Stars of legendary kids TV show reunite and look worlds away from nineties fame

THE stars of the legendary kids TV show Wide Awake Club have reunited to celebrate the 80s series' 40th birthday.

Michaela Strachan shared a snap of herself with the show's original presenters Timmy Mallet and Arabella Warner.

The Wide Awake Club ran from 1984 until 1989 as part of TV-AM.

It was a hugely popular kids show and aired on Saturday Mornings for an hour from 8.30am.

When the show first kicked off, it was presented by Timmy, Arabella and James Baker.

Tommy Boyd then joined in 1985, with Michaela signing up to the show the following year.

The live programme combined comedy, games, celebrity guests, competitions and viewer interaction.

There were also more educational features, including visiting experts such as Carol Vorderman.

The show also launched the career of Hollywood movie star Mike Myers.

Today, Michaela shared how she had reunited with Arabella and Timmy, plus members of the Wide Awake Club team to celebrate their 40th anniversary.

Posting a slew of pics from their reunion, she wrote: "Had a Wide Awake Club reunion today. 40 yrs! Can you believe it?!

"Great to see some of the founding production team as well as @TimmyMallett & Arabella Warner 2 of the original presenters.

"So many amazing memories. Making Telly in the 80s was just the best!"

Since the show ended, Michaela has had a glittering career as a presenter working mostly on nature programmes, with kids of the 80s knowing her for the children's show, The Really Wild Show.

Alongside this, she also appeared on the original Good Morning Britain.

Up until 2009, Michaela was a regular reporter for BBC One show, Countryfile.

These days Michaela is best known for being one of the hosts of BBC shows Springwatch and Winterwatch.

Timmy Mallett, meanwhile, also continued to host kids shows throughout the 80s and 90s.

He was best known for for his hit series  with his infamous companion Pinky Punky, a soft toy hammer.

The star also fronted Timmy Towers.

In 2008, he returned to television and took part in I'm A Celebrity, sharing the Australian camp with stars including Nicola McLean and Joe Swash.

The kids' TV star previously spoke about CITV closing down for good and moving to ITVX.

He told The Sun: "It’s just a different way of accessing the material, so the programmes are still there and children will always find them.

"If you look at the TV figures, people say ‘oh it’s got an audience like that or this’ well if you were to compare that with children’s TV audiences right up there, they’re enormous. Kids find them.

"The home grown talent and programming is there, they’re just not on at mainstream times.

"We used to come home from school and Blue Peter would be on with everything else, now you’ve got to go to your own channel to find it."

Meanwhile, Arabella Warner has switched careers and is now a freelance writer and filmmaker.

Her LinkedIn profile reads: "I have worked in Children's Television for over 30 years, as a writer, producer, director and presenter on groundbreaking shows including 'Teletubbies', 'Bottletop Bill' and 'The Wide Awake Club'.

"I specialise in writing for a preschool audience. I am also artistic director of Kestrel Theatre Company, a charity that uses theatre and film to work creatively in the criminal justice system."