Joy Whitby (Writing)

A Pattern of Roses

While his parents are renovating a cottage in an English village, teenager Tim and his friend Rebecca uncover information about the mysterious death of a 15-year-old boy who lived in the house decades prior, and as they dig deeper, Tim begins to find events from the past being mirrored in his own life.

Release Date:1983-12-29

Department:Writing

Job:Screenplay

Vote Count:2

Emma and Grandpa

Filmed in rural Sussex in 1982 and re-edited in 2008 with a new sound track, the charm of this period piece does not date. Each month there is a different story, told in rhyming couplets and highlighting changes in the countryside through the year. An interview with Emma twenty-six years on adds a poignant postscript to her adventures as a child. The series will be particularly useful to primary teachers. Six-year-old Emma lives with her mother in the country. Whenever she can, she visits her Grandpa and his dog, Cindy, who live in an old cottage not far away. For a few moments in each story you can eavesdrop on their conversation as they explore the woods and fields near their homes and discover all sorts of things about the countryside as it changes through the twelve months of the year.

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Mouse and Mole at Christmas Time

Animation telling of the adventures of Mouse, Mole, Rat and Owl. Before giving a Twelfth Night party, Mouse makes a snowmole for Mole. In a dream, Snowmole takes him to a land where his every wish is granted. But dreams can become nightmares and wishes can sometimes backfire!

Release Date:2013-12-16

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:4

The Raggy Dolls

The Raggy Dolls is a 1980s British cartoon series for children, following the adventures of a motley collection of rejects from a toy factory, who live in a reject bin.

Release Date:1986-04-03

Department:Production

Job:Producer

Episode Count:137

Vote Count:7

Grasshopper Island

Everyone dreams of running away at least once in their lifetime. Toughy, Smarty and Mouse discover an island which seems perfect. Sun, sand, fruit in the trees, fish in the sea. No haircuts. No school dinners. No goodnight kisses. Best of all, no grown-ups. Or so they think.

Release Date:1973-09-04

Department:Creator

Job:Creator

Vote Count:2

Catweazle

A medieval wizard (though not a very good one) Catweazle is transported to the modern age... A British television series, created and written by Richard Carpenter which was produced and directed by Quentin Lawrence for London Weekend Television under the LWI banner, and screened in the UK on ITV in 1970. A second season in 1971 was directed by David Reid and David Lane. Both series had thirteen episodes each, with Geoffrey Bayldon playing the leading role. The series was broadcast in Ireland, Britain, Gibraltar, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Germany, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Czechoslovakia, Nicaragua and Quebec. The first episode is available to view in full at the BFI Screenonline site.

Release Date:1970-02-15

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:13

Vote Count:16

Jackanory

Jackanory is a long-running BBC children's television series that was designed to stimulate an interest in reading. The show was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, the first story being the fairy-tale Cap-o'-Rushes read by Lee Montague. Jackanory continued to be broadcast until 1996, clocking up around 3,500 episodes in its 30-year run. The final story, The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne, was read by Alan Bennett and broadcast on 24 March 1996. The show returned on 27 November 2006 for two one-off stories. The show's format, which varied little over the decades, involved an actor reading from children's novels or folk tales, usually while seated in an armchair. From time to time the scene being read would be illustrated by a specially commissioned still drawing, often by Quentin Blake. Usually a single book would occupy five daily fifteen-minute episodes, from Monday to Friday.

Release Date:1965-12-13

Department:Creator

Job:Creator

Vote Count:1

Play School

Play School is a British children's television series produced by the BBC which ran from 21 April 1964 until 11 March 1988. Devised by Joy Whitby, it accidentally became the first ever programme to be shown on the fledgling BBC2 after a power cut halted the opening night's programming. Play School originally appeared on weekdays at 11am on BBC2 and later acquired a mid-afternoon BBC1 repeat. The morning showing was transferred to BBC1 in September 1983 when BBC Schools programming transferred to BBC2. It remained in that slot even after daytime television was launched in October 1986 and continued to be broadcast at that time until it was superseded in October 1988 by Playbus, which soon became Playdays. When the BBC scrapped the afternoon edition of Play School in September 1985, to make way for a variety of children's programmes in the afternoon, a Sunday morning compilation was launched called Hello Again!. There were several opening sequences for Play School during its run, the first being "Here's a house, here's a door. Windows: 1 2 3 4, ready to knock? Turn the lock - It's Play School." This changed in the early seventies to "A house, with a door, 1 2 3 4, ready to play, what's the day? It's..." In this version blinds opened on the windows as the numbers were spoken.

Release Date:1964-04-21

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:1