Anne Wood C.B.E.
Anne Wood came to TV via publishing, and could see no reason why children’s television should not be of the same quality as a children’s book. “Children, their dreams and feelings, their ready enthusiasm, their vulnerability, their essential humanity and their sense of fun” was the inspiration for setting up Ragdoll Productions in 1984. By that time, Anne was already a TV producer of long-standing, having produced several award-winning series for Yorkshire TV such as Ragdolly Anna and Book Tower. She had also been head of Children’s at TVAM, producing Roland Rat and Rub-a-dub-tub.
The huge following that developed for these programmes gave Anne Wood an inkling of the gap between children’s needs and the provision of good television for them. Since that time, Anne has devised and created innovative and pioneering programmes for younger children. All of these programmes fulfil Anne’s driving principle: “I want children to be happy inside – in this uncertain world they need to feel secure and loved, only in this way can they grow into confident and creative individuals”. The continuing worldwide success of Ragdoll programmes bear witness to the truth of this belief.
Anne Wood was awarded a CBE in the 2000 Millennium Queen's Honors List for her services to children's broadcasting.