''Junior Choice'' is a

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

programme originally broadcast from 1954 until 1982 with Christmas specials from 2007 to present, with the exception of 2016. Originally broadcast on the

BBC Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...

on Saturday mornings from 9.10 to 9.55 (later, 9.00–10.00), and later

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

, and

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

, its precursor from 1952 was entitled ''Children's Choice'', echoing the weekday '' Housewives' Choice'', then from 1954, ''Children's Favourites''. The programme played requests from children of all ages. For the first 11 years of its run, the programme was introduced by Derek McCulloch, known as Uncle Mac. McCulloch's grandfatherly tone was quintessentially 'old-school'

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. His opening words "Hello children, everywhere!", his catch-phrase was a modification of his much earlier closing words "Goodnight children, everywhere" on ''

Children's Hour ''Children's Hour'', initially ''The Children's Hour'', was the BBC's principal recreational service for children (as distinct from "Broadcasts to Schools") which began during the period when radio was the only medium of broadcasting. ''Childre ...

''. Children wrote in with requests often just to get their names mentioned on the radio. McCulloch ensured that all types of music were played whatever the majority had requested: not just children's pieces but a wide range of music from pop to hymns to the light classics. The signature tune until the mid-1960s was "Puffin' Billy" by Edward White played by the Melodi Light Orchestra.

Later versions

McCulloch made his last broadcast in 1965 and several other presenters were tried including Leslie Crowther. After

and

were launched, the show was renamed ''Junior Choice'' and simultaneously broadcast on both stations and "Puffin' Billy" was replaced by an instrumental version of the

The Seekers The Seekers were an Australian folk music, folk-influenced pop music, pop group originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the Unit ...

hit " Morningtown Ride" played by Stan Butcher, from his 1966 album a ''His Birds and Brass'', which remained the show's theme until Stewart's last show, the 2015 Christmas Day special. It was then revived on the 2020 and 2021 Christmas Specials with Anneka Rice. In February 1968, Ed 'Stewpot' Stewart took over from Crowther and was the host for 11 years, attracting more than 17 million listeners. The style became less cosy and less reverent. As tastes changed, new favourites were added; pop records, as opposed to records specifically for children, were requested more frequently as the 1970s progressed. Among the records frequently played were "A Windmill in Old Amsterdam" by

Ronnie Hilton Ronnie Hilton (born Adrian Hill; 26 January 1926 – 21 February 2001) was an English singer. According to his obituary in ''The Guardian'' newspaper, "For a time Hilton was a star – strictly for home consumption – with nine Top 20 hits be ...

, " Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh" by Allan Sherman and "My Brother" by

Terry Scott Terry Scott (born born Owen John Scott; 4 May 1927 – 26 July 1994) was an English actor and comedian who appeared in seven of the '' Carry On films''. He is also well known for appearing in the BBC1 sitcoms '' Happy Ever After'' and '' Terr ...

. The show was peppered with catch-phrase jingles such as "'Ello Darlin'", recorded by an unknown patient at a hospital in

Billericay Billericay ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Basildon in Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin, east of the City of London. The town was founded in the 13th century by the Stratford Langthorne Abbey, Abbot of West Ham, ...

and "

Happy Birthday to You "Happy Birthday to You", or simply "Happy Birthday", is a song traditionally sung to celebrate a person's birthday. According to the 1998 ''Guinness World Records'', it is the most recognized song in the English language, followed by "For He' ...

" sung by an eight-year-old boy from a football club in

Crosskeys Crosskeys () is a village, community (Wales), community and an Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in Caerphilly county borough in Wales. Etymology The village was originally named Pont-y-cymer and this remains ...

, on the team coach after the match. The Ello Darlin' jingle was featured until Stewart's last show in 2015, although Rice did revive it on the 2020 and 2021 Christmas editions. In 1980, Stewart was replaced by

Tony Blackburn Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and television presenter, whose career spans over 60 years. Blackburn first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio Londo ...

but by this time the programme was seen as somewhat old-fashioned. and the ''Junior Choice'' title was dropped in the early months of 1982, and the programme was renamed ''Tony Blackburn's Saturday/Sunday Show''. The children's requests aspect of ''Junior Choice'' continued until September 1984 when Peter Powell replaced Blackburn as the weekend breakfast show presenter. The programme was refreshed at this point, and children's requests did not form part of the new programme, thereby removing the link with the "Uncle Mac" era. In 2007 Stewart returned as host for a one-off programme during Radio 2's 40th Birthday celebrations in September and then what has become a regular Christmas special, starting on Christmas Eve that year, and then every Christmas Day from 2008 onwards (except 2016). The last of these featuring Stewart as host was in 2015, as he died suddenly just two weeks later, aged 74, on 9 January 2016. After Stewart's death and a hiatus in 2016, the show returned on Christmas Day 2017, with Anneka Rice as its new host, who since then has presented more Christmas Day editions. For the 2018 and 2019 editions, Rice invited young listeners, named 'Junior Choosers', to call in to the show to play a game with her and pick a song. This was then dropped for the 2020 and 2021 editions, which reverted more to the feel of the Stewart era, and had some fellow Radio 2 presenters choosing a song to be played on the show.

Presenters

* Derek McCulloch (1954–1965) * Leslie Crowther (1965–1968) *

Ed Stewart Edward Stewart Mainwaring (23 April 1941 – 9 January 2016), known as Ed "Stewpot" Stewart, was an English radio broadcaster and TV presenter. He was principally known for his work as a DJ on BBC Radio 1 (particularly the Saturday morning ' ...

(1968–1979, 2007 birthday special, Christmas editions, 2007–2015) *

(1980–82, when ''Junior Choice'' name was dropped) * Anneka Rice (Christmas editions, 2017–present)

References

External links

"Puffin' Billy" theme music

'Stewpot's' Junior Choice
at h2g2.com, with a list of records played {{BBC Radio 2 BBC Light Programme programmes BBC Radio 2 programmes BBC Radio 1 programmes British music radio programmes