Freda Lingstrom

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Freda Violet Lingstrom OBE (23 July 1893 — 15 April 1989) was a BBC Television producer and executive who was responsible for pioneering children's programmes in the early 1950's.

She was born in Chelsea, London, the daughter of George Lingstrom, a copperplate engraver, and Alice Clarey Amiss. Her paternal grandparents were Swedish. She attended the Central School of Arts and Crafts and became an artist. She had a one-woman show in 1936. She also wrote two novels, and a book,This is Norway, about culture and history of that country.

Her skills as an artist, illustrator and author gave her work on the editorial staff of a children's magazine. However in 1940 she joined the BBC and in 1947 she was promoted to Assistant Head of BBC Schools Broadcasting. At BBC Radio she also created the lunchtime programme Listen with Mother in 1950. Soon after she moved to television, she created Andy Pandy (with Maria Bird) and she was appointed Head of BBC Children's Television in 1951. She introduced Watch with Mother for pre-school children and eventually created a different programme for each weekday with The Flower Pot Men, Picture Book, The Woodentops, and Rag, Tag and Bobtail.

She was responsible for commissioning a wide range of programmes including much high quality drama as well as entertainment programmes such as Sooty and Crackerjack. Her policy was in the tradition of Lord Reith and so programmes were aimed at education as much as entertainment and so she strongly resisted cartoons and imported programmes. Although the programmes received wide approval from adults, when ITV was launched, it soon became clear that many children wanted something else. In retrospect the programmes are seen as cosy and biased to the 'middle class', but laid the foundation for what was to come. Her achievement was to inspire her producers such as Cliff Michelmore to provide memorable and high-quality programmes on a small budget. The difficulty of the role can be seen in the problems experienced from 1956 by her successor, Owen Reed.

She lived in Chartwell Cottage, Mapleton Lane, Chartwell, near Westerham in Kent, with a close friend, Maria Bird, who was co-creator of her TV characters. Both had lost fiancées in World War I. Her adopted daughter, Alison Gassier, has stated that the relationship was platonic. After the BBC she continued to write children's books and became an art critic. She died aged 95 in 1989, though her estate still controls the rights to Andy Pandy and The Flowerpot Men.