Wiktionary
as i was saying
phr. (context idiomatic informal English) (non-gloss definition: Used to refer back to a previous statement in a discourse)
Wikipedia
As I Was Saying
As I Was Saying is a British television drama which aired in 1955 on the BBC. Of the six episodes produced, only three survive.
Usage examples of "as i was saying".
Well, as I was saying, we were chatting away quite friendly and he asked me did our friend here wear glasses still, and then he told me the whole story.