English TV lessons in China go primetime

Jan 31, 2025

Kathy Flower, the presenter of the groundbreaking English program 'Follow Me' on Chinese TV during the 1980s, shares her incredible journey as one of China's most famous foreign figures. She discusses how her show, airing at primetime, captivated 500 million viewers during a pivotal cultural shift under Deng Xiaoping. Kathy reveals how humor played a key role in teaching language and culture, fostering connections in remote areas, and highlights her unforgettable experiences living in a rapidly changing China.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Cathy Flower's Fame

Cathy Flower recalls an anecdote about her fame in China.
A store closed due to the crowds wanting to see her, and she had to mime buying a ping pong bat.

INSIGHT

China's Opening Up

The podcast discusses the context of Cathy Flower's rise to fame.
It highlights the political changes in China, including Deng Xiaoping's opening-up policy and the end of the Cultural Revolution.

ANECDOTE

Follow Me's Success

'Follow Me', a BBC English-language program, became unexpectedly popular in China.
Its humor and depiction of Western life resonated with Chinese audiences.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

In 1981 the first major series of English lessons was broadcast on Chinese television.

President Deng Xiaoping had allowed private enterprise and was pursuing an era of “opening up” to the rest of the world. It followed a decade of educational turmoil when teachers had been castigated as bourgeois by the former leader Mao Zedong.

Kathy Flower presented the English education programme, Follow Me, several times a week at primetime. It was watched by an estimated 500 million people keen to get a taste of the English language and observe westerners on television. Kathy Flower recalls to Josephine McDermott what it was like becoming the most famous foreign person in China.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo: Kathy Flower at a book signing in China. Credit: BBC)