Blyton Banned by BBC

Scottish Daily Record

FAMOUS Five writer Enid Blyton was banned from the BBC for nearly 30 years because bosses thought she was a "second-rater".

A string of memos from the BBC archives reveal how the Noddy creator - one of the bestselling authors of all time - was kept off the radio as chiefs rejected her plays and books as "small beer".

In an internal memo from 1938, BBC schools department head Jean Sutcliffe wrote: "My impression of her stories is that they might do for Children's Hour but certainly not for schools department as they haven't much literary value.

"There is rather a lot of the Pinky-winky-doodle-doodle dum-dumm type of name (and lots of pixies) in the tales."

Blyton was also convinced she was not wanted.

After being asked to speak on Hullo Children in 1949, Blyton said: "My stories are banned by the BBC as far as children are concerned - not one story has ever been broadcast, and, so it is said, not one ever will be."

In 1954, in answer to a query from Woman's Hour editor Janet Quigley, schools department boss Sutcliffe explained her concerns about the "secondrater".

Blyton later appeared on Woman's Hour in 1963.

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