Chris Jarvis – The Presenter’s View
CMF Lifetime Patron Chris Jarvis with a presenter perspective on why media for children really matter...
My childhood was made all the more marvellous by the plethora of great children's TV programmes around at the time. So many fabulous shows crammed into 90 minutes - all in exciting new colour. I adored them all and being able to impersonate the ‘Muppets’, ‘Willo the Wisp’ and Zippy and George saved me from the bullies.
Years later working on an LBC Radio phone-in, the topic of ‘Children’s TV programmes’ was (and still is) one of those show-saving discussions guaranteed to attract lively callers on a slow news day; along with “smoking in restaurants” and “bringing back hanging”.
We all love to reminisce about our favourite shows, I truly loved them all but if I had to whittle them down to one I’d be torn between ‘Blue Peter’ and ‘Play School’. The other shows came and went but these two never let me down - apart from Hamble who gave me nightmares. I felt I knew the presenters personally and most importantly they were full of brilliant and original content.
Being on ‘Show Me Show Me’ (a great grandson of ‘Play School’) is a tremendous honour as I know only too well how important the grandparent was to me. So to have shared in the ‘Play School’ 50th anniversary celebrations organised by the CMF was awesome. I met my first screen idols and the people who set the gold standard for pre-school television throughout the world and laid the foundations for the CBeebies channel.
The 70s have been described as a golden age of television but I truly believe we are experiencing another now. Only this time it’s not just about telly.
So thank you & thank goodness for CMF bringing the whole of Children’s Media together.
Sleepwalking into the Future APPG Meeting – 5th September 2023