Play Away

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Play Away

Play Away was a sister programme to Play School in the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, aimed at slightly older children. It ran from 1971 until 1984. While Play School had a more gentle, intimate feel, featuring just two presenters in a studio with the usual collection of toys and pets, Play Away was much more lively, with a live audience and a format a little like a music-hall variety show

Variety show

A variety show or variety entertainment is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and comedy skits, and normally introduced by a Master of Ceremonies or Presenter....
.

Presenters throughout the thirteen-year run included familiar Play School presenters such as Brian Cant

Brian Cant

Brian Cant is an England actor, television presenter and writer.Born in Ipswich, he currently lives in Buckinghamshire and is married to writer and director Cherry Britton, the sister of Fern Britton and actor Jasper Britton....
, Toni Arthur

Toni Arthur

Toni Arthur-Hay is an English Theatre director, former folk music and television presenter.Arthur-Hay was born in Oxford, England and is most popularly remembered as one of the presenters of the children's programmes Play School and Play Away alongside Brian Cant....
, Derek Griffiths

Derek Griffiths

Derek Griffiths is a British actor who appeared in numerous British children's television programmes in the 1960s to 1980s and more recently has played parts in TV drama....
, Floella Benjamin

Floella Benjamin

Floella Benjamin Order of the British Empire is a British Actor, author , Presenter, Businessperson and University of Exeter#Chancellors of the University of Exeter....
and Julie Stevens

Julie Stevens (British actress)

Julie Stevens is an England actress. Best known in Britain for her appearances on children's television. She married actor John White in 1961....
, as well as lesser known presenters including Janine Sharp

Janine Sharp

Janine Sharp is a theatre director, playwright, performer and educational practitioner.Born in Brighton, Sharp currently lives in a village in Herefordshire...
Play Away also played host to such future stars as Anita Dobson

Anita Dobson

Anita Dobson is an England television actor....
, Jeremy Irons

Jeremy Irons

Jeremy John Irons is an England film, television and stage actor. He has won an Academy Award, a Tony Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, two Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards....
and Tony Robinson

Tony Robinson

Tony Robinson is an England actor, broadcasting and political campaigner, best known for playing Baldrick in the BBC television series Blackadder, and for hosting Channel 4 programmes such as Time Team and The Worst Jobs in History....
.

Some episodes of the series were wiped as recently as the early 1990s.

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