Playdays
Encyclopedia
Playdays was a children's television programme from the United Kingdom
. The series ran from 17 October 1988 to 28 March 1997 on Children's BBC (CBBC), and was aired in reruns until 2003. The show was the successor of Play School, and, like its predecessor, was designed as an educational programme. After the show was dropped from CBBC on BBC One
, repeats were shown on CBBC on Nickelodeon
until December 1999, CBBC on BBC Choice
(later known as CBeebies
) and CBBC on BBC Two
until it was axed in October 2003. In 1989, the BBC insisted that the independent production company which made Playbus (Felgate Productions) change the programme's name after they had received a complaint from the National Playbus Association.
s known as Why Bird, a woodpecker
nicknamed Why (voiced and manipulated by Ellie Darvill), Peggy Patch (Sally Preisig) and Poppy, a cat (Sue Monroe). They were also accompanied by Mr Jolly, (Robin Fritz, later Clive Duncan and then Andy Hockley) who would usually end each programme with a song (usually a nursery rhyme
) on a magical roundabout named Rosie. There were also a number of human presenters including Zoë Ball
, Trish Cooke and Dave Benson Phillips. The show would begin with a title sequence
of the Playbus driving along to the theme tune
until it reached the bus stop, where characters on the bus were Why, Peggy, Dot, Poppy, Humphry, Lizzie and Mr. Jolly. The bus stopped at a different place each day.
Sometimes, Peggy and/or Poppy visited the Lost Property Office. In a later series, the office installed a telephone, where people - usually Peggy or Poppy - could phone in asking for particular things, (examples include information about spiders, a night-time picture to help someone sleep during the day).
Tuesday - The Playground Stop. A variety of different things involved. The programme always opened with the presenter (several, including Dave Benson Philips), saying, “Lizzie…”, followed by the programme’s theme, (e.g. we’re playing racing games today). The show featured a group of children doing activities, such as pretending to be cooks and making paper meals. Dave was accompanied by a glove puppet named Chester. The programme always featured a rhyme accompanied by sign language, a string puppet named Lizzie dreams occasionally accompanied by another puppet named Nick. There was also a story, often featuring Max and his magical chest of dressing-up dreams.
Wednesday - The Dot Stop (1988–1992) replaced with The Roundabout Stop (1992–end) - the non-speaking Dot played by Rebecca Higgins, had fun with music or numbers and counting. Later there were 3 Dots: the 'Dot who played the violin' (Eithne Hannigan), 'The Dot who played the drums' (Liz Kitchen) and 'The Dot you can count on' (Dyanne White). Sometimes a puppet called Dash would appear and squirm its way through holes in the set. It had a song - "Not number one, not number two, not number three or four, not number five, not number six, only one Dash can do tricks!" The Counting Dot had a sidekick called Mr Domino (Stephen Cannon).
Later replaced by the Roundabout Stop. Presented by Mr. Jolly. The show featured the musician, Charlie Grindle (Nick Mercer), who also appeared as one of the bus drivers from The Why Bird Stop, Bitsy Bob (Michele Durler), who played music and made things, and the puppets Morris Cog and Milly Sprocket (Nick Mercer & Michele Durler), who presented a segment called "Morris and Milly’s Numerical Melodies", where they sang a song glorifying a particular number. Charlie often sang songs for them as well. The main body of the episode featured the characters finding different shaped pictures, which came together to form the title of a nursery rhyme, which was performed by the entire cast at the end of the episode. In later episodes (1995–1997), the show featured Peggy, Poppy and Why Bird, who rode on the roundabout and went off on adventures (but on some episodes only Peggy and Why went on adventures so on the 3rd shape they would both go together). At the end of each adventure, a picture associated with it appeared in their shaped ticket (purple circle, red square, pink triangle, yellow diamond, green arch or blue rectangle), and these would combine to make the song, which ended the episode.
Thursday - The Patch Stop. Featuring Peggy, a small doll who is very kind natured. She would often travel places and l
eave clues for children to find her. She was originally non-speaking, but gained a voice (Sally Preisig) in 1994. Presenters included Vanessa Amberleigh, Teresa Gallagher and Peter Quilter.
Friday - The Tent Stop (1988–1995) replaced with The Poppy Stop (1995–end). A group of actors including: Trish Cooke, Ricky Diamond, Will Brenton, Sue Monroe & Sarah Davison would dress up, and with the help of some children, perform a play or show.
When the stop became the Poppy Stop, the setting was at Poppy the cat’s house. Why Bird, Peggy Patch and other characters would often also appear in episodes at Poppy’s house.
Another character also featured in Playdays was Parsnip, a brown rabbit who was often seen with Peggy at 'The Patch Stop'.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The series ran from 17 October 1988 to 28 March 1997 on Children's BBC (CBBC), and was aired in reruns until 2003. The show was the successor of Play School, and, like its predecessor, was designed as an educational programme. After the show was dropped from CBBC on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, repeats were shown on CBBC on Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (UK & Ireland)
Nickelodeon is a children's television channel available on Sky, Virgin Media, Smallworld Cable, TalkTalk TV and UPC Ireland in the United Kingdom and Ireland, including on demand on BT Vision. The channel was launched on 1 September 1993...
until December 1999, CBBC on BBC Choice
BBC Choice
BBC Choice was a BBC TV station which launched on 23 September 1998 and closed on 9 February 2003. It was the first British TV channel to broadcast exclusively in digital format, and was the first new channel from the BBC since BBC Two launched in 1964...
(later known as CBeebies
CBeebies
CBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...
) and CBBC on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
until it was axed in October 2003. In 1989, the BBC insisted that the independent production company which made Playbus (Felgate Productions) change the programme's name after they had received a complaint from the National Playbus Association.
Characters and plot
The main characters of Playdays were puppetPuppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
s known as Why Bird, a woodpecker
Woodpecker
Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....
nicknamed Why (voiced and manipulated by Ellie Darvill), Peggy Patch (Sally Preisig) and Poppy, a cat (Sue Monroe). They were also accompanied by Mr Jolly, (Robin Fritz, later Clive Duncan and then Andy Hockley) who would usually end each programme with a song (usually a 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:...
) on a magical roundabout named Rosie. There were also a number of human presenters including Zoë Ball
Zoë Ball
Zoë Louise Ball is an English television and radio personality, most famous for becoming the first female host of the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show and for her earlier work presenting the 1990s children's show, Live & Kicking.-TV career:The daughter of the children's TV presenter Johnny Ball and his...
, Trish Cooke and Dave Benson Phillips. The show would begin with a title sequence
Title sequence
A Title Sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound...
of the Playbus driving along to the theme tune
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
until it reached the bus stop, where characters on the bus were Why, Peggy, Dot, Poppy, Humphry, Lizzie and Mr. Jolly. The bus stopped at a different place each day.
Story
Monday - The Why Bird Stop. Why Bird lived at the Lost Property Office, where things that were left on the Playbus were filed until someone claimed them. She interacted with the human bus driver- there were several throughout the series. She had a special computer called the Why-Tech, which had a variety of uses - it could provide music for songs, pictures for stories, instructions for making something in keeping with the programme’s theme, or to help sing a song (e.g. paper sugar buns for Five Currant Buns). It also showed videos, usually to show how everyday things were made - socks, toothbrushes etc.Sometimes, Peggy and/or Poppy visited the Lost Property Office. In a later series, the office installed a telephone, where people - usually Peggy or Poppy - could phone in asking for particular things, (examples include information about spiders, a night-time picture to help someone sleep during the day).
Tuesday - The Playground Stop. A variety of different things involved. The programme always opened with the presenter (several, including Dave Benson Philips), saying, “Lizzie…”, followed by the programme’s theme, (e.g. we’re playing racing games today). The show featured a group of children doing activities, such as pretending to be cooks and making paper meals. Dave was accompanied by a glove puppet named Chester. The programme always featured a rhyme accompanied by sign language, a string puppet named Lizzie dreams occasionally accompanied by another puppet named Nick. There was also a story, often featuring Max and his magical chest of dressing-up dreams.
Wednesday - The Dot Stop (1988–1992) replaced with The Roundabout Stop (1992–end) - the non-speaking Dot played by Rebecca Higgins, had fun with music or numbers and counting. Later there were 3 Dots: the 'Dot who played the violin' (Eithne Hannigan), 'The Dot who played the drums' (Liz Kitchen) and 'The Dot you can count on' (Dyanne White). Sometimes a puppet called Dash would appear and squirm its way through holes in the set. It had a song - "Not number one, not number two, not number three or four, not number five, not number six, only one Dash can do tricks!" The Counting Dot had a sidekick called Mr Domino (Stephen Cannon).
Later replaced by the Roundabout Stop. Presented by Mr. Jolly. The show featured the musician, Charlie Grindle (Nick Mercer), who also appeared as one of the bus drivers from The Why Bird Stop, Bitsy Bob (Michele Durler), who played music and made things, and the puppets Morris Cog and Milly Sprocket (Nick Mercer & Michele Durler), who presented a segment called "Morris and Milly’s Numerical Melodies", where they sang a song glorifying a particular number. Charlie often sang songs for them as well. The main body of the episode featured the characters finding different shaped pictures, which came together to form the title of a nursery rhyme, which was performed by the entire cast at the end of the episode. In later episodes (1995–1997), the show featured Peggy, Poppy and Why Bird, who rode on the roundabout and went off on adventures (but on some episodes only Peggy and Why went on adventures so on the 3rd shape they would both go together). At the end of each adventure, a picture associated with it appeared in their shaped ticket (purple circle, red square, pink triangle, yellow diamond, green arch or blue rectangle), and these would combine to make the song, which ended the episode.
Thursday - The Patch Stop. Featuring Peggy, a small doll who is very kind natured. She would often travel places and l
eave clues for children to find her. She was originally non-speaking, but gained a voice (Sally Preisig) in 1994. Presenters included Vanessa Amberleigh, Teresa Gallagher and Peter Quilter.
Friday - The Tent Stop (1988–1995) replaced with The Poppy Stop (1995–end). A group of actors including: Trish Cooke, Ricky Diamond, Will Brenton, Sue Monroe & Sarah Davison would dress up, and with the help of some children, perform a play or show.
When the stop became the Poppy Stop, the setting was at Poppy the cat’s house. Why Bird, Peggy Patch and other characters would often also appear in episodes at Poppy’s house.
Another character also featured in Playdays was Parsnip, a brown rabbit who was often seen with Peggy at 'The Patch Stop'.
Presenters
- Dave Benson Phillips
- Vanessa Amberleigh
- Zoë BallZoë BallZoë Louise Ball is an English television and radio personality, most famous for becoming the first female host of the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show and for her earlier work presenting the 1990s children's show, Live & Kicking.-TV career:The daughter of the children's TV presenter Johnny Ball and his...
- Trish Cooke
- Ricky Diamond
- Nick Mercer - Charlie Grindle
- Andrew LynfordAndrew LynfordAndrew Lynford is a British television presenter and actor. He is widely remembered for playing the role of Simon Raymond in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders and presenting Playdays for Children's BBC....
- presenter - Ellie Darvill - Why Bird
- Sally Preisig - Peggy Patch
- Sue Monroe - Poppy
- Peter QuilterPeter QuilterPeter Quilter is a playwright whose plays have been translated into 20 languages and performed in 33 countries. His shows have been performed in cities across six continents, including London, Cape Town, Rome, Prague, Warsaw, Amsterdam, Rio de Janeiro, Toronto, Chicago, Madrid, Sydney and New...
- guest presenter - Simon Harbrow - presenter
- Elizabeth Watts - Lizzie - presenter
- Elizabeth Fost
- Frances Dodge
- Robin Fritz - Mr Jolly
- Clive Duncan - Mr Jolly
- Andy Hockley - Mr Jolly
- Catherine Terry - presenter
- Rebecca Higgins - Dot
Live shows
Playdays also went on various tours during its run. The shows often saw all of the puppet characters coming together and having fun. It also saw Peggy Patch be played by a person because the puppet was too small to see.UK VHS Releases
| VHS Title | Release Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Playdays - Days By The Sea (BBCV 4770) | 1992 | Join Dot as she paints an amazing picture in which she includes all her friends from the Playbus: Why Bird, Lizzie, Peggy Patch, Wobble and Humphrey. There are things to make, songs to join in with, stories, games and all the fun of the fair. |
| Playdays - Days On The Move (BBCV 4769) | 1995 | Join Dot as she creates an amazing picture in which she places all her friends from the Playbus: Why Bird, Lizzie, Peggy Patch, Wobble and Humphrey. |