ONE of the UK's greatest-ever childrens entertainers is set to visit Oswestry next month as part of a book tour promoting her life story.

Baroness Floella Benjamin, who used to present Play School and Play Away, among other shows as well as performing, will be appearing at the Holroyd Community Theatre, in Weston Rhyn, on Friday, July 15, in conjunction with Booka Bookshop.

Baroness Floella will be there to talk about 'What are you doing here?', her book charting her arrival in the UK from Trinidad as part of the Windrush movement, and racism she has faced since.

She will also be there to talk about her career in television, plus her arrival into the House of Lords, and much more.

A Booka spokesman said: "Join us for an Evening with Baroness Floella Benjamin, one of the country’s most beloved entertainers, as she tells her remarkable and inspirational life story.

"She was the little girl from the Caribbean who became a British household name, and along the way received some of the highest accolades around – including a BAFTA Special Lifetime Achievement Award and a Damehood – and became a Peer in the House of Lords.

"Born in Trinidad, she came to England in 1960 with her family as part of the Windrush generation.

"She was shocked to find a cold and unwelcoming Britain, her first and by no means her last experience of racism. Benjamin quickly realized that if she was going to survive, she had to learn how to live in two cultures.

"Forced to leave school at 16, she resolved to become Britain’s first Black woman bank manager, but a successful audition for a national musical put her on the path to a decades-spanning career in entertainment."

Over the last 30 years, she has dedicated herself to charitable causes, lobbying Prime ministers on behalf of children, building her Touching Success foundation, and advocating for more representation across the media.

Benjamin also set up her own television company, was the Chancellor of the University of Exeter for a decade, and ran ten London Marathons for Barnardos.

The spokesman added: "A natural storyteller, 'What Are You Doing Here?' is her incredibly moving and honest account of her remarkable life and her refusal to be defined by others.

"We are thrilled to be hosting this event with Floella and look forward to welcoming her to Oswestry."

Tickets cost £20 and include one signed copy of the book, or £30 for two tickets and one signed copy – head to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-evening-with-baroness-floella-benjamin-tickets-365760769307