This year, Australia’s longest running children’s series, Play School, celebrates 50 years on air. To mark the occasion, ABC Kids has enlisted some famous faces to join with Big Ted and Humpty Dumpty to host a special series.
Entitled Play School Celebrity Covers, the mini-episodes will feature a lineup of popular Australian personalities, actors and musicians turning their hand to being a Play School presenter, either performing a song or reading a story. Daily episodes will air from July 4 on ABC Kids, as well as on iview.
Featuring in Play School Celebrity Covers are: Adam Goodes, Annabel Crabb with Leigh Sales, Architecture in Helsinki, Benita Collings with Don Spencer, Bernard Fanning, Carrie Bickmore, Costa Georgiadis, Dami Im, Dan Sultan, Delta Goodrem, Emma Wiggle, Guy Sebastian, Hamish and Andy, Jeremy Fernandez, John Hamblin, Josh Thomas, Kate Ceberano with her daughter Gypsy, Kate Miller-Heidke, Katie Noonan, Kurt Fearnley with Rachael Coopes, Lee Lin Chin with Takaya Honda, Magda Szubanksi, Caitlin Cooper, Ellie Carpenter and Michelle Heyman from the Matildas, Missy Higgins, Molly Meldrum with Charlie Pickering, The Umbilical Brothers, Tim Minchin, Tim Omaji and You Am I.
On the program’s official birthday on July 18, a half hour collection of a number of the mini episodes, Play School Celebrity Covers Special, will air on ABC Kids.
Play School doco
As a further part of the 50 year celebrations, Kate Richie will present Big Ted's Excellent Adventure: 50 Years of Play School on July 10, a documentary which will take a nostalgic journey through the show’s history.
The documentary features Mikey Robins, Hannah Gadsby, Nazeem Hussain, Craig McLachlan and members of the original Wiggles, who will share their personal memories of the show, alongside anecdotes from past and current Play School presenters, including Benita Collings, John Waters and Justine Clarke.
Big Ted’s Excellent Adventure: 50 Years of Play School is a Fredbird Entertainment production for ABC TV.