7. Play School

First  watched : Uncertain

Play  School  was  only  being  broadcast  at  11.00  am  on   BBC2  in  October  1968. It  was  first  shown  as  a  repeat  on  BBC1  at  16.20  pm  on  5  November  1968  but  I've  waited  until  getting  up  to  the  19th  because  that's  the  first  time  it  had  two  presenters   that  I  definitely  recall. I  certainly  don't  remember  creepy  Colin  Jeavons   being  on  the  show ! I'll  hang  fire  on  the  other  tea  time  programmes  for  now  because  the  likes  of  Circus  Boy, Tom  Tom   and  Belle , Sebastian  and  the  Horses  ring  no  bells  whatsoever.

Play  School  was  still  relatively  young  at  this  point  having  started  in  June  1964  when  it  became  the  first  programme  broadcast  on  BBC2  after  the  infamous  power  cut  of  the  previous  night. It  seemed  to  have  a  rotating  cast  of  about  a  dozen  presenters  who  would  pair  up  M/F  to  front  the  show. The  most  regular  characters  were  a  motley  quintet  of  ordinary  toys, Big  Ted, Little  Ted, Jemima ( a  rag  doll ) , Hamble ( a  scruffy  plastic  doll )   and   Humpty  ( who  had  the  odd  sneaky  revamp ) . It  had  a  magazine  format  with  stories, songs, skill  demos  leading  up  to  the  showing  of  some  film  footage , generally  some  horrendously  boring  film  stock  of  bottles  being  made  or  something  like  that  but  occasionally  you'd  have  a  Disney  cartoon  clip. These  were  seen  through  one  of  three  "windows"  - on  to  the  outside  world  you  see.

Top  honcho  was  undoubtedly  Brian  Cant. Since  Rolf  went  down;  Brian  has  become  the  last  redoubt  for  people  of  my  age  wanting  to  preserve  some  unsullied  memory  of  childhood  innocence; surely  he  kept  his  hands  to  himself  ? He  was  one  of  the  presenters  on  19.11.68; the  other  was  Carol  Chell  ( above )  who  had  a  rather  mumsy  appearance  but  was  still  in  her  twenties. She  always  had  this  engaging  smirk   on  her  face  as  though  she  couldn't  believe  her  luck. If  you've  seen  the  clip  the  still  above  has  been  taken  from  ( most  of  the  series  has  been  wiped ) you'll  know  most  of  the  jelly  remains  firmly  fixed  inside  the  mould  for  all  her  shaking  and  banging. She  later  became  a  TV  executive.

I think  it   was  Play  School  rather  than  actual  school  that  taught  me  how  to  tell  the  time  as  an  interrogation  on  what  time  was  showing  on  a  cardboard  clock  in  the  studio  always  preceded  that  day's  story.

Play  School's  reputation  is  pretty  bomb-proof  as  far  as  political  correctness  goes.  Paul  Danquah  ( who  is  gay  to  boot ) has  been  claimed  as  the  first  black  presenter  on  the  BBC  and  was  soon  followed  by  Derek  Griffiths. In  1975  Hamble  was  replaced  by  a  black  doll  Poppy  although  the  impetus  to  replace  Hamble   ( never  a  favourite  with  the  presenters  because  she  couldn't  sit  up )  came  from  her  fragility  rather  than  pc zeal. She  disappeared  shortly  afterwards; maybe  Les  Ferdinand's  got  her.

When  did  I  stop  watching  it ? Well  I  don't  remember  Poppy  so  it's  pre-75. I'm  thinking  it  was  probably  some  time  in  1972.  By  that  time   its  spin-off  Play  Away  for  slightly  older  children  was  established   and  I  took  the  hint. It  can't  have  been  before  the  end  of  1971 though  because  I  remember  seeing  the  promo  film  for  Ernie  by  Benny  Hill  through  one  of  the  windows; my  first  direct  exposure  to  a  current  pop  hit.

The  actual  series  ran  till  1988  , three  years  after  Brian  Cant  finally  left  the  show  following its  removal  from  the  afternoon  special. Its  influence  lives  on; Teletubbies  being  the  obvious  example.