Play School is an Australian children's television series produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The series is educational television aimed at preschool children, based on the original British version created by Joy Whitby, which ran from 1964 to 1988. The program features presenters who educate and entertain the child audience through stories, songs and movement. Play School premiered on 18 July 1966 on ABC Television.

The first episode was presented by Diane Dorgan and Alister Smart in 1966. Since then, the longest-running hosts have included Benita Collings (1969–1999) and John Hamblin (1970–1999). The series currently stars a rotating roster of hosts including Justine Clarke and Leah Vandenberg, who have both presented the series since 2000, as well as Teo Gebert, Alex Papps, and others. Stuffed toys, including Big Ted, Little Ted, Jemima, Humpty and Kiya, are featured in the program and utilised by the presenters.

Play School has influenced the development of merchandise, albums, and concert tours. The series won an ARIA Award in 1997 for Best Children's Album, and an AACTA Award in 2026 for Best Children's Program. The series was awarded Most Outstanding Achievement in Children's Television at the 1998 Logie Awards, was inducted into the Logie Hall of Fame in 2006, and won Best Children's Program in 2026. It is the longest-running children's show in Australia and the second-longest-running children's show worldwide.

History 1966–1999: Origins and early years Play School premiered on 18 July 1966 at 10.05am in NSW and Victoria only, but soon was broadcast around the country. The first episode was originally transmitted live and the original executive producer was Allan Kendall and the first presenters on air were Diane Dorgan and Alister Smart. In December that same year, Play School began afternoon transmissions as well as mornings, a practice that continues to this day. For the first decade, Play School was broadcast in black and white with the first colour episode broadcasting on June 28, 1976.

2000–2009: Series revamp and 40th anniversary Five new presenters were hired for Play School in September 1999; Justine Clarke, Jay Laga'aia, Andrew McFarlane, Rhys Muldoon and Leah Vandenberg. It was reported that the series would be undergoing an overhaul, with a new set and new opening titles debuting in the following year. It was later reported in February 2000 that the ABC were intending to modernise the program, by replacing its senior presenters with younger actors. It was suggested in report that the producers had been influenced by the success of the children's series Hi-5, which premiered in 1999. The series would now be filmed in pre-recorded segments, rather than in one continuous half-hour sequence. Additional changes included the removal of three senior presenters of Play School: Benita Collings, Angela Moore and David James. Henrietta Clark was also dismissed as the executive producer of the program, after serving in this role for the previous ten years. The overhaul of the series was criticised, in particular the removal of Collings after her tenure of thirty years as a presenter. ABC executive Claire Henderson responded to the criticism by explaining that the changes to the program were "minimal". The new episodes were expected to begin broadcasting in May.

In 2006, after four decades since the first episode was recorded, 1,781 episodes of Play School had been made and over one million children were viewing the show each week. To commemorate the birthday, there was a free Play School concert on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait.

Play School was admitted to the Logie Hall of Fame in 2006, the program's 40th anniversary year. It is one of only five Australian television programs to be inducted. Play School was the third show to enter the Logies' Hall of Fame in its own right, after Four Corners (1992) and Neighbours (2005). It was also the first children's show inducted into the hall of fame. During the Logie Awards of 2006, a package showing memorable scenes from the show throughout its history was shown, before notable presenters (from past and present) came onto the stage with some of the favourite toys from the show. After these presenters accepted the award, the audience then joined them for a stirring rendition of the Play School theme.

2009–2019: Channel move, Big Adventure spin-off series and 50th anniversary

In July 2009, Jan Stradling was appointed as the executive producer for children's production at the ABC, and became the executive producer for Play School. Stradling led the development of the Big Adventure spin-off series, beginning with Little Ted's Big Adventure, where the toy was filmed having adventures outside the studio. She stated that the Little Ted toy was one of the first toys to be filmed outside; previously, the toys did not leave the studio. Note: Transcript available

On Monday 4 July 2011, Play School updated its opening titles using a combination of stop motion and computer animation with a new arrangement of the theme song sung by presenters Laga'aia and Clarke.

In 2016, Play School celebrated 50 years on the air and had a month of celebrations. By the time of the anniversary, 2,250 episodes had been made and there were 1,821 songs in the Play School inventory. To mark its 50th anniversary, from 4 July the program presented a series of cover songs called Play School: Celebrity Covers.

2019–present: Specials and 60th anniversary Several special episodes of Play School were produced beginning in 2019, along with new spin-off series and digital content to expand the program's output. An episode titled "Acknowledgement of Country" aired in July 2019 for NAIDOC Week, hosted by Aboriginal presenters Luke Carroll, Miranda Tapsell and Hunter Page-Lochard. The special, written by Page-Lochard, celebrated Indigenous Australians and focused on educating viewers about Australian Aboriginal culture. A new toy, a rag doll named Kiya, was introduced during the program, who was described as originating from Noongar Country. Another special titled "All Together" aired in March 2025, and received an AACTA Award for Best Children's Program in 2026. The episode was written by Vandenberg, who included themes of allyship and friendship in the script.

The 60th anniversary of Play School was commemorated in July 2026 with an episode of Australian Story which featured behind the scenes footage and interviews with presenters Laga'aia, Clarke, Don Spencer, Rhys Muldoon, Simon Burke and Miah Madden. A series of regular episodes titled "Party Animals!" aired in July. Vanessa Alford joined the program as the new resident deaf interpreter in August. She replaced long-term presenter Sofya Gollan, who directed a series of episodes featuring picture-in-picture guest appearances by various Auslan translators. In its 60th year, the series won Best Children's Program at the 2026 Logie Awards.

Presenters

The longest-serving presenters of Play School are Benita Collings (30 years and over 400 episodes) and John Hamblin (29 years and over 350 episodes). Other long-term hosts of the program have included Sofya Gollan (28 years), Justine Clarke (over 26 years), Leah Vandenberg (over 26 years), Noni Hazlehurst (23 years), Karen Pang (23 years) and Andrew McFarlane (23 years).

Current presenters Justine Clarke (2000–present) Leah Vandenberg (2000–present) Teo Gebert (2004–present) Alex Papps (2006–present) Abi Tucker (2009–present) Luke Carroll (2010–present) Emma Palmer (2011–present) Rachael Coopes (2011–present) Michelle Lim Davidson (2013–present) Zindzi Okenyo (2013–present) Takaya Honda (2015–present) Matthew Backer (2017–present) Kaeng Chan (2018–present) Miah Madden (2022–present) Vanessa Alford (2026–present) Albert Mwangi (2026–present)

Former presenters

Diane Dorgan (1966, original) Alister Smart (1966–1991, original) Lorraine Bayly (1966–1978) Peter Drake (1966) Evan Dunstan (1966) Anne Haddy (1966–1969) Patsy King (1966) Donald Macdonald (1966–1969) Nehama Patkin (1966) David Yorston (1966) Kerry Francis (1966–1969) Ann Stroh (1966) Tom Oliver (1967) Richard Bradshaw (1967–1996) Darlene Johnson (1968) Don Spencer (1968–1992) Ken Shorter (1969) Jan Kingsbury (1969–1986) Benita Collings (1969–1999) John Hamblin (1970–1999) John Waters (1972–1990) Peter Sumner (1974) Mary Ann Severne (1975) Roslyn Gentle (1977) Judy Cannon (1978) Noni Hazlehurst (1978–2001) Colin Friels (1980) Mervyn Drake (1980s) Jennifer Ludlam (1983–1986) Barbara Frawley (1980–1992) Elaine Hudson (1981) Lynette Curran (1981) Philip Quast (1981–1996) Tyler Coppin (1982) Liddy Clark (1984) Merridy Eastman (1985–1989) George Spartels (1986–1999) Anna Maria Monticelli (1987) Trisha Goddard (1987–1998) Liz Burch (1988) Simon Burke (1988–2007, 2013) James Valentine (1989, 1992) Tara Morice (1989, 1993) Monica Trapaga (1990–1998) Pauline McLeod (1990–2003) Sarah Chadwick (1991) David McCubbin (1991–1995) Carlton Lamb (1992–1993) Colin Buchanan (1992–1999) Sofya Gollan (1992–2020) Jeremy Scrivener (1993–1994) Nicholas Opolski (1993–1994) Angela Moore (1994–2000) David James (1994–2000) Georgie Goldstein (1995–1996) Joy Hopwood (1995–1997) Jamie Oxenbould (1997) Glenn Butcher (1997–2000) Deborah Mailman (1998–2002) Karen Pang (1999–2022) Jay Laga'aia (2000–2014) Andrew McFarlane (2000–2023) Rhys Muldoon (2000–2012) Mark Owen-Taylor (2000) Dasi Ruz (2000) David Whitney (2001) Ling-Hsueh Tang (2002) Matt Passmore (2002–2011) Brooke Satchwell (2006–2009) Georgie Parker (2006–2012) Hugh Sheridan (2009–2013) Essie Davis (2009–2011) Jolene Anderson (2010–2011) Jonny Pasvolsky (2011–2012) Eddie Perfect (2015–2016, 2023–2024) Miranda Tapsell (2016–2019) Nicholas Brown (2017–2025) Hunter Page-Lochard (2018–2025) Kiruna Stamell (2018–2020)

Format

The format of the show is activities, songs and games with either host passing back to each other at the end of their segment, and frequently joining each other in activities. Each day the presenters look at the calendar to find out which day of the week it is, read a story, and look through the windows. From 1976 to 2000, they had a clock shaped like a rocket, and from 1966 to 2000, a clock shaped like a flower. In 2000, the show had a considerable revamp, with the rocket and flower clocks and the three windows sent to the National Museum of Australia.

Every week there is a common theme running through the program that the actors reflect upon during the episode. As funding was limited, only 45 new episodes were made each year, which means that nine weekly blocks shown each year were new episodes, the rest repeats. The Play School team make nine series each year, which includes 45-50 episodes. Each series takes around 17 weeks to make.