Toni Arthur-Hay (born Antoinette Alice Priscilla Wilson; 27 December 1940) is an English

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

, former

folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

and television presenter.

Early life and education

Arthur was born in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England. She describes her childhood as "lovely, working class, dead ordinary". At the age of nine, she won a scholarship to the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

, and gave a concert at the

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...

in the same year. She was educated at Mary Datchelor Girls School in

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

and the

. In 1959, Toni Arthur went to

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College London ...

to become a nurse, and then went on to start a degree in Psychology at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

Career

Television

Arthur is most remembered as one of the presenters of the children's programmes '' Play School'' and ''

Play Away ''Play Away'' is a British television children's programme. A sister programme to the infants' series '' Play School'', it was aimed at slightly older children. It ran from 1971 until 1984, and was broadcast on Saturday afternoons on BBC 2.Alist ...

'' with

Brian Cant Brian Cant (12 July 1933 – 19 June 2017) was an English actor of stage, television and film, television presenter, voice artist and writer. He was best known for his work in BBC television programmes for children from 1964 onward, most notably ...

and

Lionel Morton Lionel Morton (born Lionel Walmsley, 14 August 1942) is an English former musician and television presenter. Morton was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, England. In the early 1960s, he was the lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist of the group, the ...

. She also presented ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by A ...

'',

TV-am TV-am was a TV company that broadcast the ITV franchise for breakfast television in the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 until 31 December 1992. The station was the UK's first national operator of a commercial breakfast television franchise ...

's breakfast show and many other programmes. In 2010, Arthur criticised modern children's TV programmes and called for gentler programmes to allow toddlers to build up reassuring relationships with presenters.

Music

After releasing their first single, the traditional songs "The Cuckoo" / "A Rich and Rambling Boy", under the name The Strollers on

Fontana Records Fontana Records is a record label that was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records. The independent label distributor Fontana Distribution takes its name from the label. History Fontana started in the 1950s as a subs ...

(TF 598) in July 1965, Toni released several

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s with her then-husband, Dave Arthur. These included ''Morning Stands on Tiptoe'' (1967), ''The Lark in the Morning'' (1969) and ''

Hearken to the Witches Rune ''Hearken to the Witches Rune'' is a studio album by the English folk music duo Dave and Toni Arthur, recorded in 1970 and released by Trailer Records. It features English folk music with a focus on uncanny and magical elements. Ahead of making ...

'' (1971). With her husband, she recalls travelling the world, singing in folk clubs. ''Hearken to the Witches Rune'' was released on the red Trailer label in the UK in 1971. The tracklist is as follows: "

Alison Gross "Allison Gross" (also known as Alison Cross) is a traditional ballad, catalogued as Child Ballad #35. It tells the story of "the ugliest witch in the north country" who tries to persuade a man to become her lover and then punishes him by a trans ...

", "

Tam Lin Tam (or Tamas) Lin (also called Tamlane, Tamlin, Tambling, Tomlin, Tam Lien, Tam-a-Line, Tam Lyn, or Tam Lane) is a character in a legendary ballad originating from the Scottish Borders. It is also associated with a reel of the same name, also ...

", "A Fairy Tale", "The Fairy Child", "Broomfield Hill", "The Standing Stones", "

The Cruel Mother "The Cruel Mother" (a.k.a. "The Greenwood Side" or "Greenwood Sidey") () is a murder ballad originating in England that has since become popular throughout the wider English-speaking world. According to Roud and Bishop :''Widely collected in Bri ...

", and "Alice Brand". All are traditional songs. Some copies of this album came with a 'Magic In Ballads' booklet. It was while Arthur was performing in a folk club, she has said, that a BBC producer approached her about auditioning for a children's BBC programme called ''Play School''. She gained the job, even though, she says she was wearing "an incredibly short skirt." Arthur also appeared on a BBC album that was a spin off from the BBC children's programme ''Play Away'' in 1977. ''Ready Steady Go - Play Away'' was full of songs in the Music Hall style. She appeared as a solo artist on tracks such as "Doctor Foster Tours The World", "Running, Stretching, Racing", "Why Does The Winkle Always Turn To The Right?" and "Night Express North Bound". She also performed many ensemble songs with Brian Cant, while Jonathan Cohen,

Spike Heatley Brian John Heatley (17 February 1933 – 10 November 2021), better known as Spike Heatley, was a British jazz double bassist. Early life Heatley was born in Muswell Hill, North London in February 1933. Career He appeared with Vic Ash's sextet ...

and Alan Rushton (who had all played at

Ronnie Scott Ronnie may refer to: *Ronnie (name), a unisex pet name and given name * "Ronnie" (Four Seasons song), a song by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe *"Ronnie," a song from the Metallica album '' Load'' *Ronnie Brunswijkstadion, an association football stadium ...

's) formed a tight band. Brian and Toni weave a "night on the town" narrative in and out of the songs about Music Hall, coffee bars and gambling. The back cover of the album sleeve also featured a board game.

Books

Arthur has written several plays and books, including ''All The Year Round - A Compendium of Games, Customs and Stories'', which was a children's book of crafts for celebrating the seasons. This was published by Puffin Books on 27 August 1981, .

Theatre

In 2003, Arthur directed ''A Very Naughty Boy'' by

Adrian Poynton Adrian Poynton (born 29 January 1979) is a British screenwriter, playwright, producer and former stand up comedian. He is best known as the creator and writer of BBC Three comedy ''White Van Man'' and its American remake ''Family Tools''. He h ...

, based on the life of

Graham Chapman Graham Chapman (8 January 1941 – 4 October 1989) was a British actor, comedian and writer. He was one of the six members of the surreal comedy group Monty Python. He portrayed authority figures such as The Colonel and the lead role in two P ...

. It won a first prize at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

Personal life

Arthur married the singer and storyteller Dave Arthur in 1963, and they had two children Jonathan and Tim. They separated in 1977. She married the former '' Time Out Magazine'' comedy editor

Malcolm Hay Malcolm, Malcom, Máel Coluim, or Maol Choluim may refer to: People * Malcolm (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Clan Malcolm * Maol Choluim de Innerpeffray, 14th-century bishop-elect of Dunkeld Nobility * Máel C ...

in 1996. Her younger son Tim was formerly editor-in-chief and CEO of '' Time Out'', and is currently a radio presenter on

BBC Radio London BBC Radio London is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Greater London and its surrounding areas. The station broadcasts across the area and beyond, on the 94.9 FM broadcasting, FM frequency, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, ...

. In 2000, Toni Arthur appeared on a programme called ''Mystic Challenge'', and spoke about her relationship with Buddhism. "I started reading about Buddhism, and found that that philosophy of knowing yourself before you know others, suited me, and I have been a Buddhist ever since."

References

External links

*
Toni Arthur biographyLife after Big Ted
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arthur, Toni 1941 births Living people BBC television presenters BBC Radio 4 presenters British children's television presenters English women singers English folk singers English television presenters English theatre directors People educated at Mary Datchelor School People from Oxford Transatlantic Records artists British women television presenters Topic Records artists