Baroness Floella Benjamin, DBE

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Society & Culture, Music Commentary, Music, Personal Journals

4.4 • 13.7K Ratings

🗓️ 15 October 2020

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Baroness Floella Benjamin DBE is a Trinidadian-British broadcaster, writer and politician. She became a familiar face to millions of viewers through her work on children's television, most notably on Play School, which she first presented in 1976. She was born in Trinidad in 1949, the second of six children. When her parents emigrated to the UK, she and her siblings were initially left behind with foster parents. After 16 months, the family was able to reunite, when the children travelled to England by sea. At first they all lived in one room in south London. Eventually her parents were able to buy a house in Beckenham, where they lived for 40 years - which is why Floella decided on the title Baroness Benjamin of Beckenham when she entered the House of Lords in 2010 as a Liberal Democrat peer. There was no hint of her later high public profile when she left school at 16 to work in a bank, until she dared to audition for a West End musical during her lunch break. She was successful, going on to appear in numerous London shows, before her move into television. Along with her work in front of the camera, she set up her own TV production company, as well as publishing books and working closely with charities for children and young people. She has also campaigned for high standards in children's broadcasting and more diversity in the creative industries. She was the Chancellor of Exeter University for a decade, starting in 2006, and earlier this year she received a Damehood for her services to charity. DISC ONE: The Greatest Love of All by George Benson DISC TWO: Waiting in Vain by Bob Marley and the Wailers DISC THREE: Puttin’ on the Ritz by Ella Fitzgerald DISC FOUR: Once by Stan Getz DISC FIVE: Begin the Beguine by Julio Iglesius DISC SIX: The Prince of Denmark’s March by Jeremiah Clarke, performed by the London Gabrieli Brass Ensemble DISC SEVEN: Are You Gonna Go My Way by Lenny Kravitz DISC EIGHT: Smile by Nat King Cole BOOK CHOICE: Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama LUXURY ITEM: A neck rest CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: The Greatest Love of All by George Benson Presenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Sarah Taylor

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts
0:04.6	Hello, I'm Lauren LeVern and this is the Desert Island Discs podcast.
0:08.3	Every week I ask my guests to choose the 8 tracks, book and luxury they'd want to take
0:13.0	with them if they were cast away to a desert island.
0:16.4	And for right reasons, the music is shorter than the original broadcast.
0:20.9	I hope you enjoy listening.
0:30.0	Music Radio Music
0:42.4	My cast away this week is the Broadcaster and politician, Baroness Florella Benjamin.
0:47.8	A beloved presenter of children's television since the mid-70s, for those of us who grew
0:52.6	up with her, she was one of the family.
0:54.9	As much a part of British childhood then as schooled in her skinned knees and top of the
0:59.5	pops.
1:00.5	Part of the Windrush generation, she was born in Trinidad and made the two-week journey
1:04.7	to the UK by sea when she was 10 years old, accompanied only by her siblings.
1:10.2	Reunited with her parents in London, she found a love of performing as a singer and appeared
1:14.8	in many West End musicals before becoming the presenter of play school in 1976.
1:20.6	It was the beginning of a long career presenting and later producing children's television.
1:26.0	She's also a passionate campaigner working for decades with leading children's charities
1:30.7	and received a Daimhud earlier this year for her services.
1:34.0	She was the first African Caribbean woman to become chancellor of a British university,
1:38.7	offering a hog instead of the customary handshake to over 35,000 graduating students.
1:45.0	And in 2010, she was inducted into the House of Lords.
	...

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