Cool for Cats was one of the first shows on British TV to feature music for a teenage audience. It was produced by Associated Rediffusion, part of the ITV network, and ran from December 1956 to February 1961.
The show was presented by Kent Walton. It lasted 15 minutes. Discs were played and then commented upon. Sometimes The Dougie Squires Dancers, which included the then unknown Una Stubbs, performed dance routines to the music, and sometimes Tony Hart would draw a relevant cartoon while the record played. The programme was originally broadcast on Mondays at 7:15pm and later moved to Thursdays. Due to its success it was a twice weekly show (the second a repeat), later expanding to half an hour. The show's initiator was director Joan-Kemp Welch, the drama innovator, and the first—and the show's longest-running—choreographer was Dougie Squires.
Kent Walton took the title from a show of the same name he hosted on Radio Luxembourg.
External links
- The TV Rock n' Roll Years at Whirlygig TV
- Music in Bradford 1956 at the Bradford time line
- Something about Una Independent on Sunday, 22 February 2004