Kiddy-Vision, Once Daily

But Jennifer Gay has grown up and must bid it adieu

The first schoolgirl in the world to announce TV programmes as a regular job, Jennifer Gay first faced those frightening cameras when she was fourteen.

At seventeen, now, she must leave them. For she has grown-up - and not the least intriguing part of adult viewers' enjoyment has been in watching her do it.

But for countless children, Jennifer Gay opened up the wonderland of TV when TV was new to most. Her name will be on the lips of those children when they bore their children with memories of what TV was like before the kids blasély accepted it as commonplace.

The career now before her, she hopes, will be the entrancing yet hard one of ballet dancer. For this she has trained with determination throughout her TV career.

With her very fair complexion, light-brown hair and wise, grey-blue eyes she has occupied the children's TV studio with the same determination to do the job seriously. Her most frightening afternoon was when she had to partner Mrs. Atlee in the programme which opened the Lime Grove Studios. Her most apprehensive - avoiding a bout of sea-sickness when crossing to France to take part in TV's first-ever cross-Channel hook-up - which, we must not forget, was as long ago as 1950. In this Jennifer was shown going through the Customs and being shown round the port of Calais.

But - lucky girl - her memory must be stocked with TV pictures which no viewer ever saw. She takes her studio secrets with her - kissing Muffin and Mr. Turnip as she steps lightly through the door into the world beyond the modern looking-glass.

From 'The Television Annual for 1953' edited by Kenneth Baily

Jennifer was synonymous with my childhood viewing.
She always looked immaculate, spoke beautifully and wore a wide Alice band to hold her hair in place.

She presented television along with Muffin the Mule and Mr. Pastry

Carole Leigh
Aged 72