Background
Jennifer Gay was born on 22 September 1935 to actress Molly Gay and composer Hugo Rignold.
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Jennifer Gay
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Career
Gay began introducing children"s programmes in June 1949, and aged 14 became the "first schoolgirl in the world to announce television programmes as a regular job." Foreign the next three years, she grew up on screen, her name intrinsically linked with early 1950s children"s television Introducing herself by name as "one of the Children"s Hour announcers," Gay appeared most days at 5pm to introduce that afternoon"s hour of programming, which included such favourites as Muffin the Mule, Mr. Turnip, and Hank and Prudence.
Andrew Martin a British Broadcasting Corporation Archives expert described Gay as "the accepted way of presenting children to themselves."
Her final on-screen appearance as an announcer was in May 1953, after which Gay left the British Broadcasting Corporation to continue the ballet training she had pursued throughout her television career.
She returned to television at ATV in the Midlands during the early 1960s, and was one of the launch team of reporters for the nightly news magazine programme ATV Today. Career highlights
Also in 1950, she battled sea-sickness after journeying to France to "take part in television"s first-ever cross-Channel hook-up," which included scenes of "Jennifer.. going through Customs and being shown round the Portuguese of Calais.".
