The 'Save Rainbow Campaign' of 1993
What do we want? Rainbow back on our screens!
6th March 1992 is one of the most infamous days in the history of British children’s television, it’s the day that the final episode of Rainbow aired. After 20 iconic years of entertaining preschoolers, students, parents and the unemployed, it was time to wave goodbye to Geoffrey, Bungle, Zippy, George, Rod, Jane and Freddy. But a future Conservative MP wasn’t going to let it go without a fight.
Following the loss of their ITV franchise, Thames Television cancelled any future plans for Rainbow. Only This is Your Life and The Bill would continue as part of the Thames stable. And new franchise holders, Carlton, seemingly had no interest in taking over the series. Rainbow was dead.
Having run for over two decades, however, it was inevitable there would be some form of uproar. And Jackie Doyle-Price, who has been Thurrock’s choice of MP since 2010, would spearhead this campaign. Meanwhile, over at Heythrop College in London, the students had recently renamed the common rooms Bungle, Zippy and George, and were keen to provide support.
Talking to Felix, a student newspaper for the Imperial College, John Shuttleworth of Heythrop explained his motivation for saving a classic programme:
“Yeah, it's classic...also the way Rainbow ended just pointed to the fact that people don't care about children's programmes in this country. You know all the heavy papers have loads of stuff about current affairs and news and stuff but nobody cares about children's telly. There's a danger of any quality that's left in children's television diminishing as ITV becomes more commercialised.”
Meanwhile, Jackie Doyle-Price had travelled down to Bristol, with members of the Save Rainbow Campaign, to watch the now ex-Rainbow stars perform in a pantomime of Jack and the Beanstalk at the Bristol Hippodrome, which was billed as their last public appearance. The aim was to raise awareness around the Save Rainbow Campaign, and it appeared to be gaining momentum. Well, Bobby Davro and Chris Tarrant had given it their seal of approval.
Geoffrey Hayes, still smarting from removal of Rainbow from the airwaves, was fully onboard with the campaign. Speaking in early 1993, he said:
“I am very angry at the way the show was just dismissed from the screens. We have had hundreds of letters from people saddened by the television decision. I don’t think that the organisers of television realise just how big Rainbow really is.
In my opinion, Rainbow can still have a huge future. I firmly believe that there is still a place for it on television and I shall be helping as much as possible with the Save Rainbow Campaign so that the millions of viewers who are already missing the show will not be forced to go without it for long".”
Further support came from Lesley Ball, office clerk at the Bristol Hippodrome, who secured 1,000 signatures on a petition in support of restoring Rainbow to the schedules. Buoyed by the groundswell of goodwill towards the campaign, John Shuttleworth decided to take things a step further: a rave record. Yes, teaming up the stars of Rainbow with the band Eurobop resulted in Raynboe, all glowsticks and gurning faces shot through with a hint of nostalgic glee.
The Save Rainbow Campaign went quiet shortly after the release of Raynboe, but fans of the programmed continued writing into ITV in their thousands. And, in November 1993, Dawn Airey, head of children’s programming at ITV, announced:
“I’m delighted to see Rainbow return. We were very much aware of the viewers’ disappointment when the series was dropped. I’m sure its many fans will be as thrilled as I am to see their favourite characters back on the screen.”
The new series would be produced by HTV, in conjunction with the Thames spin-off company Tetra Films. However, there was one major problem: Geoffrey would not be part of it. It was a ridiculous proposition, Geoffrey had been an integral part of the series for almost all of its 20-year run. Quite what the HTV executives were thinking is unfathomable. But, standing by their decision, they said:
“Geoffrey had been with the series for quite a while. To bring it back it needed a new look. We hope the new puppet Cleo will more than compensate for the loss of Geoffrey.”
It was also revealed that HTV were unable to afford to bring Roy Skelton, the voice of Zippy and George, over to their version of Rainbow. It felt like the heart and soul had been ripped out of the programme. Geoffrey certainly wasn’t happy as he explained after the decisions had been made:
“I don’t really know what to say. I have a very deep feeling about Rainbow and I was a bit shell-shocked when it was taken off the screens. Then I heard that there was the possibility of it coming back and now at this moment in time it seems that none of us will be involved so that’s another kick in the teeth. I feel as if I have had a bereavement.
If it was just me who was missing I would still be very enthusiastic and be the first to wish the others every success but I feel a bit numb. I hope that Rainbow is a success of course but it doesn’t seem the same somehow. I just don’t know what to make of it all.”
So, the Save Rainbow Campaign had been effective. But the show which returned to ITV in 1994 was a pale imitation of what had come before. Aside from the absences of Geoffrey and Roy Skelton, Bungle had been given a facelift to appear more cutesy. The reboot, although running for two series, and then relaunching as Rainbow Days in 1996, failed to strike a chord with viewers. And, again, Rainbow was dead.
Quite what Jackie Doyle-Price made of it all is unknown. Curiously, she’s failed to mention it during her parliamentary career, and with a general election on the horizon, she no doubt has bigger fish to fry at present.
But her involvement in starting the Save Rainbow Campaign is indicative of the power of children’s television. Representing our earliest years, we want to protect these hallowed viewing experiences, allow future generations to enjoy them and, of course, stare in wonder at the silly antics of Bungle.