Vera McKechnie
Encyclopedia
Vera McKechnie was one of the first presenters at the start of BBC Children's Television in the early 1950s.
where she told a story as it was acted out by string puppets. The programme was aimed at very young children under primary school starting age of five years old at the time. The programme was broadcast during the school day and part of a series of five known as Watch With Mother
. This included The Woodentops
, Picture Book, Bill and Ben, the Flower Pot Men and Rag, Tag and Bobtail
of which one was broadcast each day. At the time the broadcasts began, the main BBC transmitters in use only covered London and the south east from Alexandra Palace
, Birmingham and the Midlands from Sutton Coldfield and Manchester and the north west from Winter Hill
.
She was also a presenter of Picture Book in the 1960s. She was a TV in-vision announcer, 1955 to 1960 and later worked for BBC children' TV as presenter of For Deaf Children, 1956. Other TV work was Focus, 1958 to 1960; Picture Book, 1963 to 1965; narrator, Andy Pandy, 1970.
From 1955 to about 1958 she was main presenter of Studio E, a magazine program for older children aged around 9 to 14. Studio E lasted around 55 minutes and came from the studio of the same name at the BBC's west London studios in Lime Grove, Shepherd's Bush
, since demolished. The opening sequence of Studio E showed McKechnie arriving at the studio and taking the scissor-gated lift to the Studio E floor. The mascot of Studio E was a dog called Kim.
and then in Broadstairs
, Kent
.
Television career
She started her career when the BBC restarted TV broadcasts after the Second World War. On BBC Children’s Television she presented the programme Andy PandyAndy Pandy
Andy Pandy is a British children's television series that premiered on BBC TV in June or July 1950. The original series of programmes was shown until 1970, when a new series was made. A third series was made in 2002...
where she told a story as it was acted out by string puppets. The programme was aimed at very young children under primary school starting age of five years old at the time. The programme was broadcast during the school day and part of a series of five known as Watch With Mother
Watch with Mother
Watch With Mother was a cycle of children's programmes broadcast from 1952 by BBC Television which was created by Freda Lingstrom.It was the first BBC television programme specifically aimed at pre-school children, like its radio equivalent Listen with Mother that also started in 1950...
. This included The Woodentops
The Woodentops
The Woodentops are a British rock band that have enjoyed critical acclaim and moderate popularity in the mid-1980s.-History:The band formed in 1983 in South London with an initial line-up of Rolo McGinty , Simon Mawby , Alice Thompson , Frank DeFreitas , and Paul Hookham .After a...
, Picture Book, Bill and Ben, the Flower Pot Men and Rag, Tag and Bobtail
Rag, Tag and Bobtail
Rag, Tag and Bobtail was a BBC children's television programme that ran from 1953 to 1965 as the Thursday programme in the weekly cycle of Watch with Mother.* Produced by: Freda Lingstrom and David Boisseau* Stories: Louise Cochrane...
of which one was broadcast each day. At the time the broadcasts began, the main BBC transmitters in use only covered London and the south east from Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is a building in North London, England. It stands in Alexandra Park, in an area between Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green...
, Birmingham and the Midlands from Sutton Coldfield and Manchester and the north west from Winter Hill
Winter Hill transmitting station
The Winter Hill transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications site situated on Winter Hill, at the southern boundary of the Borough of Chorley, and above Bolton in Greater Manchester, England...
.
She was also a presenter of Picture Book in the 1960s. She was a TV in-vision announcer, 1955 to 1960 and later worked for BBC children' TV as presenter of For Deaf Children, 1956. Other TV work was Focus, 1958 to 1960; Picture Book, 1963 to 1965; narrator, Andy Pandy, 1970.
From 1955 to about 1958 she was main presenter of Studio E, a magazine program for older children aged around 9 to 14. Studio E lasted around 55 minutes and came from the studio of the same name at the BBC's west London studios in Lime Grove, Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush
-Commerce:Commercial activity in Shepherd's Bush is now focused on the Westfield shopping centre next to Shepherd's Bush Central line station and on the many small shops which run along the northern side of the Green....
, since demolished. The opening sequence of Studio E showed McKechnie arriving at the studio and taking the scissor-gated lift to the Studio E floor. The mascot of Studio E was a dog called Kim.
Personal life
After television she became a teacher, spending 15 years at Roedean SchoolRoedean School
-Roedeanians in fiction:* Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward * Dawn Drummond-Clayton * Emily James...
and then in Broadstairs
Broadstairs
Broadstairs is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about south-east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St. Peter's and had a population in 2001 of about 24,000. Situated between Margate and...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
.