show, received only a passing mention although, arguably, Del Boy is the role with which most people associate Jason. Wood's regular appearances on That's Life didn't merit a mention. And Forsyth's flop ITV series Bruce's Big Night - which met with Little Success - was ignored.

Still, it was good to be reminded of Jason when he was a comedy actor in the ITV children's show Do Not Adjust Your Set with Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. When they wanted to do more adult material in a late night show, ITV bosses said 'no'. A year later, they came back with Monty Python's Flying Circus on the BBC, but without Jason.

Before he was James Bond, Roger Moore got his start in ITV series The Saint and The Persuaders, and a clip from the earlier Ivanhoe that reminded us that, as far back as 1958, his raised eyebrow was doing the acting.

A great deal of make-believe was required to make four ex-children's TV show presenters resemble the Swedish superstar singing group in When Blue Peter Became Abba.

In this variation on the Faking It format, they were recruited by Zoe Ball to form an Abba tribute band. After just a week's rehearsal, they had to perform live in front of a 70,000 crowd at one of Europe's biggest music festivals.

The early signs weren't good. "Complete disaster," was the vocal coach's verdict after hearing them on the first day.

Morale wasn't helped by Peter Duncan's cocky attitude, which undermined Stuart Miles's confidence. He was having enough trouble singing and playing at the same time without having to see Duncan do it easily. So I didn't feel sorry for Duncan when Ball raised the subject of his pre-Blue Peter soft porn movie.

Amazingly, the crowd couldn't tell the difference between top tribute band Bjorn Again and the Blue Peter Abba. But, as Ball pointed out, it was dark and they had been drinking.