As one half of comedy duo Trev and Simon, I have been writing and performing for children’s TV for almost twenty years. As a child in the sixties and early seventies I was lucky enough to have watched a wealth of quality children’s television programmes. Since the late nineteen eighties I have helped create an even wider choice of programming for a new generation of young viewers.
It’s not just for selfish reasons that I want to save kids TV. Admittedly, I have benefited hugely from the existence of children’s television and want that to continue but now that I have my own children, I am even more aware of the need for quality programmes which they can call their own.
We belong to a free consumerist society. There are many benefits and choices that this society has to offer. There are also many pitfalls. Giving our children the freedom to make independent choices and access the widest range of experiences is a privilege of the modern age. Television has played a huge part in broadening the education and experience of our children and we have all in some way accepted or encouraged this social development.
Such is the influence of television that I believe we have a responsibility to guarantee that what is on offer to young viewers, remains of a very high quality. To allow television to be controlled by corporate sponsorship, marketing, product placement and increased consumerism is a betrayal of the trust we owe to the children of this country. We will only reap what we sow and despite sounding a bit like Whitney Houston, they are our future.
To allow quality children’s television to disappear altogether would be an equally stupid mistake. The huge influence of television or any of its future incarnations throughout the digital age is almost certainly set to continue. To expose children to a wave of adult orientated entertainment with nothing produced directly for their needs, will only continue the trend of shortening their childhood. Children grow up quick enough. Let’s not speed the process up or restrict the incredible potential of being young.
Trevor Neal is a writer and performer and one half of the comedy duo Trevor and Simon - commonly regarded as Saturday Morning TV Legends. They work together and individually and recent writing credits include My Parents are Aliens, Ministry of Mayhem, Pop School, Doodle Do, Stupid, It Started with Swapshop and working for Talkback Thames in Entertainment Development.
