Dreamscape | The Toyah Willcox Fansite

More detailed info on the forthcoming Holiday of My Lifetime with Len Goodman featuring Toyah, which airs on Friday 12th February at 3.45pm on BBC1. (Photo © BBC)

Len Goodman takes celebrities back in time to recreate their childhood holidays. Len takes singer, actress and presenter Toyah Willcox back to the Llangollen Canal in North Wales to reminisce about a wonderful narrow boat holiday she had back in 1968. First up Len surprises Toyah by picking her up in the Golden Lark – a beautiful narrow boat similar to the one she would have holidayed in back in 1968. As they drift along at a very civilised pace they start chatting about how her time on the canal was very different to her home city of Birmingham. For Toyah the holiday meant freedom and fun. Along the way they test their artistic side by painting trays just like ones that adorn the sides of the narrow boats, they tuck into a vintage picnic with the all-important pork pie and they visit an antiques shop like the ones her father would have taken her to whilst on holiday. One of the highlights is Toyah manning the tiller to negotiate the boat across a 127 feet aqueduct. (Duration: 45 minutes, Series 2 Episode 10)

As TV favourite Len Goodman celebrates the return of his nostalgic travel series Holiday Of My Lifetime, Gemma Dunn finds out about his latest batch of celebrity guests and why the lively host thinks staycations will never lose their appeal.

If you’re struggling to think of a holiday partner, why not try former professional ballroom dancer Len Goodman out for size? He’s humble, fun, proactive – “This morning I’ve put the washing on, got a bit of salmon out of the freezer, and now I’m putting the kettle on” – and, above all else, he’s picked up some top tips from his BBC One series, Holiday Of My Lifetime.

Returning for a second season, the daytime show, which sees the popular TV personality lead a line-up of willing celebrity guests down memory lane, to relive their favourite British childhood summer holidays, will air a total of 25 episodes over a five-week run.

• Continue reading at the Gloucester Citizen.

Len Goodman returns in nostalgic travel series Holiday Of My Lifetime

As TV favourite Len Goodman celebrates the return of his nostalgic travel series Holiday Of My Lifetime, Gemma Dunn finds out about his latest batch of celebrity guests, and why the lively host thinks staycations will never lose their appeal

Returning for a second season, the daytime show, which sees the popular TV personality lead a line-up of willing celebrity guests down memory lane, to relive their favourite British childhood summer holidays, will air a total of 25 episodes over a five-week run.

Lisa Riley, Toyah Willcox, Pam St Clement, Edwina Currie, Jake Wood, Janet Ellis and Dan Walker are among the names to feature in the latest series, with destinations such as Haworth, Llangollen, Dartmoor, Bournemouth, Bude, the New Forest and Aberdeen on the list – Holiday Of My Lifetime begins on BBC One on Monday, February 1

• Continue reading at the Western Morning News. (Photo © Toyah Willcox)

Toyah’s amazing very first appearance on Top Of The Pops, from February 1981, re-airs 35 years “almost” to the day it was first broadcast on BBC4 early next month…

Top Of The Pops: 1981: BBC4:
Thu 4th Feb: 7.30/11.30pm|Sun 7th Feb: 1.45am
Mike Read introduces the pop programme, featuring Duran Duran, Shakin Stevens, Phil Collins, the Who, Adam and the Ants, Toyah, Motorhead and Girlschool, Joe Dolce, Talking Heads and the Teardrop Explodes, and a dance performance from Legs and Co.

• Look out for further retro Toyah on Top Of The Pops appearances this year on BBC4 – In 1981 Toyah guested in the Top Of The Pops studio six times, performing ‘It’s A Mystery’ (three times), ‘I Want To Be Free’, ‘Thunder In The Mountains’ and ‘Good Morning Universe’.

Toyah’s interview on the Doctors set is online at the BBC website.  Now you’ve seen the episode, watch this behind-the-scenes exclusive with the legendary Toyah Willcox. Click below to watch.

• Ever wondered what it takes to be a zombie? This Doctors EXCLUSIVE shows you the fabulous work our make up artists do. Browse all of Dreamscape’s “Toyah on Doctors” news here.

Doctors: Afternoon Of The Living Dead aired on BBC1 on Tuesday. It’s available to watch at BBC iPlayer for the next four weeks. Toyah plays Bill. Click below to watch (may be unavailable outside the UK).

Another chance to see Vintage TV’s 60 minute Toyah special tonight…

Neil McCormick’s Needle Time: Vintage TV: Sunday 8th November: 10pm
Toyah Willcox. Prolific artist and actor, who enjoyed hits with ‘It’s a Mystery’, ‘Thunder in the Mountains’ and ‘I Want to be Free’, shares the story behind her remarkable career – Running Time: 60 minutes. Vintage TV is available on Sky 369, Freeview 242, Virgin 343 and Freesat 505.

Details on next Tuesday’s episode of, BBC1 daytime drama, Doctors, “Afternoon of the Living Dead”, in which Toyah plays Bill. (Photo © BBC)

The team have a scary day out
1:45pm, Tuesday, 10 November 2015

The team arrive at an abandoned hospital for their team building day. Suddenly Bill appears and splits into two teams to survive a Zombie invasion. Jimmi tells Sid that the whole thing is ridiculous – but Daniel is fired up and starts to take on a lead role in the action.

Both teams are told that one of them has to make a sacrifice, so Mrs Tembe throws herself to the mercy of a zombie, while Heston reluctantly does the same.

Bill compliments Jimmi on surviving and he unenthusiastically admits they worked as a team. Daniel points out you can’t be a good leader without a good team, an idea that gets him thinking…

• Continue reading at What’s on TV. Read more about this forthcoming episode of Doctors here. Cast list and further info is available at the BBC Doctors website.

Episode 3 of Blink, featuring Toyah & Cheryl Baker, is now available via Channel 4’s On Demand. Two 80s pop legends, Cheryl Baker and Toyah Willcox, try audio and visual music challenges.

A popular Shipley Gate venue is hosting the auditions for a new rock music-based show. Thunder Valley Rocks is a nine-episode television show, filmed in a “live” format, and presented by Toyah Willcox.

Each episode features five live, unsigned rock bands, with celebrity guests appraising the bands’ performances and offering tips and advice from their own experiences.

The premise behind the show is that rock bands receive minimal exposure on national television compared to solo artists and pop music. In the final episode, the guests will choose a band between them, who will be offered a chance to play at a top UK music festival in 2016.

The pilot show will be screened on November 14. The celebrity guests will be taken from a range of different eras, and include musicians such as Roy Wood, Suzi Quatro, Kofi Baker, Rex Brown, Rick Wakeman, Ginger Fish, Martin Turner, Mark Brzezicki and more.

• Continue reading at Belper News.

Live With… Toyah is repeated tonight on Vintage TV at 10.30pm. A great six-song acoustic set from Toyah – with songs from Sheep Farming in Barnet, Anthem, The Changeling and Velvet Lined Shell – plus chat and reminisces inbetween the songs.

1. Thunder In The Mountains, 2. Danced, 3. Little Tears Of Love, 4. It’s A Mystery, 5. Dawn Chorus, 6. I Want To Be Free – Go Live With… Toyah at The Official Toyah Instagram.

Live With… Toyah: Vintage TV: Monday 12th October: 10.30pm
New! The high priestess of punk, who has been a prolific singer, musician and actor for three decades, takes to the stage. We’re launching a brand new show where it’s all about the music! From Sister Sledge and Glenn Tilbrook to Hazel O’Connor and Eddi Reader, we’ve invited musical icons to perform up to six tracks from their repertoire. Filmed in an intimate studio setting. ‘Live With’ gives you all the entertainment of live gig, without having to leave your living room! Vintage TV is available on Sky 369, Freeview 242, Virgin 343 and Freesat 505.

TOYAH PERFORMS EXCLUSIVELY ON LIVE WITH…

With her brightly coloured hair, and her fierce singing style, it’s no wonder Toyah was dubbed the ‘high priestess of punk’.

Thirty years on, this prolific artist, who enjoyed hits with ‘It’s A Mystery’ and ‘I Want To Be Free’, is relishing performing still.

See Toyah draw on her back catalogue on Wednesday, 7th October at 10.30pm!

• Continue reading at Vintage TV. Watch the trailer for Live With… Toyah here. Browse all of our related news. As well as airing tonight, Live With… Toyah is also repeated on Vintage TV on Monday 12th October at 10.30pm.

The trailer for Live With… Toyah. Airing very soon on Vintage TV.

The songs set to be played on the forthcoming Live With… Toyah have been revealed as: Dawn Chorus (From The Changeling, 1982), It’s A Mystery (from Anthem, 1981), Sensational (from In The Court Of The Crimson Queen, 2008) and Little Tears Of Love (from Velvet Lined Shell, 2003). Look out for the trailer for Live With… Toyah, which airs on Wednesday 7th October at 10.30pm on Vintage TV, coming to toyahwillcox.com very soon.

Toyah has already recorded Live With… Toyah for future broadcast on Vintage TV, and has now been interviewed for a new edition of Neil McCormick’s Needle Time which also airs on the music channel. Vintage tweeted a photo from the recording, saying: “Hugely talented and immensely versatile @toyahofficial shares the story of her career, spanning more than 30 years!“. Click below to see the full photo (Photo © Vintage TV)

BBC asks viewers to share their musical memorabilia to tell ‘The People’s History of Pop’

Do you treasure a ticket stub from David Bowie at Aylesbury Friars? Is there a glow-stick from an illegal rave in your attic? Does your teenage diary list every band you ever saw in painstaking detail?

Now the BBC is asking viewers to share their most cherished musical possessions to help tell The People’s History of Pop through a unique crowdsourcing appeal. An online archive is being created for a new BBC4 series which will tell the story of British rock & pop music from the 1950s to the noughties – but without the traditional narrative from chin-stroking “experts”.

Craig Astley uploaded a picture of himself, then aged 4, with his first pop idol, the punk singer Toyah after a concert in Newcastle. “Sixteen years later and I received a phone call from Toyah herself if I would be interested in running her website,” writes Astley, who now manages the singer’s archive. “Pop dreams can come true.”

• Continue reading at The Independent. View further info here.

Presenters Alex Jones and Matt Baker with Toyah, Simon Le Bon and John Taylor at The One Show on Tuesday. “Tonight we were joined by the 80s pop legends Duran Duran and Toyah Willcox, they had a quick look back at their iconic fashion style and retro pictures”. (Photo © BBC)

The lovely Toyah Willcox has blogged briefly about her role in “The Afternoon of the Living Dead” for Doctors. This makes me very happy. Go and take a peek at Toyah’s Blog.

• Continue reading at Scriptuality.

As tweeted by Toyah this week – the programme she filmed is the BBC’s daytime drama Doctors.

We have had the pleasure of being joined on set by the incredible Toyah Willcox. Toyah has returned to her midlands roots to film scenes for a fanatastic episode that will be aired in November. Keep your eyes on the website for an interview with the lady herself.

NB: Toyah has previously had a role in Doctors. She played “Marcy Preston” in an episode in April 2000.

This new show invites you to “trip the neon fantastic” and celebrate the best hits of the 1980s – and when they’re asking you to do that along to a soundtrack of the Pet Shop Boys’ Always On My Mind, how can you say no?

Eighties stars like Toyah Willcox, Tony Hadley, Martin Fry and Marc Almond all feature, reminiscing about shoulder pads, eyeliner and making pop history.

The show, narrated by the annoying Zoe Ball, has commissioned a poll to determine the nation’s favourite 80s tune, but really the poll is superfluous. It was surely just a hook on which to hang this glittery coat of nostalgia, giving the channel an excuse – and a mighty good one, in my opinion – to pull out some clips of all the old songs and wallow in how gloriously flamboyant pop music used to be.

• Continue reading at The National – This weekend’s TV highlights.

Another photo from The One Show shoot, tweeted by Toyah yesterday – Filming a special strand for @BBCOne The One Show. (Photo © Toyah Willcox)