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Listen with Mother was a BBC radio programme for children which ran between 16 January 1950 and 10 September 1982. [1] It was originally produced by Freda Lingstrom although for the majority of its run it was produced by George Dixon, and was presented over the years by Daphne Oxenford, Julia Lang, Eileen Browne, Dorothy Smith and others. [2]
It was first broadcast on 16 January 1950 on the BBC Light Programme in a fifteen-minute slot every weekday afternoon at 1.45, just before Woman's Hour . Consisting of stories, songs and nursery rhymes (often sung by Eileen Browne and George Dixon) for "mothers and children at home", it had at its peak an audience of more than a million listeners. Roger Fiske assisted with the music. From 7 September 1964 the programme moved to the BBC Home Service (later BBC Radio 4).
The final week of programmes (widely reported in the press) featured Wriggly Worm stories, presented by Nerys Hughes and Tony Aitken and directed by David Bell. These stories were broadcast on the Listen with Mother throughout the 1970s and early 1980s.
Listening Corner, which replaced Listen with Mother on 13 September 1982, began with repeats of the Wriggly Worm stories. Collections of Listen with Mother stories have been published by Hutchinsons/Random House. Two collections of Wriggly Worm stories ('Wonderful Wriggly Worm' and 'Wonderful Wriggly Worm Rides Again'), by Eugenie Summerfield, have been published by Book Guild. Listening Corner continued until 24 August 1990, ending three days before the launch of BBC Radio 5, which became the new home of children's radio programmes.
At the start of each programme a short introduction on piano was played. The tune went to the rhythm of the words quarter to two, which of course was the time of the broadcast, and many children were helped in learning to tell the time by this ingenious device. [2]
A piece for piano duet, the Berceuse from Gabriel Fauré's Dolly Suite , Op. 56, [3] was played at the conclusion of each broadcast and became synonymous with the programme. It was recorded for the programme by Eileen Browne and Roger Fiske, [4] However Julia Lang, in an Anglia Television interview in the 1990s, said that during her tenure when she finished reading the story she had to get up (noiselessly), rush across to the piano in the studio and play the Berceuse live.
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Each story on Listen with Mother opened with the phrase "Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin" (sometimes "...Then we'll begin"). [5] The question, originally an ad lib by Julia Lang on 16 January 1950, became so well known that it appears in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations [1] It has been incorporated and sampled by many artists and musicians; for instance,
Blue Jam was an ambient, surreal dark comedy and horror radio programme created and directed by Chris Morris. It was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in the early hours of the morning, for three series from 1997 to 1999.
Flower Pot Men is a British programme for young children produced by BBC Television. It was first transmitted in 1952, and repeated regularly for more than twenty years. A remake of the programme called Bill and Ben was aired in 2001.
I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again was a BBC radio comedy programme that was developed from the 1964 Cambridge University Footlights revue, Cambridge Circus., as a scripted sketch show. It had a devoted youth following, with the live tapings enjoying very lively audiences, particularly when familiar themes and characters were repeated; a tradition that continued into the spinoff show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.
BBC Radio 4 Extra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The sister station of BBC Radio 4, it mostly broadcasts archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes. It is the principal broadcaster of the BBC's spoken-word archive, and as a result the majority of its programming originates from that archive. It also broadcasts extended and companion programmes to those broadcast on Radio 4, and provides a "catch-up" service for certain programmes.
Nebulous is a post-apocalyptic science fiction comedy radio show written by Graham Duff and produced by Ted Dowd from Baby Cow Productions; it is directed by Nicholas Briggs. The series premiered in the United Kingdom on BBC Radio 4. Set in the year 2099 AD, the show focuses on the adventures of the eponymous Professor Nebulous, director of operations for the eco-troubleshooting team KENT (the Key Environmental Non-Judgmental Taskforce) as they combat various catastrophes and try to set the world back on the right path following a worldwide environmental disaster known as "The Withering". As well as being a parody of a number of famous science fiction programmes, including Doctor Who, Quatermass and Doomwatch, Nebulous is considered a cult radio programme, attracting a number of guest appearances from famous actors.
Belinda Lucy Lange Fraser, known professionally as Belinda Lang, is an English actress. She is known for playing Liza in the ITV sitcom Second Thoughts (1991–94), and Bill Porter in the BBC sitcom 2point4 Children (1991–99). Her theatre credits include London productions of the Noël Coward plays, Present Laughter (1981), Blithe Spirit (1997), and Hay Fever (2006). Her radio/audio credits include voicing narrator Madeleine in the podcast Wooden Overcoats.
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Watch with Mother was a cycle of children's programmes created by Freda Lingstrom and Maria Bird. Broadcast by BBC Television from 1952 until 1975, it was the first BBC television series aimed specifically at pre-school children, a development of BBC radio's equivalent Listen with Mother, which had begun two years earlier. In accordance with its intended target audience of pre-school children viewing with their mothers, Watch with Mother was initially broadcast between 3:45 pm and 4:00 pm, post-afternoon nap and before the older children came home from school.
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Daphne Margaret du Grivel Oxenford was an English actress, known for her early stage roles, and later her radio and television work. She was the voice of BBC radio's Listen with Mother from its inception in 1950 to 1971. As spinster Esther Hayes, she was part of the original cast of Coronation Street. Other notable roles include Mrs Plummer in Man About the House (1973), Alice Dutton in EastEnders (1990), and Mrs. Oldknow in the mini-series The Children of Green Knowe (1986).
Eileen Browne, was a BBC Radio broadcaster, perhaps best known for being one of the original presenters of Listen with Mother.
Eileen Browne may refer to:
This is a list of events from British radio in 1966.
This is a list of events from British radio in 1965.
This is a list of events from British radio in 1964.
Are You Sitting Comfortably? may refer to:
Julia Lang was a British film and radio actress and radio presenter. Born in London, she is best known for presenting the BBC radio programme Listen with Mother.
Frieda Fordham was a psychiatric social worker, Jungian analyst and writer. Her second husband was the innovative analytical psychologist, Michael Fordham.
This is a timeline of the history of chart shows on UK radio.
Roger Fiske was a musicologist, broadcaster and author who played an important part in establishing music for schools at the BBC during and after World War II.
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