Sorry, 80s kids but 90s kids had the best TV.

We had all the popular shows that everyone still loves talking about: The Queen’s Nose, SM:TV Live, The Worst Witch (which is making a comeback, thank goodness).

10 amazing 90s children’s shows that make us pine for our childhood

But for every Bernard’s Watch and Byker Grove there was a lesser known show left by the wayside in our memories.

Here are 12 underrated, forgotten kids shows of the 90s – how many do you remember?


1. Tots TV

Which 90s kid didn’t want to hang out with Tilly, Tom and Tiny at their secret house? They owned a donkey, for crying out loud!



2. ReBoot

Set in a city called Mainframe, located inside the internet, Reboot tried its very hardest to be futuristic, and in the 90s we loved it.

ReBoot was largely episodic with the main characters – a Guardian of the Mainframe called Bob, business woman Dot Matrix and her kid brother Enzo – stopping a different catastrophe each week.

It’s also notable for having one of the scariest f*****g villains of all time in Hexadecimal, a ‘chaos’ computer virus.

3. Insektors

This computer animated series aired during the day on Channel 4, so chances are you only caught this is you were off school sick.

Insektors was the story of two warring tribes of insects, the Joyces and the Yuks. Of course, the Yuks were the bad guys. They were called YUKS.

The cute characters, original plot and striking animation made this one a classic.

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4. The Spooks Of Bottle Bay

The Spooks Of Bottle Bay followed the adventures of Sidney Sludge and his dog Maxwell, and the people who lived in Bottle Bay. Randomly, Bottle Bay was in fact located inside a bottle on someone’s mantelpiece.

And then there were all the dead people – sorry, ghosts – that roamed Bottle Bay at night shaking their sheets and lending a hand.

Although the premise was bloody bizarre, Sidney was a great character to follow through the series. And you always wanted him to get the better of his nasty sister and brother Sybil and Cedric.

5. Secret Life Of Toys

Jim Henson’s Secret Life Of Toys followed the further adventures of Rugby the Tiger from The Muppets TV special The Christmas Toy. Rugby and his toy pals came to life when their owner left the room.

It was basically Toy Story before Toy Story was Toy Story.

6. Spider

The Spider cartoon, which aired on CBBC, almost made spiders seem a bit less scary. Almost.

7. Roger and The Rottentrolls

10-year-old Roger is crowned King of the Rottentrolls after crashing his bike into the valley where the trolls live. Together Roger and the Rottentrolls embark on a series of incredible adventures.



The barmy Rottentrolls, knee-high creatures who were dropped from the sky during a magician’s experiment, were so hilarious they could have come straight out of Discworld.

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8. Earth Warp

This series about the impact of pollution on our planet might have been wheeled out in your Geography lesson, or when you had a supply teacher for the afternoon and she/he just wanted you to settle down and shut up.

In the ten-part series, alien Ollie comes to the British town of Southbeach to investigate after an alien probe detects high levels of pollution. The children of the town are suffering from a mysterious illness because of pollutants pumped into the sea by a nearby factory.

Some local children pal up with Ollie to help lower pollution levels before the alien probe explodes, wiping Southbeach off the face of the Earth.

This sounds like the plot of any drama you might find on TV today, but unlike today’s telly, you actually learnt something.

9. The Ferals

The Ferals followed the adventures of Rattus, a rat, Modigliana, a cat, a rabbit called Mixy, a dog called Derryn, and the two university students who looked after them.

It was as bonkers as it sounds, and the eclectic animal characters and madcap humour made this Aussie comedy a gem.

10. FunnyBones

In a dark, dark town there was a dark, dark street; and in the dark, dark street there was a dark, dark house etc, etc…


Starring Griff Rhys Jones, FunnyBones were a series of stories about a big skeleton, a little skeleton and their skeleton dog making sense of the world by night. Charming and uncomplicated.

11. Johnson and Friends

Johnson and Friends looks like something a child would come up with while hopped up on Calpol.

In the theme tune, a pink elephant rides a skateboard, and one of the characters is a neurotic hot water bottle called Alfred.

It was just plain weird, but gets bumps for originality, we guess?

12. Mopatop’s Shop

Another product of Jim Henson Productions, Mopatop was a green muppet-like bear dragon thing who ran a shop selling anything and everything you could want.

As a kid it made you wish such a place exsisted in real life. That way you could get those trainers you saw that boy in your class wearing last Mufti day.

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