Listen with Mother
Encyclopedia
Listen with Mother was a BBC
radio programme for children which ran between 1950 and 1982. It was originally produced by Freda Lingstrom
and was presented over the years by Daphne Oxenford
, Julia Lang, Eileen Browne
, Dorothy Smith and others.
It was first broadcast on the Light Programme in a fifteen minute slot every weekday afternoon at 1.45, just before Woman's Hour
. Consisting of stories, songs and nursery rhyme
s (often sung by Eileen Browne and George Dixon) for children under five (and their mothers), at its peak, it had an audience of over a million listeners. Like Woman's Hour
, it was subsequently transferred to the BBC Home Service
(later renamed BBC Radio 4
).
The theme music, which became synonymous with the programme, was the Berceuse from Gabriel Fauré
's Dolly Suite
for piano duet, Op. 56. It was recorded for the programme by Eileen Browne and Roger Fiske.
It has been incorporated and sampled by many artists and musicians. For instance, in the episode "The Idiot's Lantern
", in the revived series of Doctor Who
, it was used by the alien presence known as "The Wire" appearing on a television screen and addressing its first victim, the hapless Mr. Magpie.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
radio programme for children which ran between 1950 and 1982. It was originally produced by Freda Lingstrom
Freda Lingstrom
Freda Violet Lingstrom OBE was a BBC Television producer and executive who was responsible for pioneering children's programmes in the early 1950s....
and was presented over the years by Daphne Oxenford
Daphne Oxenford
Daphne M. Oxenford is an English actress known for her television and radio work.She is possibly best known for being the voice for BBC radio's Listen with Mother from 1950 to 1971, and for being one of the readers on newspaper review programme What the Papers Say for over thirty years...
, Julia Lang, Eileen Browne
Eileen Browne (broadcaster)
Eileen Browne, was a BBC Radio broadcaster, perhaps best known for being one of the original presenters of Listen with Mother....
, Dorothy Smith and others.
It was first broadcast on the Light Programme in a fifteen minute slot every weekday afternoon at 1.45, just before Woman's Hour
Woman's Hour
Woman's Hour is a radio magazine programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in the United Kingdom.-History:Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by Alan Ivimey the programme was first broadcast on 7 October 1946 on the BBC's Light Programme . It was transferred to its current home in 1973...
. Consisting of stories, songs and nursery rhyme
Nursery rhyme
The term nursery rhyme is used for "traditional" poems for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the 19th century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...
s (often sung by Eileen Browne and George Dixon) for children under five (and their mothers), at its peak, it had an audience of over a million listeners. Like Woman's Hour
Woman's Hour
Woman's Hour is a radio magazine programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in the United Kingdom.-History:Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by Alan Ivimey the programme was first broadcast on 7 October 1946 on the BBC's Light Programme . It was transferred to its current home in 1973...
, it was subsequently transferred to the BBC Home Service
BBC Home Service
The BBC Home Service was a British national radio station which broadcast from 1939 until 1967.-Development:Between the 1920s and the outbreak of The Second World War, the BBC had developed two nationwide radio services, the BBC National Programme and the BBC Regional Programme...
(later renamed BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
).
The theme music, which became synonymous with the programme, was the Berceuse from Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers...
's Dolly Suite
Dolly (Fauré)
The Dolly Suite, Op. 56, is a collection of pieces for piano four-hands by Gabriel Fauré. It consists of short pieces written or revised between 1893 and 1896, to mark the birthdays and other events in the life of the daughter of the composer's mistress....
for piano duet, Op. 56. It was recorded for the programme by Eileen Browne and Roger Fiske.
"Are you sitting comfortably?"
The programme's opening phrase "Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin." The question, originally an ad lib by Julia Lang, became so well known that it ended up in The Oxford Dictionary of QuotationsThe Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, first published by the Oxford University Press in 1941, is an 1100-page book listing short quotations that are common in English language and culture....
It has been incorporated and sampled by many artists and musicians. For instance, in the episode "The Idiot's Lantern
The Idiot's Lantern
"The Idiot's Lantern" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 27 May 2006.-Plot:...
", in the revived series of Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, it was used by the alien presence known as "The Wire" appearing on a television screen and addressing its first victim, the hapless Mr. Magpie.