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Geoffrey Hayes

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For other people named Geoffrey Hayes, see Geoffrey Hayes (disambiguation).

Geoffrey Hayes
Born
Charles Geoffrey Hayes[1]

(1942-03-13)13 March 1942
Stockport, Cheshire, England
Died30 September 2018(2018-09-30) (aged 76)
Occupation(s)Television presenter, actor
Years active1967−2018
Spouse
Sarah Williams
​
(m. 1987)​
Children1

Charles Geoffrey Hayes (13 March 1942 – 30 September 2018) was an English television presenter and actor. He was best known as the presenter of Thames Television's children's show Rainbow from 1973 to 1992.

Early life and education

Hayes had various jobs such as a British Rail booking clerk before attending drama school in Manchester and training as an actor.[1] Hayes' most prominent role was the presenter of Thames Television's children's show Rainbow from 1973 to 1992, replacing original host David Cook.[1][2] Before this, he worked as an actor, including a recurring role in BBC1's police drama Z-Cars.[3] Hayes also has writing credits for Rainbow[4] and The Great Pony Raid in 1967.[5]

Career

Hayes struggled to find work after Rainbow was cancelled by ITV when the production company, Thames Television, lost its franchise in 1991.[6][1] He took a job stacking shelves for his local Sainsbury's grocery for four months as he had not yet found an acting job.[1] In 1996, GMTV ordered a 26-part series called Mole in the Hole, for its weekend morning strand for young children.[7] the series was essentially Geoffrey Hayes, Roy Skelton and Malcolm Lord's own attempt to re-create Rainbow, having been left out of the revivals on ITV. The show set in the fictional village of Codswallop, featured Geoffrey Hayes as lead presenter (much like his role on Rainbow) living in a country cottage with three puppet characters. Respectively, they had strongly similar voices and personalities to Bungle, Zippy and George.[8] The series lasted for one season of 26 episodes before being axed. Hayes later spent time as a taxicab driver and then retired some time later.[1] He stated he would like to have done serious acting work after the show ended, but directors could not disassociate him from his role in Rainbow.[1] Hayes starred in a humorous television advert about investing money, making fun of his fall from the top.[9]

Hayes appeared in the video for "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" by Oasis tribute band, No Way Sis.[10] He replicated the role of a taxi driver,[10] just as Patrick Macnee had done in the Oasis video for "Don't Look Back in Anger".[11] Hayes also appeared in the all-star line up for the video of Tony Christie with Peter Kay's single "Is This the Way to Amarillo?"[10] In 2002, he was a guest panellist on an episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks.[12]

Hayes was part of the Walkers Crisps campaign for Monster Munch in 2008. The stated objective of the campaign was to find the missing monster puppets from the original 1980s television advertisements for the popular snack. In the film clip, he mentions that he has heard from Bungle recently.[13] In September 2015, he was a guest on BBC One's Pointless Celebrities. He got through to the final but did not get a Pointless answer.[14][15]

Personal life

Hayes married Sarah Williams in 1987. The couple had a son, Tom.[1]

Hayes was a fan of the Scottish football team Dundee United, having lived in the city in the 1960s. Hayes said that he asked the producers of Rainbow to make the Zippy puppet tangerine in colour, to match Dundee United's colours rather than the blue of local rivals Dundee.[16]

He had homes in London and Spain.[1]

Death

Hayes died of pneumonia in hospital on 30 September 2018 aged 76.[1][3][17]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hayward, Anthony (1 October 2018). "Geoffrey Hayes obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  2. ^ Shepherd, Jack (1 October 2018). "Geoffrey from Rainbow dies, aged 76". The Independent. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Rainbow's Geoffrey Hayes dies at 76". BBC News. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  4. ^ "Rainbow (1972-95) Credits". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  5. ^ "The Great Pony Raid". TV Guide. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  6. ^ "Rainbow couple reunited". BBC News. 12 July 2002. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  7. ^ ComedyKings.co.uk, summer 1996
  8. ^ "Mole in the Hole" on YouTube
  9. ^ Geoffrey Hayes (13 August 2002). "Hayes returns over the Rainbow". BBC News. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  10. ^ a b c "What's happened to Geoffrey Hayes". The Scotsman. 26 September 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  11. ^ McAlpine, Fraser (25 June 2015). "RIP Patrick Macnee: The Original Avenger". BBC America. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  12. ^ "Rainbow star Geoffrey Hayes dies". Yorkshire Post. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  13. ^ "Monster Munch 'Geoffrey Hayes' by Frank PR". Campaign. Campaignlive.co.uk. 3 October 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  14. ^ "BBC One – Pointless Celebrities, Series 8". BBC One. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  15. ^ "Geoffrey from Rainbow just showed up on Pointless Celebrities". Metro. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  16. ^ "Fun and Games | Zippy named top fan". BBC Sport. 10 March 2006. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  17. ^ "Rainbow's Geoffrey Hayes remembered fondly as he dies aged 76". The Irish News. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
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