Fred Harris (born 7 May 1947) is a British comedian[1] and children's television presenter. Formerly a schoolteacher, he began his television career as a presenter of the BBC children's programme Play School, on which he appeared regularly between 1973 and 1988. During this time he was also a presenter on Ragtime and Chock-A-Block.[2][3]
Fred Harris | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 7 May 1947  |
| Occupation | Television presenter, comedian |
| Works | Play School |
During the rise of the microcomputer in the early 1980s he fronted several home computing BBC programmes, including Micro Live (which formed part of BBC's ongoing Computer Literacy Project).[4] He also presented a number of educational and schools programmes on the subject of maths, including ATV's Figure it Out (memorable for having a set which included a giant pocket calculator), Central Television's Basic Maths and Channel 4's Make It Count. In 1980, Harris appeared as a contestant on the first episode of The Adventure Game.
His career in comedy involved regular appearances in radio shows such as Huddwinks, The Half-Open University, The Burkiss Way and Star Terk II and in the television show End of Part One.
In the 1990s, he presented the Radio 4 programme The Litmus Test.[5]
From the late 1990s until circa 2009, he worked on the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) children's programme Room 785.[6] On this show he presented the "Broom Cupboard" slot introducing the forthcoming programmes.
He is the father of playwright Ed Harris.
References
edit- ^ Guide, British Comedy. "Fred Harris". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ^ Ragtime at IMDb
- ^ Chockablock at IMDb
- ^ "BBC Computer Literacy Project Archive". Computer-literacy-project.pilots.bbcconnectedstudio.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ The Litmus Test, BBC listing, 6 May 1993
- ^ Room 785: Meet the Gang, BFBS (via archive.org, archived 6 January 2009)
External links
edit- Fred Harris at IMDb
- A Chat with Fred Harris, Curious British Telly. 15 June 2020.
- Fred Harris, The TV Room. 8 May 2022, incorporating 2009 interview.
- Fred Harris in conversation with David Allen, BBC Pensioners' Association 100 Voices Project, via YouTube. 18 December 2023.
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