Fun Song Factory

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Fun Song Factory
Logo for the 2004 series
Genre	Children's Pre-School
Created by	Will Brenton & Iain Lauchlan
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	82 (7 live)
Production
Producer	Tell-Tale Productions
Running time	20 mins (GMTV Series) 10 mins (CITV Series)
Production companies	Tell-Tale Productions Abbey Broadcast Communications (Original DTV Videos and 1998 TV series) Entertainment Rights PLC (2004 series)
Release
Original network	ITV Network ITV2 (CITV/GMTV)
Original release	1998 (1998) – 2006 (2006)

Fun Song Factory is a British preschool children's television series. It was originally created in 1994 by Will Brenton and , who at the time, were part of the Playdays production team. The series was produced through their studio Tell-Tale Productions, and was originally released as a Direct-to-video series through Abbey Home Entertainment (and later PolyGram Video)'s "Tempo-Pre-School" imprint.

Format[]

The series centers around a factory where music is created. In it, live presenters alongside children come inside and sing a number of nursery rhymes, which depend on per episode.

Original production[]

The first production was a show made exclusively for release on VHS, filmed at the Polka Theatre in Wimbledon, presented by Iain Lauchlan, and Dave Benson Phillips.

The video was a commercial success and led to a second being filmed at Chicken Shed in North London, this time presented by Iain, Dave, and . Following the success of the second tape, another five were produced, which began a transition more to the later-produced television series format. With this, a fully-costumed character named Ozzy Octave would be introduced, who would be the foreman of the Fun Song Factory.

GMTV Series (1998)[]

After the original 7 videos sold a combined total of 750,000 copies in the UK, A full TV series of 23 episodes was commissioned by GMTV in 1998. For the TV series Dave Benson Phillips became the main presenter and appeared in every episode. The other presenters who appeared in this series rotated from Katy Stephens (Returning from the Fun and Games DTV feature), Alex Lovell (Her first television role), Justin Fletcher (Also his first television role), and . Ozzy Octave would also reappear for this series, reprising his role as the Fun Song Factory foreman, alongside some new characters. This show was nominated for a BAFTA in 1998.

CITV series (2004)[]

In 2004, CITV commissioned an updated version of the show featuring an all-new cast. The cast members in this version was Laura Hamilton as Melody, as OJ, Aston Merrygold as Cookie, Polly Parsons as Paige, and as Cal. They were joined by Ozzy Octave from the previous series (this time voiced by Justin Fletcher) and a puppet named Harry. The episodes were also shorter than in the 1998 version, as they lasted 10 minutes rather than 20.

Live Shows (1994-97)[]

1. Fun Song Factory (1 December 1994) - Presented by Iain Lauchlan, Sarah Davison and Dave Benson Phillips
2. Fun Song Factory 2 (5 January 1996) - Presented by Iain Lauchlan, Michele Durler and Dave Benson Phillips
3. Party Time at the Fun Song Factory (26 July 1996) - Presented by Iain Lauchlan, Sarah Davison and Dave Benson Phillips
4. The Fun Song Factory at Old MacDonald's Farm (28 September 1996) - Presented by Iain Lauchlan, Sarah Davison and Dave Benson Phillips
5. Christmas at the Fun Song Factory (30 November 1996) - Presented by Iain Lauchlan, Sarah Davison and Dave Benson Phillips
6. Fun Song Factory - Fun and Games (24 September 1997) - Presented by Iain Lauchlan, Katy Stephens and Dave Benson Phillips
7. Fun Song Factory - Nursery Rhyme Land (5 November 1997) - Presented by Iain Lauchlan, Sarah Davison and Dave Benson Phillips

Fun Song Factory (GMTV series) episodes[]

References[]