It was silly. It was addictive. For decades, millions of kids would gaze at the same people and laugh at the same jokes at the same time. How did children’s TV shape their minds? And what will it look like in a world of unlimited digital content?

Ros Taylor talks to Anna Home, who joined the BBC in the 1950s, and screenwriters Chitro Soundar and Angela Salt.

Anna Home was an English TV producer and executive and is the chair of the Children’s Media Foundation. She is the author of Into the Box of Delights: A History of Children’s Television.

Chitra Soundar is the author of Nikhil & Jay and a writer for children’s books, TV and theatre.

Angela Salt is a screenwriter for international children’s TV.

Herbert Morrison was speaking in the Commons in 1952 about the BBC charter.

The BFI and the Science and Media Museum have useful resources on early kids’ TV. This is the first episode of Play School. Episodes of Grange Hill, Jackanory, Basil Brush, Thunderbirds and many other series are available on YouTube. The BBC interviewed people about Grange Hill in 1980.

Into the Box of Delights

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