Charles Geoffrey Hayes (13 March 1942 – 30 September 2018) was an English television presenter and actor. He presented

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

's children's show ''

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

'' from 1972 to 1992.

Early life and education

Hayes had various jobs such as a British Rail booking clerk before attending drama school in Manchester and training as an actor. Hayes' most prominent role was the presenter of

's children's show ''

'' from 1973 to 1992, replacing original host

David Cook David Cook may refer to: Entertainment * David Cook (game designer) (active since 1980s), American game designer for TSR * David Cook (singer) (born 1982), winner of the seventh season of ''American Idol'' * David Cook (writer) (1940–2015), Briti ...

. Before this, he worked as an actor, including a recurring role in

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

's police drama ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debut ...

''. Hayes also has writing credits for ''Rainbow'' and ''The Great Pony Raid'' in 1967.

Career

Hayes struggled to find work after ''Rainbow'' was cancelled by ITV when the production company, Thames Television, lost its franchise in 1991. He took a job stacking shelves for his local

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company ...

grocery for four months as he had not yet found an acting job. He spent time as a

taxicab driver A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

and then retired some time later. He said that he would like to have done serious acting work after the show ended, but directors could not disassociate him from his role in ''Rainbow''. Hayes starred in a humorous

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

advert about investing money, making fun of his fall from the top. Hayes appeared in the video for "

I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)" is a pop song that originated as the jingle "True Love and Apple Pie", by British hit songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, and sung by Susan Shirley. The lyrics were rewritten ...

" by Oasis tribute band, No Way Sis. He replicated the role of a taxi driver, just as Patrick Macnee had done in the Oasis video for "

Don't Look Back in Anger "Don't Look Back in Anger" is a song by English rock band Oasis. It was written by the band's guitarist and main songwriter Noel Gallagher. The song was produced by Gallagher and Owen Morris. Released on 19 February 1996 as the fifth single fro ...

". Hayes also appeared in the all-star line up for the video of

Tony Christie Anthony Fitzgerald (born 25 April 1943), known professionally as Tony Christie, is an English musician, singer and actor. He is best known for his recording of "(Is This the Way To) Amarillo", a double UK chart success. Career 1960s to 1970 ...

with

Peter Kay Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English actor, comedy writer and stand-up comedian. He has written, produced and acted in several television and film projects, and has written three books. Born and brought up in Bolton, Kay studied ...

's single " Is This the Way to Amarillo?" In 2002, he was a guest panellist on an episode of ''

Never Mind the Buzzcocks ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first hos ...

''. Hayes was part of the

Walkers Crisps Walkers is a British snack food manufacturer mainly operating in the UK and Ireland. The company is best known for manufacturing potato crisps and other (non-potato-based) snack foods. In 2013, it held 56% of the British crisp market. Walker ...

campaign for

Monster Munch Monster Munch are a British baked corn snack created by Smiths in 1977 and manufactured by Walkers. They are aimed at children and widely consumed in the United Kingdom. Flavours include Roast Beef, Pickled Onion and Flamin' Hot. On the issue ...

in 2008. The stated objective of the campaign was to find the missing monster puppets from the original 1980s television advertisements for the snack. In the film clip, he mentions that he has heard from Bungle recently. In September 2015, he was a guest on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

's ''

Pointless Celebrities ''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay subsidiary Remarkable Television for the BBC. It is hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obscure answers t ...

'' alongside the former

Tiswas ''Tiswas'' (; an acronym of "Today Is Saturday: Watch And Smile") was a British children's television series that originally aired on Saturday mornings from 5 January 1974 to 3 April 1982, and was produced for the ITV network by ATV. It was ...

star Sally James. The pair got through to the final, but did not get a

Pointless ''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay subsidiary Remarkable Television for the BBC. It is hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obscure answers t ...

answer.

Personal life

Hayes married Sarah Williams in 1987. The couple had a son, Tom. Hayes was a fan of the Scottish football team

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

, having lived in the city in the 1960s. Hayes said that he asked the producers of ''Rainbow'' to make the Zippy puppet tangerine in colour, to match Dundee United's colours rather than the blue of local rivals Dundee. He had homes in London and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Death

Hayes died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

in hospital on 30 September 2018 aged 76.

References

External links

Geoffrey Hayes
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Geoffrey 1942 births 2018 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in the United Kingdom English male television actors English television presenters British television presenters British children's television presenters People associated with Dundee People from Stockport Place of death missing