Whyton, Wally

Wallace Victor Whyton was born in London and established himself as a skiffle performer and composer during the mid-1950s.

In 1956, he founded the Vipers Skiffle Group, achieving commercial success with their recording of Don’t You Rock Me Daddy-O.

His debut broadcast appearance with the ensemble took place in 1957.

Following the group’s dissolution in 1960, Whyton transitioned to television presentation work, focusing primarily on children’s programming for ITV, which included:

• Musical Box (ITV, 1959 – 1966);
• Small Time (ITV, 1960 – 1965);
• Tuesday Rendezvous (ITV, 1962);
• The Three Scampis (ITV, 1962 – 1964);
• Five O’Clock Club (ITV, 1963 – 1964);
• Five O’Clock Funfair (ITV, 1965) with Ollie Beak and Fred Barker his puppet sidekicks;
• Zingalong (ITV, 1970);
• The Sooty Show (ITV, 1972 – 1974);
• Get It Together (ITV, 1980 – 1981).

Whyton became the twenty-fifth presenter on Play School, making his debut appearance on 24th October 1966 alongside Miranda Connell.

His subsequent appearances totalled just two: in November 1966 with Carole Ward, and in April 1968 with Julie Stevens.

Regrettably, no archive footage from the BBC has survived from his three-week tenure on the programme, with only a limited selection of photographs remaining.

Additional television appearances included:

• Team captain on Moon Clue Game (BBC One, 1968);
• Guest on Crackerjack (BBC One, 13th September 1968);
• Guest singer on Up Country (BBC Two, 1972);
• Guest singer on Up Country Special (BBC Two, 1972);
• Guest singer on Up Country Festival (BBC Two, 1973);
• Guest singer on George Hamilton IV and Other Folk (BBC Two, 1973);
• Play Away (BBC Two, 27th January 1973);
• Jackanory (BBC One, 1973 – 1974 and 1978).

In subsequent years, Whyton established himself as a fixture on BBC Radio 2’s weekday evening schedule, hosting Country Club from 1976 through 1996.

Conversation

Paul R. Jackson met Wally at BBC Broadcasting House in April 1990. Wally recalled how he became involved with Play School.

“I was invited to lunch with the executive producer, Joy Whitby.  She asked me to join the programme, which was slightly unusual.

“I got on very well with producer Cynthia Felgate, but due to touring, I was unable to work more than four weeks in two years.

“I disliked working on both Play School and Play Away, as I didn’t have the same freedom that I enjoyed working with Ollie Beak in the early days of ITV.

“I was also used to writing my own material and at the BBC presenters weren’t allowed to alter scripts.

“I auditioned as presenter on Blue Peter and was offered the job, but turned it down.”

Personal information

Clips of Wally on The TV Room

Wally may be featured in video/audio clips on our other websites. Click the links below to display a listing (a 404 error will appear if no clips are found):

Rewind | Clean Feed

Online presence

Acknowledgements