"Molly" Cox born Marie-Thérèse Henriette Cunningham became Marie-Thérèse Henriette Cox (19 October 1925 – 3 November 1991) was a British television producer for BBC children TV. Her successes include '' Play School'', ''

Zokko! ''Zokko!'' was a BBC television programme for children that ran for 26 episodes of 22 min duration between 1968 and 1970. It was devised by newcomer Paul Ciani and veteran children's TV producer Molly Cox and was ground-breaking in being the firs ...

'' and ''

Jackanory ''Jackanory'' was a BBC children's television series which was originally broadcast between 1965 and 1996. It was designed to stimulate an interest in Reading (activity), reading. The programme was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, and the ...

''.

Life

Cox was born in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

in 1925. Her parents, Aileen Turner and Arthur Joseph Cunningham, were living in Turkey. They moved to Alexandria when their father left his job at Lloyds and became the editor of the ''

Egyptian Gazette ''The Egyptian Gazette'', first published on 26 January 1880, is the oldest English-language newspaper in the Middle East. Today, the Egyptian daily is part of El Tahrir Printing and Publishing House. Eyad Abu El Haggag is chairman of the Gazett ...

''. She joined the BBC in 1942 and trained to be a sound engineer on a course that was otherwise taken entirely by male employees. She creating the sound effects for the radio serial ''

Dick Barton ''Dick Barton – Special Agent'' is a radio thriller serial that was broadcast in the BBC Light Programme between 7 October 1946 and 30 March 1951. Produced and directed by Raymond Raikes, Neil Tuson, and Charles Lefaux, it was aired in 15- ...

''. She married and left the BBC as she became the mother of two sons. She returned in 1962 after her husband, Charles Terence "Terry" Cox, died. After a spell on radio, she joined the ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC ...

'' team. She worked for

Joy Whitby Joy Whitby (born 27 July 1930) is an English television executive, television, and radio producer who specialises in children's programmes and animated films. Early life Whitby read History at St Anne's College, Oxford, and, after graduating, ...

and they developed the children's TV series '' Play School'' which was the first programme shown on the new channel

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

. She was involved in the creation of ''

'' with

Anna Home Anna Margaret Home ( ; born 13 January 1938) is an English television producer and executive who worked for most of her career at the BBC. Early career After graduating from Oxford University, where she read Modern History at St Anne's Colle ...

. where actors would read a story supported by pictures. The simple format required the best graphics, the best stories and the best readers. The programme began its run in 1965. "At first people were unwilling to participate in this unknown programme", Anna Home recalled in 1997. "But when actors realised it was the opportunity to have 15 minutes' solo experience on television, they began to queue up to get on it, and having done a ''Jackanory'' became a bit like having done your ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...

''." Cox and

Paul Ciani Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo P ...

created a new TV programme name ''

''. It is regarded as the first children's "television comic".''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 7 November 1991, p.35 It ran on Saturday mornings for 26 episodes between 1968 and 1970. In 1975 she co-wrote book 'Fabulous Animals' with

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature d ...

based on crypto-zoology TV series of same name which she had produced. She was a strong supporter of BBC children's programmes and she objected strongly to the BBC buying the rights to the US produced ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

''. The programme had many admirers but Cox knew that important programmes such as ''Play School'' would need to be sacrificed if the BBC was to pay the large fee to license the programme for broadcast in the UK. Cox died in the

Royal Brompton Hospital Royal Brompton Hospital is the largest specialist heart and lung medical centre in the United Kingdom. It is managed by Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. History Consumption in the 19th century In the 19th century, consumption was a co ...

at the age of 66.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Molly 1925 births 1991 deaths British expatriates in Egypt British women television producers British television producers British expatriates in Turkey