Miranda Connell

Miranda Connell
Born	(1938-08-03) 3 August 1938 (age 87) Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England
Education	Cheltenham Ladies College
Occupations	Actress television presenter
Years active	1956–1976
Spouse	Edward de Souza ​ (m. 1960)​
Children	4

Miranda Connell (born 3 August 1938) is an English actress who was one of the presenters of the BBC children's programme, Play School from 1966 to 1975. ^{[1] [2]}

Early life

Connell was born on 3 August 1938 in Stansted, Essex, England. She was educated at Elmhurst Ballet School and at Stansted Mountfitchet, United Kingdom. ^[3]

Career

At the age of 18, Connell began acting on stage, playing Maria in a 1958 production of Twelfth Night at Stratford. ^[4] She also appeared in a number of television roles during the late 1950s and 1960s, including The Avengers (1961) ^[5] , Emergency Ward 10 (1960), Dixon of Dock Green (1966), Special Branch (1970) and Paul Temple (1971). ^[6]

Connell is best known as a presenter on the BBC children’s programme Play School. ^[7] She made her debut on Play School on 16 May 1966, alongside Rick Jones. ^[8] Over her time with the show, she presented 386 editions between May 1966 and April 1975. ^[9] Her final edition of Play School was on 18 April 1975, co-presented with Don Spencer. ^[10]

Personal life

Connell married to actor Edward de Souza in 1960, and they have four children together. ^{[11] [12]}

References

1. "BFI Screenonline: Play School (1964-88)". www.screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
2. Shaw, Chantelle (11 February 2025). The Ultimate Risk. Harlequin. ISBN   978-1-4592-0790-5.
3. Vahimagi, Tise (1996). British Television: An Illustrated Guide. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-815927-8.
4. White, Leonard (2003). Armchair Theatre: The Lost Years. Kelly Publications. ISBN   978-1-903053-18-8.
5. Phillips, Michael Scott (2 May 2018). Quite Quite Fantastic! The Avengers for Modern Viewers. Lulu.com. ISBN   978-1-5323-7516-3.
6. Reid, John Howard (11 October 2015). 150 Finest Films of the Fifties. Lulu.com. ISBN   978-1-329-61311-9.
7. Tibballs, Geoff (1991). The Golden Age of Children's Television. Titan. ISBN   978-1-85286-407-1.
8. Perry, Chris (3 February 2016). The Kaleidoscope British Christmas Television Guide 1937-2013. Lulu.com. ISBN   978-1-900203-60-9.
9. Ball, Johnny (28 March 2025). Johnny Ball - My Previous Life in Comedy. Book Guild Publishing. ISBN   978-1-83574-297-6.
10. Connell, Miranda
11. "IMAGO". www.imago-images.com. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
12. "Edward de Souza - Biographies - Bond Scenes". 22 February 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2025.

External links

• Miranda Connell at IMDb