The Appleyards facts for kids
The Appleyards was a British television show made for children. It was like a soap opera, which means it told a continuing story about a family. The BBC Television channel showed it every two weeks from October 1952 to April 1957. The show was made at the BBC's Lime Grove Studios. Naomi Capon was the person who produced and directed the show.
Contents
About The Appleyards TV Show
The show was broadcast live on Thursday afternoons. It ran from 4:30 PM to 5:00 PM. There was also a repeat showing on Sunday. This Sunday show was not a recording. Instead, the actors performed the show live again!
Meet The Appleyard Family
The story was about the Appleyard family. They lived in the Home Counties area of England. The family included Mr. and Mrs. Appleyard. They had three children: John, Margaret, and Tommy. Their neighbor and good friend, Ronnie Grant, often joined them in their adventures.
Why The Show Ended
The very last episode showed Mrs. Appleyard and Tommy. They were sitting on a porter's trolley at a train station. Mrs. Appleyard announced that the series was ending. She said this was because most of the family were now grown up.
The show was very popular with both adults and children. Kids especially loved it. They felt like the Appleyard family was just like their own.
Music and Reunion
The show had a catchy theme song. It was light and fun. The song was called "Looking Around" by Colin Smith. His real name was Rhys Donald Lloyd Thomas. The conductor Robert Farnon recorded the music.
A special reunion show aired at Christmas in 1960. It was called "Christmas with the Appleyards."
Lost Episodes of The Appleyards
In 1952, the first year of the show, episodes were live. They were never recorded. This means no episodes from that year exist today. From 1953, episodes were recorded using a method called Telerecording. However, the BBC later deleted most of these recordings.
As of 2017, only one episode of the 68 made still exists. It is called "Family Treat." This episode first aired on December 29, 1956. You can find it on YouTube.
