Nigel Clarke finds out about the life and work of children's writer, TV presenter and politician Baroness Floella Benjamin.
The video
Hi, I'm Nigel, television presenter and actor. As you can see, I'm black. But what you can't see is that I was born and grew up in the United Kingdom. My mum, dad, aunties and uncles moved here from Guyana many years ago.
Did you know that there are over two million black people living in the UK just like me? Many of us moved here years ago, and we've all worked really hard to shape British history and we've really made a difference.
This is the story of just one of them - the brilliant Baroness Floella Benjamin.
Floella has done so many jobs in her life. She's an actress, singer, businesswoman, politician, TV presenter and writer of children's books. Wow!
Floella was born in 1949 on one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean called Trinidad.
In 1960, at the age of 10, Floella moved here to the United Kingdom. She says she did not feel welcome in the UK and that she found it really hard to fit in.
Floella's dad was a musician who played the saxophone in a jazz band and when Floella was a teenager she started singing in the band, which she loved.
Floella says her mother was also very special to her and always told Floella that trying hard at school was very important.
When Floella left school she went to work in a bank, but what she really wanted to do was show business - acting and singing in front of an audience, either on TV or in a theatre. Floella went on to appear in many different shows, and when she was 27 years old Floella became one of the presenters of a children's TV show called Play School. It's one of the most popular children's TV programmes ever!
Floella was the first person in this country to appear on TV with beads in her hair, but Floella didn't just appear in children's TV shows, she started making them as well - which means that as well as being on the TV herself, it became her job to help other people also appear on TV.
In 1995 Floella wrote a book all about herself called Coming to England. It describes her journey as a child from Trinidad in the Caribbean all the way to England in the UK. It's a story about what it's like to arrive somewhere new and feel very different from everyone else.
In all the different jobs that Floella has done - on the TV and writing books for children - she has always shown us the lives of lots of different people, and she has encouraged others to do the same. For example, she wants the writers of children's books to make sure their stories show characters from many different backgrounds. And Floella has worked hard to make sure that people from all different backgrounds are able to have jobs on the TV.
Floella has received so many different awards! She has an award called an OBE to say thank you for her work in television. She's been to Buckingham Palace to receive an award for all her work helping different charities. And she even has an award from a university saying thank you for everything she's done to make life better for people living in the UK.
Floella's life has been truly inspiring. Ever since she arrived in England as a young girl she's been bringing us all together, and helping people from different backgrounds understand each other. Her achievements are truly something to shout about. Floella - we love you!
(Recap) Floella Benjamin came to the UK from Trinidad in the Caribbean at age 10. When she finished school she worked in a bank before becoming a singer, dancer, and then one of the most recognisable faces on television. She's won lots of awards and inspired a whole generation. In fact, if it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't be doing the job I'm doing now. So thanks Floella!
Teacher Notes
Baroness Floella Benjamin is an actress, author, businesswoman, politician, writer of children’s books, TV presenter and singer. She was born in Trinidad but moved to the United Kingdom when she was 10 years old. She has talked about the racism that she experienced while growing up in the UK and how she found it hard to fit in. She is well-known as a presenter of children's TV programmes, such as Play School, Play Away and Fast Forward.
Floella Benjamin has spoken about the need for children's story books to include characters from different backgrounds. It would be useful to share a copy of her story Coming to England if you have one available.
On 28 June 2010 Baroness Benjamin was introduced to the House of Lords.
Before watching the video
You could prepare for the video by asking some of the following:
- Which books or stories that you've read in school or at home do you most like?
- Who is the main character in the story? How would you describe them? Why do you like that character?
- Would you say that the character is like you…or different?
- What is the job of a presenter on TV? What do they do?
After watching the video
Consolidate children's recall and understanding of Floella's story by asking:
- Where was Floella born? (Trinidad)
- How old was Floella when she came to the UK? (10)
- Floella wrote a book called Coming to England. What was the book about? (Floella's journey to England and her experiences after she arrived)
- As well as being a writer, can you remember any of the other jobs Floella has had? (Singer, actor, TV presenter and TV producer, writer of children's books, businesswoman, politician)
- Can you remember any of the awards Floella has been given? (An award called an OBE - in 2001, for services to broadcasting; a DBE, awarded at Buckingham Palace in 2020; she has also been Chancellor of the University of Exeter)
Activities
Discussion. Floella has written about how she did not feel welcome when she arrived in the UK and how she did not feel like she fitted in. Discuss with the children how they think Floella must have felt. Discuss how your school community seeks to welcome a new child. (You might refer to the school's stated values or ethos.) What do you think may have changed in Floella's life to make her feel welcome?
Discussion. Talk about the many different jobs that Floella has done: actress, author, businesswoman, politician, writer of children’s books, presenter and singer. Which of those jobs do the children think they would like to do - and why? What sort of person is able to do lots of different jobs?
Discussion. What is the role of a 'politician'? Why is the work of politicians important? What sort of people do you think politicians should be? Is it important that politicians should be all sorts of different people?
Further resources
Teacher's Notes (pdf) document
Download / print the Teacher Notes to accompany the videos
Map showing Floella's journey from Trinidad. map
Image from the video - click to display image full size
Floella Benjamin - portrait. image
Image from the video - click to display image full size
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