 Toyah presented Look
Here way before she ever had a hit record.
This was an entertainment show aimed at teenagers
and 20somethings, broadcast from the Midlands.
Toyah presented it from January to March in 1979,
1980 and 1981. This was a "youth" show
before "youth" shows had even been
though about. Toyah introduced items of interest
to viewers and each week there were a couple of
bands in the studio palying live too. |
 Toyah's was a guest
presenter on the Saturday morning children's show
The Saturday Show in 1983. She co-presented
the three hour marathon with Isla St Clair.
Guests on the show included the Thompson Twins
and Jeremy Beadle (I'm sure The Krankies were in
there somewhere too). Toyah seemed to really
enjoy doing this after so long away from
presenting. For some reason she also appeared to
enjoy taking the proverbial out of Jeremy (can't
think why?). |
 Comment was a
short slot on Channel Four broadcast after the
News each weekday evening around 7.55pm. It ran
for about the first ten years of C4. Toyah's Comment
was broadcast on 9th March 1987: "The
argument of women's equality is to me ridiculous.
It is obvious men and women are all equal in life
and in need of each other's support. We could be
as one, a massive machine working in perfect
motion. Each wheel, nut, and bolt is as necessary
to the existence of the machine, as to the
individual. In my world I meet male, and female,
chauvinism on a very regular basis. I find
laughing in its face helps dissolve the mask to
reveal the truth. We are born on the tide of
constant change and for many that is a painful
thing to accept. Time is just a speck of our
existence, and it could be valuable if all could
realise how precious time is to everyone, but
still we build cages around ourselves. Women may
not do this or that, enter here or there. Women
may not be priests, but we are welcome to carry
on having children and to nurse the sick, even
though we're physically weak. Cliches of many
decades. Physical weakness is no crime, any young
boy would be able to tell you that. A majority of
us are what we've allowed ourselves to become.
It's up to us to open our own eyes and to see
that we are individuals, to see what we can offer
the world around us. Women have the most
extraordinary resilience to pain, physically and
emotionally, and resilience to humiliation. Look
at any woman who steps onto the battlefront, you
can't see her for the verbal bullets. "Lesbians,"
I hear male, and female, voices cry, "They're
all lesbians." I don't care about sexual
preference, it's the fact that the Greenham
Common women are still standing, still passionate
in their cause. That's what I care about.
Sustaining one's cause. If time bears a grudge on
us for something, no wonder we are defiant.
Sisters are doing it for themselves? That makes
me a little sad. In this world, with the ever
increasing need for self-employment and
creativity, I have never seen such a treasure as
the fusion of intellect and creative intuition
that can happen when a man and a woman work
together as equals, inspiring each other to aim
at the same target. There is no need for two
worlds to collide. Finally I , like all other
women, am an individual inside a woman's body.
Once, 20 years ago, I asked God, "Why wasn't
I born a boy?". Now I wouldn't change my
gender for all eternity. It's made me survive.
I'm very proud of women, and I know in the future
we will all be equal in life. That makes me happy
to be alive today. |
 Toyah appeared on a
programme titled Land Forces in 1990. She
visited the town of Avebury in Wiltshire where
the site of a prehistoric sun temple, constructed
entirely from earth mounds and standing stones,
exists. This has been the focus of sun
worshippers and druids for over 400 years and
Toyah described it as a "mystical and
magical place. When you first drive in it looks
like any other town or village in Wiltshire, very
quaint and beautiful, old and new merged together.
Then you go down the High Street and oddly, these
standing stones start to appear and you know you
are in a special place". Toyah went on to
explain that she first visited the town in 1979:
"I was on tour with my band and we drove
into Avebury. I didn't know the place, its
history. I got very excited and felt like I'd
gone to a different time. I walked round and
loved it. Silbury Hill is the largest man-made
mound in Europe. Once I've been to Avebury I flow
with ideas, my brain feels fertile and all the
blockages caused by city life disappear." |
 Toyah guested on The
Great Picture Chase in 1990. She was given £500
by the BBC and went in search of a work of art to
splash the cash on. Toyah began by saying: "If
only I could buy all this!" before the
camera zoomed out to reveal she was standing in
the middle of Stonehenge! Toyah proceeded to look
at numerous works of art; collages, furniture,
paintings and sculptures, and came to the
conclusion that she would need at least £30,000
if she was to be able to afford everything she
wanted. The "chase" ended at
Yorkshire's Sculpture Park, "the art gallery
without walls", where Toyah decided the art
she would add to the BBC's collection would be
trees. She gave the £500 to the park, to be used
to build a circle of trees. As a circle theme had
ran throughout the programme it was a fitting and
very environmentally thoughtful purchase. |
 This is Clean Slate,
a slot on a mid morning BBC show in 1990. The
slot began with "I Want To Be Free" and
some rare childhood pictures of Toyah were shown.
Toyah then stepped back in time and returned to
her hometown of Birmingham to visit her old
haunts and places significant in her growing up.
First stop was Edgbaston Church Of England
College For Girls ("I first came here in
1962 and left when I was 17"), where she met
up with her former art teacher, Karen Howell, and
reminisced about sneaking into her class when she
should have been at another lesson. Toyah said:
"You were quite close to us in age and you
understood us, I always felt sane after I had
talked to you." Karen replied: "That's
funny, I used to feel mad after I'd talked to you!".
Toyah then sat on the school stage ("Here is
where I impersonated David Bowie, and did drama.")
and remembered setting an alarm clock to go off
under a stage that Margaret Thatcher (then the
Minister for Education in the UK) would be giving
a speech on. Toyah also went to visit the
Birmingham Old Rep, where she studied acting as a
teenager. She said: "Here I learned about
commitment, dedication and many other things. It
was also the place where I began making my own
decisions for the first time." |
 A Tale Of Four Cities
is from 1993, and this picture is taken from when
Toyah descended on Salisbury. "In old
Salisbury, all is not as it seems," said
Toyah as she introduced the programme. Toyah
explored Salisbury thoroughly, the cathedral,
maze, market square and much, much more. While at
the cathedral she read a lesson and later also
found time to try walking a tight-rope. She also
met up with former Prime Minister Edward Heath,
and played a gig, with River Treacle, in the
local Arts Centre (situated in a church). |
 Entertainment UK was a
part of Good Morning With Anne & Nick,
the BBC's attempt to create a Richard & Judy
type coupling, with the irritating Anne Diamond
and loathesome Nick SoandSo (can't remember his
name). As the title suggests this focused on
entertainment in the UK, with Toyah and another
host, Simon, reporting on the latest films, gigs,
and plays of interest. |
 Toyah was a guest
presenter on the VH1 show Ten Of The Best
in 1995. She spemnt the entire hour in a bar
enthusing about her favourite songs, which
included; 'Fashion' by David Bowie, 'Steam' by
Peter Gabriel ("one of the sexiest men in
rock 'n' roll, said Toyah), 'Moments Of Pleasure'
by Kate Bush, 'Wild Boys' by Duran Duran ("a
deeply sexy video"), 'Shout' by Tears For
Fears, '20th Century Boy' by TRex, 'Strange
Little Girl' by The Stranglers, 'Crazy' by Seal
("I was once snowed in at Heathrow with Seal")
and 'Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me' by U2. |
 Toyah presented Not
Fade Away in 1996, a late night ITV music
show that had a different celeb each week
choosing their favourite videos, album and artist.
Toyah's video choices were; 'Fashion' by David
Bowie ("he kept me sane"), 'Moments Of
Pleasure' by Kate Bush ("I don't know her, I
just love her"), 'Justified & Ancient'
by KLF, 'White Rabbit' by Jefferson Airplane,
which gave her an excuse to mention Beaton, and
'Anarchy In The UK' by the Sex Pistols (the irony
is John Lydon is such a sweetheart").
Toyah's favourite album was Bjork's 'Debut'
("I first heard this when I was making an
album called 'Leap!' in a barn, the production is
just stunning, Bjork is beyond beyond!") and
she played 'Human Behaviour', 'Violently Happy',
'Play Dead', 'Big Time Sensuality' and 'Venus As
A Boy'. Toyah's fave artist was Peter Gabriel and
she played 'Steam', 'Kiss That Frog', 'Digging In
The Dirt', 'Sledgehammer' and 'Big Time' by him.
Toyah ended the show by announcing, "I would
like to sincerely apologise to all the artists
I've gushed over in the last hour - but you're
all just brilliant!". |
 From April 1997 through
until September 1999 Toyah was a regular
presenter on the cable/satellite music channel VH1.
She began by fronting Into The Music, a
daily music show, and Weekend Review.
Later Toyah went on to present Toyah! (weekday
music show), Toyah & Chase, and Happy
Hour. She also presented specials like A-Z
Of The 80's. |
 Holiday - Fasten Your
Seatbelts saw Toyah trying out jobs abroad in
this (yes, you guessed) spin off from the BBC's Holiday
programme around 1998. Toyah tried her hand at
running a Greek Taverna, cleaning, looking after
guests needs, serving meals etc. Toyah also tried
her hand at being a maid, which involved cleaning
(see pic), and catering to the needs of
holidaymakers. Toyah quipped: "I've never
cooked bacon and eggs before," as she slaved
over a hot frying pan one morning! |
 Toyah also famously
headed a camel trek in the Negate Desert for Holiday
- Fasten Your Seatbelts, quite successfully
too. Though she did throw a mini strop due to
lack of sleep, rest and food, but hey!, who
wouldn't? And who could forget Toyah's giggles as
she bumped up and down on the camel's back while
enquiring "How do I get down from here?". |
 In 1999 Toyah presented Songs
Of Praise for the first time, which at the
time left many a Toyah fan slightly perplexed. To
add to our confusion Toyah performed a version of
the famous Bette Midler song "The Rose"
while walking through Reddish House. Toyah
encountered Robert in the kitchen doing the
washing up. "How long have we been married?"
she asked him, "13 short years dear, he
replied. |
 'Lore & Legends' was
a series of 10 minute threads included in the
Sunday morning religous magazine programme, Heaven
& Earth Show (which Toyah sporadically
presented for a time too). She travelled the
length and breadth of the UK in search of
fairies, dragons, giants and devils - spooky! |
 The Holiday
programme launched another "spin off"
show called Holiday On A Shoestring in the
late 90s. Toyah fronted a few reports for the
show including her most memorable, when she was
joined by her dad on a barge trip. |
 From 1999 through until
2001 Toyah was an occasional co-presenter and
sporadic guest newspaper/news reviewer on the
Sunday morning BBC1 programme The Heaven And
Earth Show. Toyah also fronted 'Lore &
legends' and 'Sacred Spaces' (see above &
right) on this show, as well as a variety of
reports, including the 'Foundation For Joyous
Living Weekend Retreat', 'Edinburgh's Ghost Tour'
and interviewing a photographer at his London
exhibition. |
 Similar to 'Lore &
Legends', 'Sacred Spaces' was another series of
10 minute threads included in the Heaven And
Earth Show, fronted by Toyah. She met up with
various UK celebrities and acccompanied them to
their "Sacred space". The celebs
included John Peel, Gilly Goolden, Mike Harding,
Frances Barber, Terry Christian and various
others. |
 Toyah presented Songs
Of Praise in April 2000 for the second time.
The show was recorded in Paris, with Toyah
meeting British people who now live and work in
France. Toyah also performed 'The Rose' again,
this time sitting by a lake and visiting a church
while singing. |
 In late October 2000
Toyah (along with Simon Biagi) was a guest
presenter on two editions of the channel 5
afternoon show Open House (with Gloria
Hunniford). She was satnding in for regular host
Gloria Hunniford (hence the title!). Toyah
interviewed author Minette Newman, Terry Waite
and had her hair analysed! |
 In July 2001 Toyah
presented Ever Wondered, a programme made
as part of BBC2's education output. Toyah
investigated astrology versus psychology on this
show. Toyah agreed with everything that the
astrologer found from her birth chart, but was
then told it wasn't actually hers, but simply a
generalised view and the astrologer was actually
a psychologist. The same test was carried out
with four other people and like Toyah they all
agreed that the readings matched their lives. How
can horoscopes and 'stars' apply to millions of
peoples yet still seem accurate to individual
lives?, Toyah asked. The psychologists explained
that people who believe in astrology "perceive
the world the way they want to perceive it". |
 Beyond Medicine was
a 39 part series broadcast in 2001on the
Discovery Health channel. Toyah recorded all her
segments and voiceovers for this alternative
health series in little over a week. This was
originally an American production and this
version retained most of the US content with
Toyah' additional commentary and appearances. The
series took a fairly exhaustive look at numerous
therapies, including yoga, iridology, Feng Shui,
midwifery, reflexology, bio feedback, ear
acupuncture, hypnotherapy and many others.
Discovery Health continue to repeat Beyond
Medicine weekly. |
 In 2001 Toyah presented
the cookery show Whose Recipe Is It Anyway?
on the Carlton Food Network's Taste channel.
There were 40 of these shows recorded (in 10 days),
in which a mystery 'celebrity' provided a recipe
and a chef had cook it and guess who the celeb
was. Taste has now gone to that great cookery
channel in the sky! |
 In May 2001 Toyah presented Songs Of
Praise for the third time (no performance of
'The Rose' this time though). She visited
Maidenhead and met up with a millionaire who
gives his hard earned cash away, some skateboard
kids, and Laurie Holloway & Marian
Mongtgomery, among other people. Toyah got to
dress up as Dick Turpin, and held up a gang of
children. As we all know Toyah isn't the
slightest bit materialistic so all she
confiscated from them was a packet of ginger nut
biscuits. |
 Toyah again co-presented
Open House, in Gloria Hunniford's absence,
in late March 2002 alongside Mark Curry. TW and
MC covered a variety of topics. They were in the
kitchen with chef Simon Rimmer (Toyah accused him
of being messy and said "you're not coming
near my kitchen", Simon didn't look as
though he thought Toyah was joking) who was
cooking artichokes, and also featured was a look
at holidays in Disneyworld, Florida. Toyah also
interviewed actor David Easter, star of Brookside
in the 80's and Family Affairs on channel
5 at the moment. She seemed to be a bit of a fan
of his and thinks his life story will, one day,
be a best seller. There was also an interview
with someone who had been diagnosed with, and
survived, prostate cancer. Toyah revealed that
she had to trick Robert into a visit to the
doctor's when he was worried about his health but
didn't want to visit a GP, and that he still
brings it up three years after the fact. The show
ended with Toyah and Mark interviewing two "extreme
ironers", a growing 'sport' in which people
iron an item of clothing in unusual places. And
no, this isn't a joke, though I'm sure TW was
jesting when she said she "didn't even own
an iron."! |
 Another year, another Songs Of Praise
presenting stint! The show came from York and was
sub-titled "Songs Of Praise & The
Mystery Of Faith". Toyah introduced the show
with: "I'm about to explore the unknown, the
seemingly impossible and the frankly unbelievable".
Much of the music in the show came from York's
impressive cathedral and Toyah interviewed the
Archbishop of York, Rev. David Bishop. Toyah also
joined in a rehearsal of the York Mystery Plays,
and interviewed actor John Hall. He played God in
the Mystery Plays staged in York Minster in 2000.
She also spoke to a woman who, just after being
bereaved, believes she met an angel on a street
in Liverpool. Toyah performed the classic "It's
A Mystery accompanied only by a piano and ended
the show by saying: "For what it's worth, my
advice would be to go through life with your eyes
and heart open because those among us are not
always what we expect them to be. For me, God is
in everything that we see, everyone that we meet
and everything that we do. Now, is that such a
mystery?". |
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