Good times for Tiswas dancers

Every Friday, like clockwork, Tiswas presenter Chris Tarrant would put that week's number one record on the back seat of a taxi and send it to the Black Country.

When it reached its destination - Walsall Academy of Dance - principal Diane Millard would whip it out of the car and hurry back into the building, where a group of girls waited anxiously.

Then it was all hands on deck as the special 'Tiswas class' learned a dance routine to the track before performing it live in the studio the following morning.

"It was all panic on the Friday night, making the dance up and the girls learning it and trying to get the costumes sorted, all in a matter of hours," said Miss Millard.

And while the children practised their weekly routine for the popular children's TV programme, a dedicated team of mothers were also hard at work.

It was their job to sort through the pile of costumes at the academy, established in 1964, and alter them to match them to the new song and dance routine.

When the girls danced to Village People's In The Navy they wore little sailor suits and when Shadapp You Face by Joe Dolce was top of the pops, the troupe was decked out in Italian-style dresses and headscarves.

The pairing between the show and the school, in Butts Street, began in the mid-1970s and came about because dancer Bonnie Spencer's father Roger was a comedian on the show.

Miss Millard said: "Chris liked to play the number one hit of the week and in those days there were no music videos so it was suggested that our girls perform a dance as the song played.

"This went on for about seven years and in all we must have done hundreds of dances on Tiswas."

Early on Saturday the Walsall party would travel to the studio and head straight for the guests' waiting area.

The hand-picked Tiswas dancers, chosen for their ability to pick up routines quickly and perform well, rubbed shoulders with all the stars.

Miss Millard added: "It was a lovely time, very special to us all and every week Chris was great fun."

by Lyndsey Hunt