Happy bir thday

Yes, your favourite TV magazine has clocked up its first quarter century – what better opportunity for us to take a trip back in time and revisit our best interviews, television moments, dazzling covers and unbelievable celebrity quotes. Enjoy!

Welcome to the first of two dazzling specia l issues celebrating our Silver Jubi lee. Weekend magazine was a revelation when it launched 25 years ago this week – a Saturday supplement packed with r ivet ing celebrity interviews, delicious sections on cookery, inspiring gardening and the most comprehensive TV guide of any newspaper.

For the past quarter of a century we’ve been helping you decide what (and what not) to watch as the television landscape has blossomed beyond all recognition. And as the quantity and quality of TV pro- grammes have grown so too have we, doubling in size to become Britain’s best- selling weekly magazine. No wonder we’re partying!

This week we unveil the result of our poll to find Britain’s Top TV Icons – as voted by you – and how their ground- breaking shows have changed the face of television. We celebrate the doyenne of interviewers, the late, great Lynda Lee- Potter, with extracts from her funniest encounters for Weekend, bring you the most surprising stories the stars have told us, and there’s a touching trip down memory lane, as we reproduce some of our most illustrious covers. From an exclusive photo of the Queen as you’ve never seen her before, to the heroes of the big and small screens, they’ve all adorned our front page.

And don’t miss TV’s cutest animal stars from an array of wildlife programmes, and Monty Don’s musings on the way TV gardening programmes have been transformed in the past 25 years – coincidentally 1993 was the year he started planting his own garden at Longmeadow, which we have all come to know and love on Gardeners’ World. It was also the year he got his first TV presenting job.

Plus 100 lucky readers wi l l find a magical silver ticket to the stars h idden inside Weekend magazine this week and next, with prizes that money can’t buy such as a role in Midsomer Murders, the chance to be an X Factor judge for the day, or a meal for you and your friends cooked by our columnist James Martin.

So sit back and wallow in the nostalgia as we take you through 25 glorious years – and don’t miss next week’s second special issue when we’ll look at the rise and rise of the TV cookery show and the most tantalising revelations the Royal Family have told your wonderful Weekend magazine.