You and Me is a BBC television programme for pre-school children broadcast in the 1970s to 1990s. The programmes consisted of various segments intended to educate and entertain young children and included elements for early literacy and numeracy.

Background [link]

The series was influenced by the American series Sesame Street and the research done by The Children's Television Workshop. It also took guidance from the analysis of children's needs in The Warnock Report, 1978^[1]. It aimed therefore, in the jargon of the time, to be very much a "child-centred series" with an emphasis on a child's independence, enjoyment, and understanding. Emotional and social education were held to be as important as more traditional school skills. Relationships with the presenters, who were surrogate parents and carers, were seen as central. There was an assumption that most children watching would be in the company of an adult. The first programme, called "Moving house", was broadcast at 10:45 am 14 January 1974 on BBC1,

Format [link]

The series' original intention was to teach children safety, reading and basic health and fitness. The show featured a mixture of human actors and puppets. Originally it featured two puppets called Alice (a hamster) and Crow, but they were replaced by a puppet dragon called Duncan in 1979, who was in turn replaced in 1983^[2] The two new puppets, a pair of friends of an uncategorisable animal species, Cosmo, a female, from the North East of England, and Dibs, male, a Londoner, who lived in a street market.

The scripts aimed to inform, educate and entertain and see the world from a child’s point of view. Explicitly the aim was not to patronise. A successful group of sketches dealing with ‘Safety’ included the subject of child abuse, unusual in a series for this age group. It was welcomed by the charity, Kidscape, and featured on the national news. Songs and stories were always included, with an emphasis on cultural diversity – You and Me was one of the few programmes at the time to do this. Short documentary films covered a wealth of subjects from farming to the Notting Hill Carnival.

Crow and Alice and Duncan the Dragon era [link]

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Cosmo and Dibs era [link]

The set, based on a street market in London’s Shepherd's Bush, each programme featured a four-minute sketch with Cosmo and Dibs on an area of child interest: sharing, eating, arguing, bullying, sleeping, bereavement, dressing up, being silly, having a row, make-believe, making poetry – there were no limits, as long as the sketch was considered relevant and useful to the target audience.

Through their experiences in short dramas, viewers were invited to share the lives of contemporary 4-5 year olds; whenever possible, the two puppets would be left without adult intervention to make their discoveries and act out every human emotion - anger, love, jealousy, greed, and fear, amongst others. For the last two series, the street market disappeared and was replaced by a less adventurous, more adult-controlled domestic setting, and two additional characters (Baxter and Spike) were added. Simon Buckley and Richard Coombs puppeteered and voiced the newcomers.

Production team [link]

The first producer in the format with Cosmo and Dibs was Richard Callanan who remained with the show for three series, leaving to join schools' television at Thames TV. His place was taken by Nicci Crowther, who later developed a career as an independent producer and film maker, until her early death in 2008. Sue Aron, Adrian Mills, Diane Morgan, Pat Farrington, Julie Callanan and Cas Lester were among the regular producers and directors. Jill Wilson, Noreen Hunter and Hilary Hardaker were the regular production assistants. Robert Checksfield was the studio Floor Manager who most frequently worked on the show. Assistant Floor Managers included Wendy Pedley, Garry Boon, Simone Dawson, Terry Pettigrew, Sally Bates, Christine Crow and Donna Rolfe.

The first series of twenty programmes was begun at the BBC’s Lime Grove Studios, part of which overlooked Shepherd's Bush Market. It was completed at BBC Television Centre in Wood Lane, which became the show’s regular home for all but the last series. Additional puppet characters joined Cosmo and Dibs for the final two seasons, and the street market disappeared in favour of a brightly-coloured domestic setting. in 1992, an independent production company, SFTV, took over and the final series of You and Me was produced by Sheila Fraser.

Presenters [link]

The presenters who appeared were cast from a diverse range of age-groups and social and ethnic backgrounds;

• Annette Badland
• Michael Balfour
• Jeni Barnett
• Charubala Chokshi
• Isabelle Lucas
• Clive Mason also joined the cast for programmes relevant to the deaf community.
• Harry Towb
• Frances Kay (Puppeteer and voice of Cosmo)
• Michael Snelders
• Maggie Ollerenshaw
• Bharti Patel
• Francis Wright (Puppeteer and voice of Dibs)
• Larrington Walker
• Gary Wilmot

Puppet characters [link]

• Crow and Alice
• Duncan the Dragon and Herbert the Handyman,
• Mr Bits-and-Pieces
• Cosmo and Dibs from 1981 to 1992.

Cosmo and Dibs were played by Frances Kay and Francis Wright who puppeteered and voiced the characters throughout the series. The puppets were made by Muppet-maker and performer Tim Rose, and the scripts were written by members of the production team and cast.

Henry the Kangaroo [link]

From 1981 until 1995 the show also included a regular item featuring Henry the Kangaroo, an animated cartoon incorporating live action. The item introduced 'social sight words' such as STOP and EXIT. Henry would say each time: 'I'm looking for the words in my book again...' His farewell line was: "Toodle-oo from the kangaroo, toodle-oo from me to you". Henry was voiced by Nigel Lambert.

Theme tune [link]

The Theme was written by Charley Dore, Julian Littman and Karl Johnson, and was originally an acoustic version. In 1983 it was replaced with a reggae version performed by UB40 which lasted until the series finished In 1995:

You and me, me and you,

Lots and lots for you to do,

Lots and lots for you to see,

Me and you, you and me …

The lyrics were referenced in the Oasis song "She's Electric", "Cos I'll be you and you'll be me, there's lots and lots for us to see, lots and lots for us to do".

References [link]

External links [link]

• You and Me at the Internet Movie Database