BBC TV Play School

[noizy4]

Look at that jelly, it's so funny ha ha. I like the jelly. I like it, I want to see the jelly again brrrrrrrr!

[irnbrubhoy]

'I've got something else that wobbles'...ha haaaaa!

[iosnick]

Jelly and shaving foam, yum, mummy I want some !

[Loverboy19691]

My word, this takes me back, why cant they have playschool back for children today, with brian cant and johnny ball, good days, fun days, gone forever!

[psammiad]

Goodness. No wonder my generation turned out so weird.

[ancientraver19881989]

Notice she made a point of saying "this is a green jelly" as most people would still have been still watching in black and white. The 'Play School' backing musicians included some quite famous British jazz musicians at various times.

[N4TH4NJ4Y]

Lucky they didn't tell us what Jelly was made from, I don't think I'd have been so keen to eat it when I was a kid

[DidaDragan]

Saw Derek Griffiths in panto several times as a child. He always played the villain & was always brilliant.

lol at Carol Chell & the disastrous jelly !

[Davewise1965]

I am 45 years old now and remember watching Play School in the late 1960's and early 1970's. Kids programs were really good then, not like the violent rubbish that is on now. Life was so much better then.

[SuzLa1]

What year was that from? 

[iosnick]

that clock was my fave part of playschool XD

[DSisterson]

I love that flirty look she gives he camera when she says "I've got something else here that wobbles..."

[2002ibiza]

There is a lot of wobbly people where I live

[DisgustingArsehole]

Did you wobble?

[bodnotbod]

A rotating jelly. Just how children's television should be. None of this Power Ranger Ninja Turtle nonsense.

[Hirsute63]

turn up the sound and at 01:10 you can hear stifled laughter as the jelly appears... :O)

[pburr1973]

...it was Sarah Long who died of cancer - in 1987.

[anthonythirteen]

@pburr1973 Was she the wife of the guy who played 'Derek' (i.e. Derek & Mavis) in Corrie for many years?

[pburr1973]

@anthonythirteen - yes I believe she was. Sarah Long was a Play School presenter in the early 80's with short-ish hair and quite a deep voice.

[pburr1973]

Although not featured here, sure a regular Play School Presenter, Sarah (or Sara?) Douglas, died of cancer when she was still relatively young.

[Ajames60]

What a fucking let down that jelly was. Are you sure that is not the jelly you made earlier??

[dariowestern]

@Ajames60 the jelly had gone mouldy, that's why it was green. ;-)

[halfmetal74]

LOL at 2.38

[Feisty1967]

She really fucked up that jelly.

[northernbadboy1]

wheres carole now

[wizzwamf]

playschool was just pure imagination at its best,giving all the 60s 70s children enjoyment and simplicity , not many of these shows exist now ,remebered the clock music and it gave me goosebumps fab thanks for this

[emmyjo720]

The crew must have been trying so hard not to laugh at the jelly coming out of that mold, in bits....

[briligplace]

Well said Jim Shady. I listened to a Radio 4 programme on Sunday on subject of Play Away - quite emotional to hear Brian Cant and others recall the making of the programme. Through the round window - there be factories making interesting things.

[grant24678]

Thank You Revoxy you have just got me the song I wanted for my blog tommorow

[SeventiesMania]

Time for us to go now. Till it's our turn to be here again.

[334286]

I'm getting wobbler.........and wobblier....

[ATVmidlands5581]

Isnt it nice to hear adults talking to children as if they have some intelligence. Most kids presenters talk to kids today as if they all have some kind of leaqrning difficulty!

Classic British TV - took me right back - thanks for posting

ATVmidlandsUK

[SoUnDoLe]

I love the attention to detail in the music - looking at the jelly and merangues, there's a real clarinettist who is responsible for those sounds. Since electronic music became more realistic from the 90s on, that sort of fascinating humanity is no longer on display.

[Widmerpool99]

GREEN JELLY!!

[luchie2088]

wow that guy is super skinny haha

[mrsspanner14]

Did anyone else think that Hamble the doll looked like Richard Baker, the BBC newsreader in the '70s? Perhaps it was just me (blushes)

[TheChapaqua]

Derek Griifiths did more to break down racial barriers than black people care to admit. Class act.

[sirtinycreep]

I always wanted a job like that!

[cozener1]

I think Derek is alright for E!

[mistofoles]

HA HA HA!! Was Derek Jarvis Cocker's dance coach?

[mistofoles]

Silly mare! She should have banged the base of the jelly mould!

[blackflower75]

OMG I love these two people , classic....

[nedster01]

Derek griffiths could teach the presenters on cbeebies a think or too loved this stuff as a child what you doing now Derek?

[playgirlc]

derek was the best kids' presenter; funny and didn't patronise kids - he needs to be on tv again!

[moonstrikerII]

loved looking through the windows :)

[blondiegirl67545]

oh god he looks like a retard when he is

[socratesrocks]

Oh dear this music brings back so much memories =))))

[26highstreet]

i remember hamble being kidnapped and a nationwide hunt took place. but did they never found her, i suppose if she were still alive she would be about 46/47 years old now and probably looks completely different.

I also remember a rumour going around that she may have been abducted by a ufo but that seems unlikely.

Crime watch will be doing a reconstruction of the events leading up to her disappearance next month to..

[wrtlpfmpf]

Conceptionally it reminds me a bit of Austrian television shows.

[dramaticguy]

Julie Stevens is in 6 episodes of The Avengers Season 2 DVD just out.

She was jazz singer Venus Smith,she alternated with Honor Blackman's Cathy Gale,she left the Avengers to start a family.

[thecheesepriest]

"I wonder if this jelly is set enough to come out now? It's not the one I made earlier, I made this quite a long time ago because it takes quite a while for jellies to set".

Which translates into:-

"Do you think this jelly will be set enough to come out? I ask this because I got it from the BBC canteen where the jelly is made in advance of five years so it has been in the fridge for about a couple of ages ago. Pass me the saw"

[gusgorilla76]

Wonder how that jelly would have scored on the Lego jelly-wobble-tester? Don't you be rude to your sister Kate, Mr Griffiths.

[rouens]

yes playschool was live

[koksy]

Why didnt they reshoot this so the jelly came out properly? Was it shown live?

[gary777777]

The shows were pre taped. The budgets were so small and the time was so tight there was little opportunity for retakes.

A simple yet effective show for the little ones, it was the first show to be presented in its entirity on BBC2 at 11AM on Tuesday, April 21 1964.

[t0mme1981]

@gary777777: Play School was also hit by a 1970s trade union dispute.

The hands on the Play School Clock remained unchanged for a few weeks;

the Electricians said they should move the hands, as the hands were electric. The technicians said they should change the hands as they were made of wood...

[masterlowsferatu]

You can see a bulge in Derek's trousers.. that is quite disturbing

[nighthawk006]

Yes, that is somewhat disturbing :)

[wildenfree]

and its wobbling like the jelly!!!!

[filthybaggage]

it is certainly quite big, in fact very big...oh god, let me get me laughing gear round it now!!!

[PCJoejoe]

anyone reckon that the beeb tryed to revamp this with ''tickabilla'' ? my daughther watches it and it has windows and ''how many'' etc

[Hodnux]

Hmm Tikkabilla was a slight clone of Playschool.

[julesplym]

DereK is a legend - love the man

[Lytton333]

Who needs Tai Chi when you've got Derek..

[royhaworth]

Derek rocks!

[auspete]

The most boring children's programme ever made. No creativity - just pure patronising dross.  It bored me to sobs as a child, and it amazes me that it is still on (in Australia). I detest it with a passion.

[CHANNELOMD]

SHE HAS A LOVELY SET OF JELLYS

[skarlett04]

that would be so funny if they acted like that in real life hahahahaha

[mittfh]

"It's not the one I made earlier..."

Classic!

"..I made this quite a long time ago, because, well, it takes quite a whle for jellies to set."

Funny how perception of time changes with age. For the target audience, a few hours is "quite a long time", whereas it doesn't seem quite so long now!

[kidda74]

This explains why I'm f*****g mental too! 70's kids TV! :)

[DavidLancaster1974]

Wonderful! I'm a bit puzzled by the "watery window" too ... and maybe I'm imagining things, but I'm sure I saw a ghostly image of Phillip Schofield right at the end, after going through the "watery" window ... which is a bit creepy given that he shouldn't yet have been on TV.

[Hexachloraphine]

no, you are definately on to something there

[mistofoles]

You're not imagining things. You saw Philip Schofield at the end, cos this is taken from a compilation tape (Childrens' TV from the 70s) which he presented!

[kingdaniel69]

Derek Griffiths was/is a legend!

[emmyjo720]

@kingdaniel69 Yeap a great voice too.

[NameNotaNumber]

"I've got something else here that wobbles....you have a look."

Christ it's no wonder I grew up to be such a pervert, we were bombarded with this filth in the 70's. Julie Stevens is HOT too, look how she wiggles that finger! OMG this clip is definitely getting 5 stars.

BTW - since when was there a "watery window"? I thought it was round, square and triangular? God my whole childhood is falling apart...and coming together, strangely enough...

[NameNotaNumber]

"Well it wobbles about, and that's the main thing..."

Said the actress to the Bishop.

[NameNotaNumber]

OK I'm getting obsessed with this clip now. At around 1:02 just after Carol says "can you see anything?" if you turn the volume up full blast you can *just* hear one of the crew trying to stifle a laugh. I swear. Mind you have to have the volume up FULL.

[benlu123]

Yes definitely a wheezy stifled laugh....that was supposed to be a perfect rabbit or something!!

[NameNotaNumber]

She is a hottie though, isn't she, Carol Chell? Can't think of any women as good looking as that on the TV these days. I bet she's still a looker now, albeit in a mature way.

[NameNotaNumber]

Good God I remember that music so well and yet I haven't heard it for 30 years. Dammit I'm supposed to be doing my books tonight and yet here I am at 10:05pm watching clips of Playschool on YouTube. It's probably fortunate that I don't employ thousands of people whose livelihoods depend on me, because they'd be *screwed*.

[Misshurdlyrics]

Went to a company christmas dinner last night and Carol Chell was there! She was delightful. It made our night...

[blackflower75]

@Misshurdlyrics LOL Thats so cool ;D

[House0fwax]

Ah, that's better, I needed a good wobble, cheers Carol, thanks Derek.

[pigmonkeys]

This can be explained very easily...

they are high!

[MrBronson66]

Carol Chell was my first crush. I'm glad she didn't make me jellies though.

[nm1270]

I'm almost 40 years old but this gives me a warm feeling.A previous correspondent is right,adulthood sucks!As children we were protected with no worries at all.The lovely Carol Chell reminded me so much of my grandmother.

[blipflop]

makes you realise that our childhoods rocked!

[JimShadyUK]

Thank God I had this to watch when I was a kid! It was so much nicer being entertained by friendly uncle and aunt types rather than presenters who were barely out of their teens. If I was lucky enough to meet any of these people now, I would be hard pressed not to hug them. They contributed to fond childhood memories, and that's a very precious gift. Thank you and bless you, one and all.

[JFredUK]

@JimShadyUK Couldn't agree more. These presenters actually spoke to children as children, rather than probationary adults, like the presenters of today do. The other thing is that these presents were accomplished actors, whereas the presenters of today have mostly come straight out of, 'acting school', and have difficulty stringing together a coherent sentence, never mind acting as a jelly, which most would have trouble doing!

[davidgrahamscott]

@JimShadyUK Great comment!!

[whitbyjet65]

@JimShadyUK I agree 100%. Notice how calm things were for us back then too? Today, kid's shows are manic & nerve jangling.

[minx1969]

Yep Tikabilla = Playschool, Floella Benjamin STILL looks amazing & does the voice foe "Mama Mirabelle" on CBEEBIES (Yes I have a 4 year old!!!) Brian Cant, Johnny Ball, Derek Griffiths & Floella Benjamin were my faves. Does anyone remenber a nature programme called Heads and Tails (I think) that Derek Griffiths used to do the voices for?

[andy73100]

Yes, he did and sang the songs on it too - a great programme - anyone got any clips of it? Derek also used to host and play all the characters on the 80s ITV kids' comedy/cartoon series, 'Film Fun' - remember that? Derek Griffiths - top guy!

[lovemeccano]

was anyone else watching the jelly eagerly, hoping it would come out perfectly?

[MaximillionMole]

I love the fact that the jelly didnt come out perfect and it was just accepted "well at least it wobbles" no dressing it up, give it to the kids straight ! Love it!

[mrslmathers]

Yes, I agree. Derek Griffiths and Carol Chell were actually my fave presenters!

[Malcos68]

This could have been very different if presented by Esther RAntzen

[catuvellauni1]

Derek is God! (of kids TV)

[captainhowdy1967]

I love Julie Stevens. imbd says she's 72 now, but for me all the silver fishes will be, er you know.

[PCJoejoe]

this is brilliant to watch, playdays was my era so sadly i never sat down to playschoolm being born in '84. theres a programme called tikkabilla on cbeebies which my mum watched the other day with my 2 year old and she said it is a rip off of playschool and after pleasurably watching some playschool clips on her i agree with her. you cant beat the originals... mind u sadly i dont think this would ever appear on cbeebies,lol. it's charming educational and peaceful, i like childrens tv 70'sstyle

[PDR230276]

All hail Derek Griffiths - The king of kids tv! Loved that man as a kid.

[EuroAlien]

I can't remember the presenters' names appearing on screen like that on Playschool - but then it has been about thirty years... is this from a retrospective programme? And if so, what was it and where can I see the rest?

[jfj07]

I think it was a retrospective - Philip Schofield begins to fade in at the end.

[dramaticguy]

Julie Stevens was an Avengers girl for 6 episodes in season 2 playing singer Venus Smith before Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman)became Steed's(Patrick Macnee)full time partner.

[Ampex196]

Brian Cant & Toni Arthur - please come back - all is forgiven !!

Good stuff though - thanks for posting !

[Andyfly55]

We were really spoiled as kids listening to Derek. He really had a feel for kids telly. (Did you ever feel just a little detached from Sesame Street?)

[thecheesepriest]

Well, they had to find some use for it. Nobody wanted to eat it when it was on the menu at the BBC canteen. Mike S.

[HD41117]

"Can you see anything?"

No, but I can hear the crew laughing!

God. Just achingly wonderful!

THANK YOU. 8^)

[YoureGuilty]

Lol - a find. derek's a classic. He provided ages of entertainment when I was a little 'un. Nice one.

[spidersue]

that spinning jelly rocks!

[PrentonPimp]

Jelly doesn't rock - it wobbles!