Fun Song Factory facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fun Song Factory |
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Logo for the 2004 series
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| Genre | Children's Pre-School |
| Created by | Will Brenton & Iain Lauchlan |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 92 (7 live) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Tell-Tale Productions |
| Running time | 20 mins (GMTV Series) 10 mins (CITV Series) |
| Production company(s) | Tell-Tale Productions Abbey Broadcast Communications (Original DTV Videos and 1998 TV series) Entertainment Rights PLC (2004 series) |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV Network (CITV/GMTV) |
| Original release | 1994 – 2006 |
Fun Song Factory is a British preschool children's television series. It was originally created in 1994 by Will Brenton and Iain Lauchlan, who at the time, were part of the Playdays production team. The series was produced through their studio Tell-Tale Productions, and was originally released as a Direct-to-video series through Abbey Home Entertainment (and later PolyGram Video)'s "Tempo-Pre-School" imprint.
Contents
Format
The series centers around a factory where music is created. In it, live presenters alongside children come inside and sing a number of nursery rhymes, which depend on per episode.
GMTV Series (1998)
After the original 7 videos sold a combined total of 750,000 copies in the UK, A full TV series of 23 episodes was commissioned by GMTV in 1998. For the TV series Dave Benson Phillips became the main presenter and appeared in every episode. The other presenters who appeared in this series rotated from Katy Stephens (Returning from the Fun and Games DTV feature), Alex Lovell (Her first television role), Justin Fletcher (Also his first television role), and Karl Woolley. Ozzy Octave would also reappear for this series, reprising his role as the Fun Song Factory foreman, alongside some new characters. This show was nominated for a BAFTA in 1998.
CITV series (2004)
In 2004, CITV commissioned an updated version of the show featuring an all-new cast. The cast members in this version all had acting names rather than using their real names. The cast for this new version was Aston Merrygold as Cookie, Laura Hamilton as Melody, Chris Till as OJ, Kerry Newell as Cal, and Polly Parsons as Paige. They were joined by Ozzy Octave from the previous series (this time voiced by Justin Fletcher) and a puppet named Harry. The episodes were also shorter than in the 1998 version, as they lasted 10 minutes rather than 20.
Live Shows (1994-97)
1 Fun Song Factory (1 December 1994) - Presented by Iain Lauchlan, Sarah Davison and Dave Benson Phillips
2 Fun Song Factory 2 (5 January 1996) - Presented by Iain Lauchlan, Michelle Durler and Dave Benson Phillips
3 Party Time at the Fun Song Factory (26 July 1996) - Presented by Iain Lauchlan, Sarah Davison and Dave Benson Phillips
4 The Fun Song Factory at Old MacDonald's Farm (28 September 1996) - Presented by Iain Lauchlan, Sarah Davison and Dave Benson Phillips
5 Christmas at the Fun Song Factory (30 November 1996) - Presented by Iain Lauchlan, Sarah Davison and Dave Benson Phillips
6 Fun Song Factory - Fun and Games (24 September 1997) - Presented by Iain Lauchlan, Katy Stephens and Dave Benson Phillips
7 Fun Song Factory - Nursery Rhyme Land (5 November 1997) - Presented by Iain Lauchlan, Sarah Davison and Dave Benson Phillips
Fun Song Factory (1998 TV series) episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
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| 1 | "Birthdays" | Robin Carr | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | May 30, 1998 | |
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Ozzy helps hold a birthday party for Fred. Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips, Katy Stephens & Justin Fletcher |
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| 2 | "Sounds" | Robin Carr | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | June 6, 1998 | |
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Hooter is making all sorts of random sounds. Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips, Alex Lovell & Justin Fletcher |
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| 3 | "Big and Small" | Will Brenton | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | June 13, 1998 | |
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The children make large and small friends with each other with help from Ozzy. Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips & Katy Stephens |
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| 4 | "Farm Animals" | Will Brenton | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | June 20, 1998 | |
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Old MacDonald visits the factory. Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips, Alex Lovell & Nick Mercer |
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| 5 | "Numbers" | Robin Carr | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | June 27, 1998 | |
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The children and the presenters sing all sorts of counting songs. Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips, Justin Fletcher & Alex Lovell |
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| 6 | "Please and Thank You" | Will Brenton | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | July 4, 1998 | |
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Everybody is being polite and caring on Good Manners Day. Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips & Justin Fletcher Children: Isabella Cheevers, Jamie Meyer, Mikayla Jones, Amber Charles & Francesca Baldwin |
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| 7 | "Picnic Time" | Will Brenton | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | July 11, 1998 | |
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Will the weather dampen Ozzy's surprise for the children? Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips & Katy Stephens |
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| 8 | "Helping" | Will Brenton | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | July 18, 1998 | |
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Ozzy is extra busy today, so he asks everybody to help him out at the Factory. Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips, Katy Stephens & Karl Woolley |
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| 9 | "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" | Will Brenton | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | July 25, 1998 | |
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The crew show off what our bodies can do. Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips, Katy Stephens & Justin Fletcher |
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| 10 | "Colours" | Will Brenton | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | August 1, 1998 | |
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Ozzy and the crew show off the wonderful colours of the rainbow. Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips, Katy Stephens & Justin Fletcher |
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| 11 | "Collywobbles" | Will Brenton | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | August 8, 1998 | |
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Strange sounds are coming through the factory and Dave wonders if it's the "Collywobbles" to blame... Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips & Karl Woolley |
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| 12 | "Hide and Seek" | Will Brenton | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | August 15, 1998 | |
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Everyone is playing Hide and Seek, and there are quite a few surprises in store! Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips, Katy Stephens & Karl Woolley |
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| 13 | "Making Friends" | Will Brenton | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | August 22, 1998 | |
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Everybody shows ways on how to become a good friend. Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips, Katy Stephens & Justin Fletcher |
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| 14 | "Senses" | Will Brenton | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | August 29, 1998 | |
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The crew shows different ways on how to use their senses. Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips, Katy Stephens & Karl Woolley |
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| 15 | "Music" | Robin Carr | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | September 5, 1998 | |
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As usual, the crew show off the different kinds of music that can be played in the factory. Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips, Katy Stephens & Justin Fletcher |
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| 16 | "Creepy Crawlies" | Robin Carr | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | September 12, 1998 | |
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Creepy Crawlies are all throughout the factory today! Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips & Alex Lovell |
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| 17 | "Wild Animals" | Robin Carr | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | September 19, 1998 | |
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Professor Plimsoll and Arnold the Orangutan visit the factory, and it goes a bit wild with them! Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips, Katy Stephens & Justin Fletcher |
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| 18 | "Times of the Day" | Robin Carr | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | September 26, 1998 | |
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The crew learn how to tell the time. Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips, Alex Lovell & Justin Fletcher |
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| 19 | "Transport" | Will Brenton | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | October 3, 1998 | |
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Everybody travels through various modes of transport. Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips & Alex Lovell |
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| 20 | "Water" | Robin Carr | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | October 10, 1998 | |
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Ozzy shows the crew how amazing water can be. Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips & Alex Lovell |
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| 21 | "Seasons" | Will Brenton | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | October 17, 1998 | |
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The crew learn about the four seasons in a year. Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips, Justin Fletcher & Katy Stephens |
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| 22 | "Letters and Words" | Robin Carr | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | October 24, 1998 | |
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The crew learn about the letters of the alphabet. Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips & Katy Stephens |
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| 23 | "People Who Help" | Robin Carr | Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton | October 31, 1998 | |
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The kinds of humans who help us visit the factory. Presenters: Dave Benson Phillips, Alex Lovell & Karl Woolley |
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