Media historians will be aware of the upheaval that was Margaret Thatcher's sale of the ITV franchises in 1992. But while the suits in London were getting hot under their collars about what that meant for current affairs flagship, This Week, no-one seemed to care about the significance for one of the UK's most loved children's programmes.
Rainbow started transmitting in 1972 as the Independent Broadcasting Authority's response to Sesame Street and Play School. With the sudden demise of Thames Television (which had failed in its bid to retain its licence) the show came to an untimely end.
Paul Shuttleworth, now Creative Director of Handle and Spout, but then a humble Theology student, set up the Save Rainbow Campaign with school friend, Jackie Doyle-Price (prospective parliamentary candidate for Thurrock East). A focus of their campaigning was the promotion of a rave version of the Rainbow Theme Tune which reached no.81 in the charts! Despite the disappointing position, they secured great press and TV coverage. This culminated in a unique performance on Channel 4's The Word where Zippy appeared with Shaun Ryder from the Happy Mondays.
Their vociferous campaigning led none other than media mogul Dawn Airey (who was Controller, ITV programmes at the time) to recommission the series in 1994.
While this was a light hearted campaign, it was a great lesson in how, at the heart of major decisions and policy making, there are unresolved issues and messy loose ends. Sadly, even today, when big decisions are made, Children's Television often remains at the bottom of the agenda.
Handle and Spout believes television for our youngest viewers is vital to the culture of the country. Through membership of PACT, the independent producer's alliance, Handle and Spout continues to campaign for quality home-grown children's television in 2010.
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