8.4 /10 1 Votes
Country of origin United Kingdom Running time 15 minutes First episode date 29 September 1981 Number of episodes 120 Networks ITV, CITV | 8.4/10 IMDb No. of episodes 120 Original network ITV Network (CITV) Final episode date 5 March 1991 Language English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Starring Rod Burton
Jane Tucker
Freddy Marks Original release 29 September 1981 – 5 March 1991 Genre Children's television series Similar Rainbow, The Sooty Show, It Takes a Worried Man, Button Moon, Sooty & Co | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rod, Jane and Freddy was the best known name for a singing trio who appeared in children's programming on the British TV channel ITV in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. They starred both in the long-running series Rainbow as well as their own 15-minute show, The Rod, Jane and Freddy Show. The trio have also made numerous guest appearances in several other children's TV shows including The Sooty Show.
Contents
The original trio consisted of Rod Burton, Jane Tucker and Matthew Corbett, when they were known as "Rod, Matt and Jane". Corbett left the trio in 1976 to continue hosting The Sooty Show after his father retired. Corbett was replaced by actor Roger Walker, whereupon the trio became known as "Rod, Jane and Roger". When Walker left in 1980 to continue his career in acting he was replaced by Freddy Marks, leading to the best remembered incarnation of the trio. During their 3 decades working on children's television they managed to write over 2500 songs on various topics using many different music styles, Most were comedic and fun but some had deeper meanings. Overall they have written and produced 10 albums and 24 videos, and conceived and performed numerous jingles for commercial radio, theme and title music for TV and songs for pantomimes.
Rod, Jane and Freddy
Due to their popularity on Rainbow, Rod, Jane and Freddy were approached by ITV in 1980 to make their own show, Rod, Jane and Freddy, which aired its first episode on 15 January 1981. Rod, Jane and Freddy appeared in both their own show and Rainbow until 1989, when they left their position as musicians on Rainbow to focus solely on their own series.
Their show often followed a certain format:
Episode list
The following is a list of Episodes. (Fremantle archive episode list use master tape titles where available, if unavailable they use the episode titles as they appeared in T.V Guides)
Many episodes from 1981-1982 are now believed no longer to exist due to the then British TV policy of wiping.
Touring
Rod, Jane and Freddy toured the UK until 1996, their stage show followed the same format and the 15-minute ITV show, filled with songs, dancing, mime and comedy. In 1996 they won a Gold Badge Award from The British Academy of Composers and Songwriters.
Videos
The trio released a number of videos in the late 80s and early 90s. These include:
Present day
Although the trio no longer regularly appear on television (apart from repeats of Rainbow from the early 1980s on the UK digital TV channel Nick Jr.), they remain a popular attraction in British children's theatre and in pantomime. The trio can also be spotted in Peter Kay's video for his 2007 Comic Relief release of I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles).
In June 2008 Rod, Jane and Freddy appeared on the show 50 Ways To Leave Your TV Lover on Sky and talked about newspaper claims that they were involved in a love triangle. They revealed that Rod and Jane had in fact been married and divorced, Jane partnering up with Freddy some time after he had joined the trio, a relationship that lead to their eventual marriage in May 2016.
Jane Tucker appeared on The Justin Lee Collins Show on ITV2 on 19 March 2009. She was in the part of the show called 'A Blast From The Past' and also appeared at the end of the show dancing with Justin.