Play Away S13E10 (1984) - FULL EPISODE

Here's something you don't see every day. In fact, it could be that we're very fortunate to see this at all, thanks to the infinite wisdom of the Beeb and their cost-cutting. But before we get to that, this is Play Away, starring Brian Cant and Floella Benjamin, and co-starring (in this particular instance) Delia Morgan and Keith Woodhams. Play Away was a sort of companion programme to Play School, aimed at slightly older children: lots of jokes, singing and dancing - but never dumbed down - all at a pace far quicker than generally associated with the BBC's children's output. References to the likes of Fame and The Thompson Twins definitely date this one, so I don't know what kids today will make of it, but if nothing else I found it to be very, very good fun. Better than I was expecting, which is a rare thing in the nostalgia business. What say you?

After a bit of sleuthing at genome.ch.bbc.co.uk, I reckon that this could be the episode of Play Away broadcast on Saturday, 28th January, 1984 - at least, that's the only one I could find which lists exactly the right combination of presenters. If that is indeed the case (and please do correct me if I'm wrong), then according to this site, we're watching a lost episode:

http://www.lostshows.com/default.aspx...

That is to say, the BBC wiped the original master tape and it no longer exists in the archives. The philistines. Hooray for YouTube, eh?

Grateful thanks to Lee for providing this recording.

(This is a transfer from an old videotape, so please don't expect full HD quality. To the best of my knowledge, this material is not available commercially anywhere in the world, and has been uploaded for its historic interest. That said, if you are a copyright holder and object, please don't hesitate to contact me.)