Play School 50th Anniversary Celebration

Play School was 50 years young on 21 April 2014.  On May 3rd ex-presenters, musicians, production team members, fans, and of course the toys - Humpty, Jemima, Big and Little Ted - celebrated its 50th birthday with a grand reunion at London's Riverside Studios.

Photo: Riverside Studios Archive

Riverside was where it all started. The pilot and the early years of the programme were recorded there, so the gathering was particularly nostalgic for some of the original team members present.  

The 175 guests at the reunion event were treated to a show which represented the various stages in the life of the programme, complete with clips from episode one, and many more, and interviews with some of the people involved.  

CBeebies' Chris Jarvis presented a romp through the history of the programme, its meaning for British kids and their parents, the various spin offs, and the unique features which made it so special in the lives of millions of pre-schoolers.

Photo: David Jensen

As the first programme to be shown on BBC TWO (through the accident of a power cut on launch night in April 1964) Play School has a place in television history.  But as a programme in which presenters spoke quietly and directly to a single child down the lens of the camera, in an unpatronising voice and with matter of fact respect for their individuality – it has palace in the hearts and minds of generations of kids in Britain and around the world.  

And it set standards for pre-school presentation which live on to this day.

Photo: David Jensen

BBC Children's Director and CMF Founder Patron Joe Godwin thanked the programme and its makers for not only training a generation of BBC staff, but for handing that on to subsequent generations. CBeebies Controller Kay Benbow acknowledged the debt that the channel owed to the Play School pioneers, and CBeebies star Justin Fletcher, holding onto Humpty - one of the guests of honour - said that there was a little part of Play School in every programme he presented.

Photo: David Jensen

The afternoon ended with a cake, candles and of course a song.

Happy Birthday Play School!  You are very fondly remembered.

Here are some birthday messages from Australia where the programme is still going strong.

The Children's Media Foundation is proud to have initiated and supported this very special event.  Our thanks go to the organising committee of ex-Play School staffers, Jillie Sutton, Christina Takkides, Loretta Cocchi, Libby Lake, Alison Stewart at the BBC, and Paul R Jackson the Play School archivist, for their work in making it all happen.

Thanks to Paul Shuttleworth and Hannah Wills at Handle & Spout for producing the show, and to BBC Children's for providing support and access to the Play School archive.

And thanks to Riverside Studios staff for making us all feel so welcome after such a long time away!

You can download the guest list for the event here.