After moving to Britain in 1960, Baroness Floella Benjamin overcame racism and adversity to become an actress, presenter, campaigner, author and politician. She tells us more about her extraordinary life

Words: Selma Day

When Baroness Floella Benjamin walks into The Ritz, she’s treated like royalty – a procession of staff comes over to greet her including the general manager, Sal Gowili. The hotel holds special memories for Benjamin and, as she’s swiftly handed a glass of champagne, she recalls bringing her mother here. “She spent two months deciding what to wear and when she walked through the door, she had this sense of ownership,” Benjamin says. “She came here with pride and felt that she belonged.”Her mum would certainly have been proud to see her daughter presented with a Bafta Fellowship last May – the highest accolade bestowed by Bafta upon an individual – for her tireless support of children and young people, her impact on television broadcasting and her unwavering championing of diversity.

 “Getting the Bafta Fellowship just blew my mind – it was just sensational,” she says. Benjamin looks far younger than her 75 years – she is slim, with glowing skin and a beaming smile. It’s that smile that captured the hearts of a generation of youngsters who watched her on the classic BBC children’s programme Play School in the 1970s.
Benjamin joined the Society of Film and Television Arts (as Bafta was then known) in 1989. From 1993 to 2001 she was a Bafta council member, and was chair of the Bafta Children’s Committee from 1997 to 1998 and chair of the TV Committee the following year. During that time, she played an important role in creating an awards ceremony for children’s television and film. She also won a Bafta Special Award in 2004. “Getting the fellowship was a reminder of all of that,” she says. “How it started, where I come from – and now there’s a photograph of me saying: ‘One of Bafta’s greats!’”  Benjamin arrived in Britain in 1960 from Trinidad as part of the Windrush generation. She and her two sisters and three brothers lived with her parents in one room in Chiswick.

The family eventually settled in Beckenham and immediately encountered racism among the local community. “They sent the police to arrest us – to say black people don’t live here. My mum said: ‘You know something, we’re going to live in this house!’” The family stayed there for 40 years and when Benjamin’s position as a Liberal Democrat peer in the House of Lords – Baroness Benjamin of Beckenham – was announced in 2010, she visited her parents’ graves in Beckenham cemetery. “I said: ‘Marmie, Dardie, I’m going to claim Beckenham for you!’” After leaving school, Benjamin worked for a bank while taking dance lessons and appearing in a band with her family. “I wanted to become the first black woman bank manager but back in 1966 that was almost mission impossible, because black people weren’t allowed to meet the customers or touch the money – you had to work behind the scenes,” she says.

Benjamin then saw an advert for singers and dancers and went for it. She became a full-time actress and appeared in the stage musicals Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar and The Black Mikado, the 1977 film Black Joy, and on television in series such as Within These Walls, Mixed Blessings and Love Thy Neighbour. But it was her role as a presenter of Play School, with her trademark blue beads, that made her not only a household name but a national treasure. The impact she had was huge. For many people, it was the first time they had seen a person of colour on the telly. It broke down barriers and inspired and paved the way for children from ethnic minorities.

To this day, people come up to her in the street to say thank you – for showing them that it’s possible to do anything. “Every time I was on television, I knew I had a responsibility to present myself in a certain way – to be uplifting and joyful and engaging with a big smile, showing that I’m confident and I’m a winner,” she says. “When I came on and they saw my smile, they knew somebody loved them.” Since then, Benjamin has been an advocate for children’s rights, and many of those in positions of power are what she calls her Play School babies. They naturally warm to her and are inclined to listen to what she has to say.
She campaigned for 20 years for a minister for children – the first, Margaret Hodge, was appointed in 2003 – got ITV, Channel Four and Channel 5 to start making children’s programmes and lobbied to get more diversity into children’s picture books. She’s also a patron of various children’s charities, and from the age of 50, completed 10 consecutive marathons, raising money for Barnardo’s and Sickle Cell Society. Benjamin has also campaigned tirelessly for diversity and inclusion, having faced racism all of her life. Growing up, she was regularly beaten up, constantly made to feel she didn’t  belong and told she wasn’t worthy. However, very early on she learned how to fight back by showing people love.

“I had to face a lot of aggression, a lot of hatred, a lot of adversity,” she says. “I used to battle my way through it, because my mum and dad always told us how to stand up to that.” Benjamin now advises the BBC and ITV on their diversity policies as well as speaking to organisations about diversity and inclusion. “I feel there is a moment now and a feeling that we need to change and be all-embracing,” she says. Benjamin lives life by what she calls the three Cs: consideration (empathy and understanding for other people); contentment (being satisfied with what you have and having a happy heart); and confidence (being a decent human being and giving and loving unconditionally). She has received numerous accolades, including an OBE in 2001 for her contribution to children’s broadcasting.

She was made a Dame of the British Empire in the Queen’s new year honours in 2020, and carried the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Dove at the coronation of King Charles. But she says she couldn’t have done it all without the support of others. “You need other people to believe in you and certain people have opened doors for me,” she says. They include her husband, Keith, whom she has been married to for 54 years, and her mum and dad, who she says were her role models and instilled confidence and a sense of worth in her and her siblings.   “My dad showed us that there was a world out there and opened our minds to this great world. But it was my mum who showed us how to capture the world. She said: ‘I want all of you to be big, strong and brave and remember mummy and daddy love you.’ And love is all you need as a child. If you feel loved, you feel confident.

It doesn’t matter what gets thrown at you, because you know you’re loved, you know you’re worthy.” Benjamin’s story is told in her autobiography What Are You Doing Here? and her bestselling book Coming to England has been adapted into a musical that is currently on tour. One of her standout moments was being chosen by the late Queen Elizabeth II to receive the Order of Merit, which King Charles presented to her in 2022. She was told the Queen remembered speaking to her during her diamond jubilee in 2012 on a visit to Exeter University, where Benjamin was chancellor for 10 years.

Another moment was when, as chair of the Windrush Committee, Benjamin helped organise a national monument in honour of the Windrush generation who came to Britain from the Caribbean. The monument, at Waterloo Station, was unveiled by Prince William in 2022. “I wanted it to be part of British history – getting the recognition that people from all over the Commonwealth came here and contributed to British history at a time when Britain needed help. This is something that is going to be here long after I’ve gone.” What a legacy! 

Main image by Sarel Jansen