As we reported yesterday, TV presenter Johnny Ball recently revealed that the hosts of kids’ TV show Play School often recorded the show while stoned.

And today, Rick Jones, who co-presented the show in the seventies, has told the Sun that the BBC were “liberal” in their attitude to the presenters smoking cannabis.

Rick, who’s now 75, said, “It was part of the culture, definitely. There were half a dozen of us doing it.

“Marijuana was like cornflakes. The BBC was really liberal. Once you were in, all laws were forgotten. I had a wonderful time.”

And of former colleague – and weed whistleblower – Johnny, Rick said, “Johnny’s a good egg but he was too dull to do it… Read more & comment »

In a forthcoming BBC4 documentary entitled Lights! Camera! Action! Tales of Television Centre, veteran TV presenter Johnny Ball – who is of course Zoë Ball’s dad – has revealed that the presenters of childrens’ TV show Play School were often high as a kite when they recorded the show.

And he recalls one particular incident when two of his fellow presenters were baked as they filmed a nativity edition of the cult show.

Johnny said, “There was Rick Jones, Lionel Morton and myself. They got stoned on the biggest joint you’ve ever seen – in the studio.

“We were in silhouette as the three shepherds with our crooks. Lionel purposely held his crook so the crook didn’t show… Read more & comment »