After seeing him in cabaret in London in 1963, impresario Val Parnell booked him to appear on "Sunday Night at the Palladium". As a result of his performance, Bill Cotton, then Assistant Head of Light Entertainment at BBC Television, offered Doonican his own regular show. The TV shows were produced by Yvonne Littlewood and lasted for over 20 years. At their peak the shows attracted audiences of some 19 million viewers. The shows featured his relaxed crooner style, sitting in a rocking chair wearing cardigans or jumpers, sometimes performing comedic Irish songs including "Paddy McGinty's Goat", "Delaney's Donkey" and "O'Rafferty's Motor Car" as well as easy listening and country material on which he accompanied himself on acoustic guitar. Doonican's songs about O'Rafferty were popular enough for the BBC to publish a book, "Val Doonican Tells The Adventures of O'Rafferty", which retold five of the tales, in 1969. As his were variety shows, his TV programmes gave a number of other performers, such as Dave Allen, early exposure. Regular guests included Bernard Cribbins, Bob Todd, the Norman Maen Dancers, the Mike Sammes Singers, and the Kenny Woodman Orchestra. At its height "The Val Doonican Show", which featured both American and British acts, had 20 million viewers. In the United States, "The Val Doonican Show" aired on ABC on Saturday evenings at 8:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. Central) from 5 June to 14 August 1971.