PLAY SCHOOL and its educational siblings

[Mel O'Drama]

This gem of a retrospective popped up in my YouTube suggestions last night, and hit the nostalgia button.

Made in 1979, it celebrates 15 years of Play School. Almost every presenter is present and correct including Brian Cant (referred to as "the Clint Eastwood" of the group, who reenacts his audition from inside a cardboard box), Floella Benjamin, Johnny Ball, Derek Griffiths, Carol Chelle, Gordon Rollings and Fred Harris.

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Now, it's a time capsule in its own right, and fascinating to see what went into making it, as well as the bloopers that were kept in and the creativity that made it all seem so effortless.

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Programme description:
1979: How PLAY SCHOOL is Made | 25 Minutes of Peace | BBC Archive

""Here's a house, here's a door. Windows: 1 2 3 4. Ready to knock? Turn the lock – It's Play School."

Barry Took looks at the history of Play School, the daily programme which opened BBC2 15 years ago.

Helping Barry out are longtime presenter Brian Cant and an audience of Play School presenters past and present, including Johnny Ball, Floella Benjamin, Carole Chell, Gordon Clyde, Derek Griffiths, Fred Harris, Jane Hawley, Carol Leader, Stuart McGugan, Peter Pontzen, Gordon Rollings, Johnny Silvo, Julie Stevens and Peter Wiltshire. As always, the talented presenters are thoroughly upstaged by the real stars of the show, the toys - Little Ted, Big Ted, Humpty Dumpty, Jemima and Hamble.

Also featured is Wendy Duggan - who is responsible for the Play School pets, Nancy Quayle - Play School's eductional advisor, and composer William Blezard, who (when he isn't busy being the musical director to Noël Coward, Marlene Dietrich and Joyce Grenfell) has the demanding role of Play School's musical director.

The show is tied together with vox pops and letters from young viewers, and a discussion with educators in the audience about where Play School succeeds and where there is room for improvement.

Have a look through the... archive window.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

And the opening of that very first episode:

 

[Barbara Fan]

I loved play school when i was young and used to try and guess which window they would be looking through today.

Did think that Hamble / Hambel was the ugliest doll on the planet though

Brian Cant, Johnny Ball, Derek Griffiths and co were great presenters

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I loved play school when i was young and used to try and guess which window they would be looking through today.

Same here, even though I almost never got it right. I was hopeless with Bod's milkshake flavour as well.

Did think that Hamble / Hambel was the ugliest doll on the planet though

Ha ha. Poor Hamble. She ended up getting "recast" with Poppy in the name of diversity.

You might like this little titbit I found about Hamble:

She was disliked by presenters as she could not be cuddled. According to the BBC website Chloe Ashcroft "did a terrible thing to Hamble. She just would not sit up...so one day I got a very big knitting needle, a big wooden one, and I stuck it right up her bum, as far as her head. So she was completely rigid, and she was much much better after that".

It's interesting to see, too, that Hamble was supposed to represent a more "downtrodden" humble background compared with the middle class teddies.

Humpty was usually my favourite.

Brian Cant, Johnny Ball, Derek Griffiths and co were great presenters

All very talented, engaging and funny. I loved them in other things as well.

I remember Brian from the sister programme Play Away where he sparkled (I used to have an audio cassette of songs and skits from that series which I played a LOT. Sadly it seems to be lost to time. I found one on YouTube but it's different to the one I had).

Johnny used to present Think Of A Number and a couple of other similar shows.

And Derek is one of my favourite Give Us A Clue contestants. He was always full of beans and hilarious (I remember him miming someone taking their knickers off, wiggling his body around as he did it, which brought tears of laughter to my eyes).

 

[Angela Channing]

I used to watch Play School not because I was a particular fan of the show but mainly because there was very little else on TV at the time. My favourite bit was looking through the window when they would cut to a film of something which was generally more interesting than what the presenters were doing in the studio.

Looking at the photo in the original post of all the main presenters, I can't seen Toni Arthur, who remember being one of the most regular on the show and also on Play Away. I did wonder if that meant that she is no longer with us but according to Wikipedia she is alive and well at 84.

One of my favourite presenters was Fred Harris who went on to star in a brilliant comedy series called End of Part One.

 

[Barbara Fan]

And presenter Sarah Long was the wife of Derek from Corrie aka Peter Baldwin

I love this outtake of Fred Harris

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I used to watch Play School not because I was a particular fan of the show but mainly because there was very little else on TV at the time.

Yes, I think that's the way TV in general was at the time. I'm sure at the time Play School aired, there'd have been no other programming for young children. Since it was before daytime telly was even a thing I wouldn't be surprised if it was up against the test card.

Looking at the photo in the original post of all the main presenters, I can't seen Toni Arthur, who remember being one of the most regular on the show and also on Play Away.

On the last image, there are another few presenters seated to the right, but my screen cap is from a moment when it's zoomed in a little. It's possible Toni is there (the caps are from the video in the first post, so you may be able to scroll through and find her).

One of my favourite presenters was Fred Harris who went on to star in a brilliant comedy series called End of Part One.

He was great. I loved him in Chock-A-Block as well (even though I've since convinced myself that was hosted by Johnny Ball). It always looked so futuristic at the time, and I loved that he'd enter in a little electric cart: "Chock-A-Bloke checking in".

Here's the infamous episode where he says "cock" about a dozen times:

I love this outtake of Fred Harris

Oh wonderful. His "Melvyn Hayes" voice was hilarious. My affection for him has just grown.

 

[Angela Channing]

I love this outtake of Fred Harris

He is a really good comedy actor.

On the last image, there are another few presenters seated to the right, but my screen cap is from a moment when it's zoomed in a little. It's possible Toni is there (the caps are from the video in the first post, so you may be able to scroll through and find her).

I did scroll through the video quickly but I didn't see her in it, I'll have to watch it a bit more closely to see if she made an appearance.

He was great. I loved him in Chock-A-Block as well(even though I've since convinced myself that was hosted by Johnny Ball). It always looked so futuristic at the time, and I loved that he'd enter in a little electric cart: "Chock-A-Bloke checking in".

I remember thinking at the time that Fred appeared on TV outside of BBC children's shows more than the other presenters. My only other childhood memory of one of the other presenters appearing in a non-children's show was Derek Griffiths who did a comedy stint on the ITV variety show Wednesday At Eight and one of the female presenters in an advert for Mellow Birds coffee.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I did scroll through the video quickly but I didn't see her in it, I'll have to watch it a bit more closely to see if she made an appearance.

Barry Took begins talking to the presenters at 8:20, so you might get a look at a few more presenters then.

My only other childhood memory of one of the other presenters appearing in a non-children's show was Derek Griffiths who did a comedy stint on the ITV variety show Wednesday At Eight and one of the female presenters in an advert for Mellow Birds coffee.

Stuart McGugan was, of course in It Ain't Half Hot, Mum, and it looks like he continued to work steadily though the Seventies to the Early Nineties (his most recent appearance was in an episode of Benidorm).

One of Floella's rare roles was an episode of The Gentle Touch. In addition to his legendary Give Us A Clue appearances, I also remember Derek Griffiths from the big screen version of Are You Being Served? He did quite a few sitcom and drama appearances during his Play School years.

Some of the presenters I know better from their non-children's work. Carmen Munroe is one, and I remember we talked about her when I watched Mixed Blessings. Not a TV show, but I know Julie Stevens best from her role in Carry On Cleo.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Johnny used to present Think Of A Number and a couple of other similar shows.

This has appeared today on the Beeb's YouTube channel. A proper blast from the past: