Play School History
Play School was the first show to be screened by BBC2,at 11am on 22 April 1964. It was also the first full programme to be broadcast with a high-definition picture (625-lines) in Britain. The programme was the brainchild of Joy Whitby, a former producer of BBC Radio’s popular "Listen With Mother" slot. Play School was introduced in direct response to concerns about the perceived poor standard of pre-school education in the UK. Teachers and writers were asked for advice about the content and style of the programme. Play School was transmitted each weekday morning on BBC2 with an afternoon repeat on BBC1 before the main children’s programmes.
Play School Presenters
Presenters were rotated and drawn from a large pool of performers with a male and female duo presenting each show. Many went on to present other programmes. Johnny Ball moved to mainstream children’s programming with his Think of a Number series and Fred Harris became the mainstay of BBC programmes on micro-computing. Derek Griffiths presented Heads and Tails and provided the voices for "Bod." Brian Cant moved on to Playaway and was also the narrator for Camberwick Green, Trumpton and Chigley.
Play School Toys and Pets
As famous as the presenters were their on-screen props – the toys. These were: Big Ted, Little Ted, Hamble, Jemima, and Humpty. A sixth toy ‘Dapple’ also featured in Play School spin-off books. The toys were not immune from off-air maltreatment for the sake of on-set amusement. Former presenters have admitted to using Humpty as a football, and on one occasion Big Ted was ‘kidnapped’ from the studio during a break in recording. In addition to toys, pets featured on the programme. These included white mice, goldfish, a rabbit, and a memorably noisy cockatoo.
Play School's Window on the World
The programme featured educational pre-filmed inserts. Each day young viewers were encouraged to watch this footage by guessing whether it would be viewed through one of three windows – round, arched or square. Another fondly-remembered feature was the over-sized clock, used by the presenters to help young viewers learn to tell the time. “The big hand’s pointing to the …” and “The little hand’s pointing to the …” became almost national catchphrases as a result of this daily segment.
Play School Around the World
The Play School format was syndicated around the world, including Norway, Germany and Iran. In Australia it was presented by Anne Haddy, who later played Helen Daniels in Neighbours.
The End of Play School
Play School was felt to be behind the times by the late 1980s and it was finally canceled in 1988 and replaced by Playdays. Many people continue to campaign for the return of Play School on the BBC and BBC iPlayer.
Sources:
Adrian Grahams - Adrian currently writes for several online and offline publications and specializes in communications, technology, business, media, ...
Join the Conversation