More About Baroness Floella Benjamin DBE
Floella Benjamin was born in Trinidad but was raised in England, where she was educated. Leaving school at 16, she began working in the banking industry, but after just three years, she decided it didn’t suit her, and she dipped her toe into the world of show business.
Baroness Floella Benjamin Acting Career
She has since appeared on the West End stage in shows including Jesus Christ Superstar, The Black Mikado, and The Husband in Law, and pantomimes Puss in Boots, Aladdin, Peter Pan, and Babes in the Wood. Whilst best known for her children’s TV presenting, Floella has appeared as an actress in TV shows The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007-11), Chuggington (2008), Bergerac (1981), and The Line of Beauty (2006), and feature films Black Joy (1977), Run Fatboy Run (2007) and Rendition (2007).
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Baroness Floella Benjamin Media Career
She has gone on to present shows such as A Houseful of Plants (1987-88) and BBC Daytime Live (1987-89), as well as her own current affairs show on Radio London’s Black Londoners programme for several years. She has lent her voice to narration jobs for several international orchestras, including the Northern Symphony, East of England, Welsh Chamber, and Jersey Chamber orchestras.
In 2019, Floella launched her podcast From the Heart in honour of Windrush Day. Each episode explored key social topics such as emotional resilience, the power of positivity, and the importance of knowing yourself.
She set up her own television production company in 1987, and since then, has produced hundreds of programmes aimed predominately at children, including Treehouse (1987-89), Playabout (1990-91), Jamboree (1998-2000) and Hullaballoo (1994-95).
She has also produced cookery programmes Caribbean Kitchen (2000), A Taste of Barbados (2000), Great British Picnics (2001), Africa on a Plate (2001), and A Taste of Cuba (2001), as well as historical programme Statues and Monuments (2002), When I Came to Britain (2004), and Coming to England (2003) – which would go on to win a Royal Television Society award.
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Baroness Floella Benjamin Writing Work
Not content with being a popular children’s TV presenter, Floella is also a successful fiction and non-fiction author. She has written over 30 children’s books, including Floella’s Fun Book, Fall About With Flo, Floella’s Cardboard Box Book, and Snotty and the Rod of Power, cookbooks Caribbean Cookery, and Exploring Caribbean Food in Britain.
Her first adult novel Sea of Tears was published in 2012. Her most successful adult books have been non-fiction publications about her own life. Coming to England (1995) looked at how her family moved to England, and the follow-up Coming to England – The Arms of Britannia (2010) covered her teenage years in London.
Baroness Floella Benjamin Charity & Campaigning Work
Floella Benjamin uses her high profile to help support and campaign for several causes and charities. She is particularly concerned with human rights, education, and children’s welfare worldwide. She created the initiative ‘Touching Success’ to help support young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and culturally diverse communities.
She has sat on various boards, including OFCOM, National Film & Television School, the Royal Mail Stamp Advisory Board, BBFC Children’s Advisor Panel, Dulwich College, Isle of Sheppey Academy, and Waitrose’s Diversity board. She is a Vice President of Barnardos, and the RHS, patron of Beating Bowel Cancer, Sickle Cell Society, and Transplant Links, is President of the Society of Women Writers and Journalists, was Chairman of BAFTA Television, and is an RHS ambassador.
Floella Benjamin has supported many other charities, such as The Book Trust, Oxfam, NSPCC, Save the Children, Macmillan, WATCH, and Turning Point.
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