Floella BENJAMIN Chancellor of the University of Exeter, Actress, Writer, Independent Producer, Children’s Campaigner(UK) Floella Benjamin was born in Trinidad in 1949 and came to England as a child in 1960 when her family settled in south London. She left school at 16 with the aim of becoming Britain’s first ever black woman bank manager but changed direction and became an actress, author, independent producer and children’s TV presenter. Today she runs a successful film and television production company and is an active Vice-President of Barnardo’s and NCH. She led a twenty-year campaign to create the role of Children’s Minister, which achieved its goal in 2003. She was Chairman of the Women of the Year Lunch for five years, Chairman of BAFTA -Television, a member of the OFCOM Content Board and a Millennium Commissioner. She is President of the Elizabeth ’R’ Commonwealth Broadcasting Fund, a Governor of Dulwich College and the NFTS and is Chairman of Pegasus Opera Company. Her broadcasting work has been recognised with a Special Lifetime Achievement BAFTA and an OBE. She has written over 20 books including Coming to England which is used as a resource in schools in social and cross curricular areas. The book was adapted into a film by her company for BBC Education and it won an RTS Television Award in 2004. Her latest book, My Two Grannies will be published later this year. She has recently created the Touching Success initiative which aims to mentor and help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. She is an honorary graduate of the University of Exeter. Although best known for her work as a children’s TV presenter of iconic programmes like Playschool and Play Away, she began her career in the theatre appearing in many hit West End shows, and in television dramas including Bergerac, Gentle Touch and more recently The Line of Beauty, as well as in the British 1977 Cannes Film entry Black Joy where she was critically acclaimed. Her latest hit children's programme is the CBeebies Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies, she is also producing and presenting a 42 part children's comedy series for BBC7.