Playdays
Playdays (known as Playbus until 25 December 1989) was a British pre-school children's television program that ran from 17 October 1988 to 28 March 1997 on Children's BBC (CBBC). The show was the successor of Play School and, like its predecessor, was designed as an educational programme.
| Playdays | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | Playbus |
| Genre | Children’s television series |
| Created by | Cynthia Felgate |
| Developed by | Felgate Productions |
| Written by | Simon Davies |
| Directed by | Clare Bradley Brian Jameson Will Brenton Helen Sheppard Stephen Cannon Adrian Hedley Robin Carr Leslie Pitt Trevor Hill Mark Pickett Jamie Langton Michelle Jones |
| Presented by | Brian Jameson Simon Davies Zoe Ball Vanessa Amberleigh Nick Baker Elizabeth Fost Dave Benson Phillips Liz Kitchen Dyanne White Stephen Cannon Chris Jarvis Andrew Lynford Stuart Bradley Liz Watts Will Brenton Sue Monroe Sarah Davidson Robin Fritz Clive Duncan Andy Hockley Nick Mercer Michele Durler Sonali Shah Teresa Gallagher Peter Quilter Neil Bett et al. |
| Theme music composer | Richard Brown |
| Composer(s) | Jonathan Cohen Kim Goody Liz Kitchen Graham Pike Alex Matthias Andrew Dodge |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 1174 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Cynthia Felgate Andrew Thomas |
| Producer(s) | Clare Bradley Penny Lloyd Barbara Roddam Anne Reay Michael Cole Ann Gobey Kate Marlow Will Brenton |
| Production company(s) | Felgate Productions (As A Felgate (Media (Ltd) Production) |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC1, BBC2, CBBC, CBeebies |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Original release | 17 October 1988 – 28 March 1997 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Play School |
The show's name was changed after the BBC received a complaint from the National Playbus Association.
After the show was dropped from CBBC in 2002, reruns were shown on CBeebies, until repeats of the show were axed altogether by the BBC in August 2004.[1]
Characters and plot
The main characters of Playdays were puppets known as Why Bird, Sam Patch (who was later replaced by Peggy Patch) and Poppy the cat.
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). There were also a number of human presenters including Zoe Ball, Trish Cooke and Dave Benson Phillips.
The show would begin with an animated title sequence of the Playbus driving along to the theme tune until it reached the bus stop. The bus stopped at a different place each day. It was effectively several different television series, under one single branding.
Live shows
Playdays went on various tours around the UK during its run. The shows often saw all of the puppet characters coming together. Unlike the show, Peggy Patch was played by a person.
VHS releases
| Title | Release date |
|---|---|
| Playbus - Animated Alphabet BBCV 4282 | 2 October 1989 |
| Playdays - Days on the Move BBCV 4769 | 6 April 1992 |
| Playdays - Days By The Sea BBCV 4770 | 6 April 1992 |
| Playdays - Animated Alphabet Re-Release BBCV 4282 | 6 April 1992 |
| Playdays - Dot's Fun with Numbers BBCV 4946 | 5 April 1993 |
| Playdays - Lizzie's Singalong BBCV 4190 | 3 May 1993 |
| Playdays - Lizzie and Friends BBCV 5248 | 5 April 1994 |
| Playdays - 2 - on 1 BBCV 6296 | 7 July 1997 |
| Playdays - Winter Adventure | 3 November 1997 |