Chock-A-Block
BBC Preschool Rhymes at a Giant Yellow Machine
Forgotten TV & Film · 1981
Archived on
Region
United Kingdom
Associated With
BBC - broadcaster; Michael Cole - producer; Nick Wilson - director
Defining Feature
A tactile picture-block machine combining rhymes, songs, poems and short visual material
Status
Preserved - repeats documented through 1986; title sequence archived
Overview
Chock-A-Block used a giant yellow machine and picture blocks to bring words and rhymes to BBC preschool viewers.
First scheduled in 1981 as part of See-Saw, the series put Fred Harris and Carol Leader beside physical controls, screens and blocks. Pictures led into rhyming words, songs, poems and short visual sequences, with the miniature Chockatruck adding to the workshop-like setting.
The first listing introduced seven programmes with Fred Harris. Later listings confirm Carol Leader’s appearances and repeats into 1986; the title sequence is preserved in Ravensbourne’s BBC Motion Graphics Archive.
Why It Mattered
The machine made a sequence of words and pictures feel physical. A presenter could choose a block, operate a control and respond to what appeared, turning learning into a visible activity rather than an abstract computer process.
That gives the programme a distinctive place in early-1980s television imagery. It borrowed the appeal of a large, approachable machine for preschool play; it was not a programming lesson or part of the BBC Computer Literacy Project.
Format and First Edition
- Scheduled on BBC One London at 13:45 on 21/05/1981, in the See-Saw strand.
- The first listing says the blocks held pictures for rhyming words.
- The contemporary listing described the broadcast as the first of seven programmes with Fred Harris; this is not a complete-series episode count.
People and Repeat Evidence
- Michael Cole was credited as producer, Nick Wilson as director and Cynthia Felgate as executive producer on the first documented edition.
- A 05/09/1983 repeat, “Shoe”, confirms Carol Leader appeared in the series.
- A BBC listing confirms a further repeat on 01/04/1986. It establishes that repeats continued at least that far, not that this was the final transmission.
Surviving Record and Boundaries
- Ravensbourne’s BBC Motion Graphics Archive preserves the title sequence.
- Retrospective sources corroborate the giant yellow computer set, the attendants and the miniature Chockatruck.
Sources & Records
- Chock-A-Block — BBC debut listing, 21 May 1981 — Records the 13:45 See-Saw slot, Fred Harris, rhyming picture blocks and production credits.
- Chock-A-Block: Shoe — BBC listing, 5 September 1983 — Lists Carol Leader’s Shoe episode at 13:30 and its rhyming-picture format.
- Ravensbourne — Chock-A-Block opening titles, 1981 — Preserves the title sequence and describes the See-Saw programme’s words, rhymes, poems and songs.
- Chock-A-Block — transmission history — A specialist compilation records the BBC One repeat run ending on 1 April 1986; its episode order is uncertain.
Gallery
Credit
The Anorak Zone
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
The little Chockatruck made arriving at a giant machine feel like part of the fun. Chock-A-Block turned a studio of controls and picture blocks into a preschool workshop.
Credit
Ravensbourne University London
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
The title sequence gave the programme its own electronic-looking wordplay. Inside the show, words and pictures became things the presenters could choose and handle.
Credit
The Anorak Zone
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
Fred Harris worked beside a machine built for visible actions: choosing blocks and operating controls led into rhymes, songs and pictures.
Credit
IMDb
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
Carol Leader shared the same playful machinery. The physical blocks and controls made each new word or picture feel like something the presenter had set in motion.