Celebrity exclusive
As she publishes her memoir, much-loved TV presenter, charity campaigner and peer Baroness Floella Benjamin talks to Joanne Finney about her life journey, the joy of family and the legacy she hopes to leave behind
Everywhere she goes, Floella Benjamin comes across what she calls her ‘Play School babies’. ‘Almost every single day I get a message on social media from one of them,’ she says. ‘I meet them in the supermarket, at events, even in Parliament. They cry when they meet me. It’s not about being famous – it’s a deeper connection than that. I was in their lives at such a formative age.’ Anyone who grew up in the 1970s or 1980s, or had small children then, will remember Floella’s infectious smile and blue-beaded braids from her regular appearances on the weekday show aimed at preschoolers.
Although Play School made her a household name, it wasn’t her first brush with fame. On the train home one day from her job in the accounts office at Barclays bank, Floella spotted an advert in the evening paper calling for singers and dancers, ‘no experience needed’. Raised by a father who worked as a jazz musician and who took his six children to see Hollywood films at the local outdoor cinema, Floella dreamed of being an entertainer. Now was her chance. The show was Hair, the controversial musical that opened in 1968, and she toured the country in it for months, one of only two cast members who didn’t take their clothes off.
While working on the production, she met Keith Taylor, a stage manager. Over several years they became close friends, before marrying in 1980. ‘I always feel it was preordained we would meet,’ she says. ‘We both came to London at the age of 10 and we criss-crossed each other’s lives. We were also born a day apart!’ The couple have now been married for 42 years and Floella credits a lot of her success to her husband, calling him ‘the wind beneath my wings’. ‘I’ve been very fortunate to have a relationship with someone who isn’t jealous of my achievements – in fact, he helps me to be successful. He’s a very creative, artistic person himself and I respect that. The basis of our relationship is friendship. We just really like each other.’
The couple have two children: Aston, 40, an international lawyer, and Alvina, 33, a teacher. ‘If I were to die tomorrow, I know I’ve raised two wonderful children,’ says Floella. ‘When they were born, I planted two rose bushes, white for Aston and a pink one for Alvina. I’ve lived in the same house since 1979 and I watch their rose bushes flourish every year.’
However, her happy family didn’t come easily to Floella, who experienced three miscarriages before she had her daughter. ‘It was a traumatic time,’ she says. ‘When I had my third one, it was like a black fog had descended. I think it’s a
