Mr Chancellor, It May Be That the Simple Secret of Success Is to Find Something You Do Well and Do It to the Best of Your Ability

Mr Chancellor, it may be that the simple secret of success is to find something you do well and do it to the best of your ability. There are some people though whose ability is immense and, happily, what they are able to do well is of great value to others. This is certainly true of Justin Fletcher a.k.a. Mr Tumble, superhero Captain Adorable, weather girl Gail Force, hapless handyman D.I.Y. Dan, newsreader Arthur Sleep and a host of other characters that make innumerable children very happy while extending their communication skills in what can only be regarded as phenomenal ways. Justin has been dubbed a “communication genius”, recognised as “possibly the hardest working man in television” and is regarded by CBeebies as the jewel in their crown. Wherever children are concerned his generosity is as boundless as his energy and good humour. There is an impressive and growing list of pop stars who will attest to him attracting bigger audiences at festivals and public events than them. He is a collector, connoisseur and purveyor of awful jokes (and I am allowed to say that because with Justin’s jokes the more emphasis you can put into the words ‘that was awful!’ the greater the compliment) and even though the gag has been around for over 100 years, somehow when he gets a custard pie in the face it’s still funny. Justin’s dedication to and love of children suggests a powerful link to the force that underpins the work of this University’s Institute of Education and puts it so high in the league table for teacher training. It seems to us that now is an entirely appropriate time for us to celebrate this link which lies behind our mutual success given our recent return to this splendidly re-furbished site in the middle of this vibrant up and coming town. Justin is of course a prodigal son of the town. He grew up and was educated here and the town is proud to reclaim him each year for its big pantomime. Justin’s family actually already had some record, if you’ll forgive the pun, of serving others through entertaining them. His father was the first British songwriter to write for Elvis Presley, his cousin is the keyboardist for Dire Straits and regular visitors to the Fletcher home included Cliff Richard and Rick Wakeman. His sister Juliette also appears on your screens daily as a newsreader. We are delighted to welcome members of Justin’s family here today to celebrate his achievements. In 1986 Justin Fletcher joined the 6th Form of Theale Green School. He immediately became a key member of the active and highly successful drama group there, his first role being that of road sweeper Bert Dirt in a play devised to encourage young children to be more environmentally aware. The play won an award from the Keep Britain Tidy Campaign. For Justin this would be the first of a great many awards won for his work in children’s education. Even as a teenager, it was abundantly clear that Justin was as fascinated by children as they were with him. In fact, one of my own daughter’s earliest memories is of a smiley boy’s face popping up over the coach seats in front of her and keeping her amused during a long journey to Germany. For this I was extremely grateful because at the time I was still trying to learn my lines for the play in which we were to perform together there. Perhaps encouraged by this experience, Justin went on train at Guildford School of Acting and was inspired to pursue a career in children’s television. His own heroes included giants of children’s television Brian Cant, Derek Griffiths and Johnny Morris while his study of silent comedy stars such as Chaplin, Keaton and Laurel and Hardy have also palpably informed his own style of comedy. Indeed some of his first work with the BBC was in the slapstick series Higgledy House in which he first developed the character so beloved of young children, Mr Tumble. Meanwhile his work as a voice over artist progressed a-pace. If you ever wondered what Shaun the Sheep might look like without his woolly jumper on, here he is! Justin is a genuinely modest man yet has every reason to be proud of all of his work. There is one project, however, that I know has a very special place in his heart and for which thousands of parents and carers are extremely grateful to him. Something Special is a truly unique piece of television. It is the only children’s programme that has a protected slot in the broadcast schedule, which enables parents and carers to rely on it being there and so build it into what, for some children, is an all-important daily routine. The programme won the Royal Television Society award for best early years programme for two years running. In 2010 it won the Bafta for best pre-school programme and Justin won his second Bafta for best Children’s Television Presenter. In 2007 a petition called on the Prime Minister to recognise Justin’s work stating that, ‘He both entertains and educates our children and does this with intelligence and panache without patronising. Programmes like Something Special can only help bridge the gap that sometimes sadly appears between able and not so able bodied people in our society and help banish the unkindness that disabled people sometimes face due to ignorance.’ Justin was subsequently awarded a MBE for his services to children’s television and the voluntary sector (though a diplomatic incident almost occurred when a Guard, ‘with a big furry hat’ as Justin puts it, couldn’t resist calling out “Mrrrrr Tumble” at the investiture!) Given the importance of the University of Reading’s work in the fields of drama, early years and special education, it is entirely appropriate that this University also recognises Justin’s creative contribution to the development of children’s social and communication skills. In this field Justin really is something special. Mr Chancellor, I present Justin Fletcher for the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters of this University. .

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