{"id":611013,"date":"2026-09-25T04:20:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T04:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/611013\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T04:20:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T04:20:15","slug":"long-running-kids-tv-show-play-school-to-return-to-air-bbc-announces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/611013\/","title":{"rendered":"Long-running kids\u2019 TV show Play School to return to air, BBC announces"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img  alt=\"Johnny Ball in Play School in 1964. Photo \/ IMDB\" class=\"article-media__image responsively-lazy\" data-test-ui=\"article-media__image\"\/>Johnny Ball in Play School in 1964. Photo \/ IMDB<\/p>\n<p class=\"zEEGoQobVQRR\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cThe toys remain some of the most cherished elements of Play School and are fondly remembered by generations of viewers,\u201d the BBC states in the pitch document for the show\u2019s revival. <\/p>\n<p class=\"zEEGoQobVQRR\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cWe would like the new version of the programme to bring to life a version of the toys in a contemporary capacity aligned to the expectations of today\u2019s children.<\/p>\n<p class=\"zEEGoQobVQRR\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cWe are open to exploring different approaches, whether that involves bringing back the full original line-up or introducing new characters alongside them and representing them through different media including animation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"zEEGoQobVQRR\" style=\"display:none\">A few elements of the modern version will have to be a departure from the original. For example, Jemima will not be able to be described by the presenter as an \u201cempty-headed bimbette\u201d, like Fred Harris did back in the day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"zEEGoQobVQRR\" style=\"display:none\">The overall \u201cwarm and inviting tone and the way in which the presenters spoke directly to viewers to encourage them to participate\u201d will remain a part of the new show, the document states.<\/p>\n<p class=\"zEEGoQobVQRR\" style=\"display:none\">The BBC is looking to commission an initial batch of 50 episodes, plus additional content for a \u201cCBeebies Parenting\u201d channel on YouTube. <\/p>\n<p class=\"zEEGoQobVQRR\" style=\"display:none\">The broadcaster is hoping to launch the new show next year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"zEEGoQobVQRR\" style=\"display:none\">Play School originally ran from 1964 to 1988.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Johnny Ball in Play School in 1964. Photo \/ IMDB \u201cThe toys remain some of the most cherished&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":611014,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[74,68,59745,694,2974,14645,4749,156,1899,685,9523,5812,11692,111,139,69,10538,1527,4062,62105,1305,61,437,1530],"class_list":["post-611013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-after","tag-air","tag-aired","tag-announces","tag-bbc","tag-beloved","tag-childrens","tag-entertainment","tag-kids","tag-last","tag-longrunning","tag-make","tag-nearly","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-play","tag-return","tag-school","tag-screens","tag-show","tag-to","tag-tv","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=611013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}