Zoo: 1981-1983

By late 1981, Legs & Co had become more integrated into the studio audience on TOTP, performing set-piece routines for non-present chart acts. However, times were changing, and Flick Colby felt the time was right to reintroduce male dancers to the dance troupe. Music videos were slowly replacing the dated TOTP dance routines when artists couldn’t perform in the studio. Legs & Co’s stint on TOTP ended in October 1981, and a twenty-member dance troupe named Zoo replaced them. Zoo featured a mix of ten female and ten male dancers each week. Three members of previous troupes, Menhenick, Corpe, and Chellamah, made at least one appearance between 1981 and 1983. The number of dancers in a routine varied from one to twelve.

Zoo’s first appearance on TOTP was a routine to “Twilight” by Electric Light Orchestra.

The exact number of dancers who appeared as part of Zoo’s line-up over their TOTP tenure is uncertain. However some of the regular members included:

• “Downtown” Julie Brown
• Wesley Pestano
• Clive Clarke or Clive Rubber-Man Clarke
• Mary Corpe
• Sharon “Sid” Haywoode
• Julie Harris
• Richard Pettyfer
• Jeanette Landray
• Eddie Kemp
• Deborah Dean
• Anita Mahadervan
• Voyd (Yvonne Evans)
• Debbie Fox (Foxy)
• Penni Dunlop
• Jon Peterson
• Alison Thomas
• Michelle Taylor
• Lance Aston
• Geoffery Unkovich
• Nicola Scott Valentine

As 1983 began, Zoo’s appearances on TOTP became less frequent.  From 30 December 1982 to 24 February 1983, Zoo didn’t perform any credited routines. By the end of 1982 record companies were  regularly offering artist music videos to the BBC. This meant that dance troupes and routines were no longer necessary. Zoo last performed a routine on 29th September 1983 to “What I Got Is What You Need” by Unique. This episode not only marked the end of dance troupes appearing on TOTP in general, but it was also the last episode to credit Flick Colby as “Dance Director” on TOTP, ending her 15-year association with the show.

From late 1983 onwards, the audience and TOTP “cheerleaders” became more active participants.  “Cheerleaders” often danced in prominent camera hotspots, such as behind music acts, at the back of stages, or on podiums within the audience. This allowed TOTP’s then director, Michael Hurll, to create a “modern” party atmosphere for viewers at home.