Television Career
"With her very fair complexion, light-brown hair and wise, grey-blue eyes she has occupied the children's TV studio with... determination to do the job seriously."
The Television Annual for 1953Gay began introducing children's programmes in June 1949, and aged 14 became the "first schoolgirl in the world to announce TV programmes as a regular job." For the next three years, she grew up on screen, her name intrinsically linked with early 1950s children's television.
Introducing herself by name as "one of the Children's Hour announcers," Gay appeared most days at 5pm to introduce that afternoon's hour of programming, which included such favourites as Muffin the Mule, Mr. Turnip, and Hank and Prudence. Andrew Martin a BBC Archives expert described Gay as "the accepted way of presenting children to themselves."
Her final on-screen appearance as an announcer was in May 1953, after which Gay left the BBC to continue the ballet training she had pursued throughout her television career. She returned to television at ATV in the Midlands during the early 1960s, and was one of the launch team of reporters for the nightly news magazine programme ATV Today.
Read more about this topic: Jennifer Gay
Famous quotes containing the words television and/or career:
“The technological landscape of the present day has enfranchised its own electorates—the inhabitants of marketing zones in the consumer goods society, television audiences and news magazine readerships... vote with money at the cash counter rather than with the ballot paper at the polling booth.”
—J.G. (James Graham)
“I seemed intent on making it as difficult for myself as possible to pursue my “male” career goal. I not only procrastinated endlessly, submitting my medical school application at the very last minute, but continued to crave a conventional female role even as I moved ahead with my “male” pursuits.”
—Margaret S. Mahler (1897–1985)