Nostalgia is back, baby. The pink-hot success of the Barbie movie was part-driven by the audience’s desire to remeet a doll they hadn’t played with in decades. Polly Pocket, Thomas & Friends and Hot Wheels films are coming to cash in on the sentiment.

Grocery is jumping on the trend. Morrisons this year revived a 17-year-old strapline for a new push. Weetabix last year ran new ads with a Hanna-Barbera cartoon aesthetic.

Channel 5 now too, with The 1970s Supermarket (16 August, 9pm), a breezy look back at how we grocery shopped half a century ago.

A parade of retail expert talking heads explained the shopping experience of yore – “really different to anything we’d recognise today” said one.

Self-service was still common, domestic freezers rare, and most supermarkets “were small and located in high streets”. Getting the shopping done was a huge pain.

On shelf though, convenience was king. “People wanted dinner that could be on the table in minutes,” said retail consultant Clare Bailey.

And so the rise of Spam, Pot Noodle, Fray Bentos, Findus Crispy Pancakes and Angel Delight – allowing dishes to be whipped up (often literally) in no time. Rustie Lee cooked a Spam-based dish, struggling to extract the ham from the can.

As is de rigueur with such shows, the public were invited along, this time to peruse a 1970s-favourite-stocked shelf. “That takes me back,” said one.

An enjoyable nostalgic romp – but long at an hour, and there’s part two coming. Remember when shows packed everything into 30 minutes?

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