Rod, Jane and Freddy were 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 and their own 15-minute show. The trio have also made guest appearances in other children's TV shows, including The Sooty Show.
The original trio consisted of Rod Burton, Jane Tucker and Matthew Corbett, when they were known as "Rod, Matt and Jane". Matthew left the trio in 1976 to continue hosting The Sooty Show after his father retired. Matthew 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 three decades working on children's television they wrote over 2,500 songs on various themes using many different music styles. Most were comedic but others had deeper meanings. Overall they have written and produced 10 albums and 24 videos, and have conceived and performed 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:
Opening with a big song, giving an idea of the particular show's topic (music and song, pets, moving house, etc.) Rod, Jane and Freddy would usually have solo songs There was often a sketch, but these were generally rarer than songs They would close with a final song As the credits rolled, the first or last song would be sung again.
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 TV guides. Title Air date Info "Pantomime Island" (pilot) 29 September 1981 Rod, Jane and Freddy act out the story of Jack and the beanstalk. (The TV Times has no record of its transmission. It may have been shown, unlisted, within Rainbow.) "Wobbyland" 6 October 1981 Series of musical stories for children. "Slumberland" 13 October 1981 Slumberland is the land of dreams where anything can happen. Rod, Jane and Freddy are safely tucked in bed when suddenly they are flying through the night sky. "Castaways" 20 October 1981 On a desert island there is buried treasure. Who will get to the gold first? - Freddy, the greedy pirate, or Rod and Jane, the two shipwrecked castaways? "On The Moon" 27 October 1981 Jane and Freddy go to meet the 'Man in the Moon'. "Under The Sea" 3 November 1981 Songs about life under the sea. "Clock Land" 10 November 1981 This edition is about a boy and girl who live in a special clock.(now a lost episode - Master and all known copies destroyed.) "Nursery Rhyme land" 17 November 1981 "Cowboyland" 24 November 1981 This week features a Wild West show with Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakleigh and the Big Indian Chief. "Snowland" 1 December 1981 Rolly is a lonely snowman who wishes that Jack Frost would come and build him a friend. "Circusland" 8 December 1981 "Toyland" 15 December 1981 The children's toys come alive when the children go to sleep. "Picturebook Land" 22 December 1981 A girl who doesn't like her nose goes to see a wizard to get it changed. "The Wobblies (1)" 6 April 1983 The story of Wobblyland and the Wobblies who live there. When the Wobblies' houses melt away in the sun, they must go to the jelly mine to make another jelly house. "Comics" 13 April 1983In a comic strip, the story of Punky Pam and Horris Blot finds out that the colours from their page had been taken (or rather borrowed) by Ted the Tealeaf. "The Chinese Plate" 20 April 1983 The story of the Princess and the gardener who live on the Chinese willow plate design. "Dolls" 27 April 1983 "Germs" 4 May 1983 A sung story about three germs, Susie Squidge, Grott and DK - who live in Mrs Jones' bathroom. "Weather" 11 May 1983 "Opera Singers" 18 May 1983 "The Fox" 25 May 1983 The story of a fox (Played by Freddy) who is a daydreamer who goes outside in the day and goes to sleep at night.His friends Badger & Hedgehog (played by Rod & Jane) who know that a hunt will come to their wood if they find him so they do a plan to stop fox going out in the day will all go to plan. "The Lost Toys" 1 June 1983 One Christmas Eve, Father Christmas was in such a rush that he dropped two presents in the snow and forgot one house altogether. But Pero, the clown doll, and Captain Neutron have to find their home before Christmas Day. They go to a house and meet the Christmas Fairy, who helps them get to the sitting room where the Christmas tree is. Can they get there in time before the big day? "The Vegetables" 8 June 1983 "The Tree Gnomes" 15 June 1983 "The Big Mouth" 22 June 1983 "The Evil Garden" 29 June 1983 "Work That Mum Does" 3 October 1984 "Nursery Rhymes" 10 October 1984The story of a dame who lives in a shoe. She opens a milk bottle and gets three wishes and one day to spend them. "Red, Green and Witch Hazel" 17 October 1984 "Musicland" 24 October 1984 Tom-Tom the drum wants to play with the other instruments in the parade to celebrate the King's birthday, but he is told that he is too loud. "Garden Fete" 31 October 1984 "Games" 7 November 1984 "The Toy Museum" 14 November 1984 "Garden Gnomes" 21 November 1984 "Tricky Tommy" 28 November 1984 "The Grubs" 5 December 1984 "On Top Of The Table" 12 December 1984 "The Story Of Tristan" 19 December 1984 This is the original version; it was remade in 1989. This version is filmed without the footlights and theatre effects. Also, Jane's character has no name - she simply said, "I'm me... we don't have names in the land of Nod". "The Lost Note" 2 January 1985 "Charlie's Story" 9 January 1985 "The Bees" 16 January 1985 "The Wobblies (2)" 23 January 1985 "The Wobblies-Olympics" 6 January 1988 The Wobblies get ready for the Wobbolympic Games and hope to win a medal. "The Alley Cats" 13 January 1988 Two friendly cats, Siam and Tom, live in the alley. When Siam gets lost, they help her find her home. "Top Of The Table" 20 January 1988 Trouble is in store for Sunny, the character on the butterpack wrapping, and Stodgy the breadboy, when Mrs. Jones, the lady of the house goes on a diet. "The Dragon in the Dungeon" 27 January 1988The tale of Princess Angelica, Peterkin the librarian, and the brave but boring knight, Sir Brian de Bolfrey. One of them will defeat the dragon to win the hand of the beautiful princess, but who will it be? "The Ship In The Bottle" 3 February 1988 The story of a fishing trip which suddenly changes course when Redbeard the pirate appears. "The Man With No Shadow" 10 February 1988 What happens to the man with no shadow? How can he discover a way to get it back? "The Weathervane" 17 February 1988 The story of how Mr and Mrs Corkinbottle lose their home in the weathervane, and how Hieronamous the gnome comes to the rescue. "The Adventures of Mary Mary" 24 February 1988 Mary Mary from the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb” meets Zap and Zoom the space heroes and they have adventures together. "The Scarecrow" 2 March 1988 The story of the scarecrow who asks Mr Sun and Mr Cloud to give him a change of weather. "Small World" 9 March 1988 The story of how Cob the Cobbler and Thimble the Tailor help a fairy go to the Springtime Revels. "The Magic Socks" 16 March 1988 The magical musical story of the wizards socks. "The Riddle of the Clock" 23 March 1988 Young Alice pays a visit to Old Father Time and arranges some extra time for the Mad Hatter and March Hare to prepare tea for the Queen of Hearts. "The Funny Shape" 30 March 1988 It's strange and a bit frightening when you can't find anything or anyone that looks like you. But the Square and Triangle come to the rescue. "Mirrors/Dressing Up" 3 January 1989 The setting is a theatre where our three musicians are into dress-up, helped by their dressing room mirrors. Having braved the stormy seas as sailors, and with a few pieces of clothing and some grease paint, Rod