Even now, the tinkling of an ice cream van's tune evokes fond memories of childhood summers enjoying Fab, Zoom and Funny Feet ice lollies. Whatever your favourite ice lolly or ice cream was when you were growing up, we've rounded up the best retro frozen treats that bring back memories of summers past, counting down to the most missed of them all...
Click or scroll through to find out if your favourite childhood frozen treat makes the list.
Rocket-shaped lolly Sea Jet was launched by Lyons Maid in the UK off the back of popular kids’ show Stingray, which featured marionettes policing the oceans in submarines. In flavours including chocolate, vanilla, raspberry and orange, they were lapped up in the 1960s by fans of the show, who even had the chance to send off wrappers to claim their very own model Stingray. They've long since been discontinued, though.
Lyons Maid’s Fruit Parfait cups were dubbed the 'cinema ice cream', with adverts starring James Bond On Her Majesty’s Secret Service star George Lazenby. They were a popular intermission treat in the UK in the 1960s, when servers wandering the aisles with trays of ice cream around their necks was still very much a thing. Tangy cubes of fruit salad were encased by softly whipped vanilla ice cream and topped with a cherry.
Remember when you could buy ice cream in big creamy slabs, or bricks, rather than only in tubs? If you grew up between the 1950s and 1980s, then the answer may well be yes. As this cute and colourful 1955 magazine ad shows, Wall’s ice cream blocks came in various flavours including vanilla, chocolate and strawberry – and in packages big enough to slice up and share.
Two different flavours made up the layers of these rocket-shaped lollies based on TV series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. Launched in the UK by Lyons Maid back in the 1960s, they were a much-loved kids’ favourite for decades, but disappeared at the end of the 20th century. There are online campaigns focused on bringing Orbit back, but they remain absent from freezer sections and ice cream vans.
Seen here in a trade advert from the 1950s, Orange Maid was a popular choice for decades until it ceased production in 2021. Essentially frozen fresh orange juice, nothing can quite quench your thirst like a simple yet delicious Orange Maid lolly. There are many orange ice lollies available from different brands these days, but none quite hit the spot like an Orange Maid did.
You can still buy Wall’s ice cream in all the classic varieties, but the company has had some fabulous flavours in the past that, sadly, haven’t stood the test of time. Specials have included banana, pineapple, cherry pie and – as delightfully displayed in this 1950s ad – 'real' honey. We’re not sure exactly how people were supposed to eat those slices but, otherwise, it sounds delicious.
These pots of frozen mousse are as 'growing up in the UK in the 1980s' as Neighbours, Arctic roll and Roland Rat. And, as it happens, the aforementioned TV rodent was chosen to front a relaunch of the freezer treat in 2009. Sadly, its return didn’t last and the pots – in flavours like chocolate and strawberry, with swirls of sticky sauce – are relegated to the icy annals of the past.
A block of vanilla ice cream with chocolate chips with one end sandwiched between biscuit and the other covered in chocolate and nuts, a Maxibon is an impressive, satisfying ice cream that was popular in the 1990s. Sadly, it's been discontinued in the UK but is available throughout Europe and in other countries including Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
In the 1980s, it wasn't summer if you weren't merrily licking a foot-shaped strawberry ice cream. It may be a weird concept, but these were so popular, fans were devastated when they were phased out in the early 2000s. Luckily, Iceland relaunched Funny Feet in 2021 but, although people were thrilled to have a retro reminder of their childhood, the lollies just aren't the same as they were in their heyday.
Launched in 1963, Zoom capitalised on the popularity of TV shows Thunderbirds and Fireball XL5. Shaped like a rocket, Zoom was primarily targeted at boys, with Lyons Maid launching the apparently more feminine Fab lollies around the same time. Using Thunderbirds' Lady Penelope, who often used the phrase 'F.A.B.', and her butler Parker to promote the lollies, both were an instant hit. Fab is still going strong to this day, and while there are many rocket lollies on the market, the original and the best Zoom has been discontinued.
This Dracula-shaped ice lolly was a hit with kids in the 1980s. A sweet strawberry flavour, this slightly scary looking treat also turned your tongue a bright red. In 2013 Wall's launched another Dracula lolly, which was black with a red gooey centre, but we have fond memories of the original fiendish treat.
Launched by Wall's in the late 1980s, Italian-style ice cream brand Gino Ginelli was something completely different for the UK market, which previously had only had access to pretty standard ice cream flavours. With a catchy advert and theme tune, Gino Ginelli was an instant hit, with flavours including Tutti Frutti, Choc & Nut and Rum & Raisin.
HB Ireland introduced the Fat Frog ice lolly in the 1990s, and who wouldn't love an apple and lime flavoured, frog-shaped frozen treat? Sadly, this refreshing ice lolly is no longer around, but there are several Facebook fan pages dedicated to begging HB to reintroduce everyone's favourite frog.
The red, fist-shaped ice lolly with a finger pointing up was a popular treat in the 1980s, and hasn't been seen in the UK for years. Until, that is, Wall's launched a limited-edition Dream Team box of lollies to mark Euro 2024, including a dupe of The Finger lolly. Fans were thrilled to see the favourite frozen treat of their childhood back. The box also contains the black cola-flavoured version of the Dracula lolly, another retro fave.