Prepare to blub during new show Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds
Pensioners spend six weeks at nursery with a group of four year olds to help change their lives
When curmudgeonly 89-year-old care-home resident Hamish Hall first heard about a television experiment to send OAPs to nursery with four-year-old children, it’s safe to say he didn’t jump at the chance to join in.
“They wrote to see if anyone wanted to get involved. I ignored that,” admits Hamish.
“Then time was getting short and they only had one man, so my name was put forward as someone to approach. They came to see me and I rebuffed them.
"They came a second time and I said no again. On the third visit, I suppose it was vanity which forced me to say: ‘Oh, all right then.’”
And so Hamish is one of the elderly contributors who spent six weeks following the same daily timetable as a group of kids at a new nursery set within his retirement village in Bristol.
Based on successful studies in America, the goal is to see whether, by playing and interacting with the youngsters in classroom activities designed by experts, older people’s physical, social and emotional wellbeing can improve and even add years to their life.
Not that Hamish, “a bachelor” who has no kids of his own, is a convert. Indeed, at the beginning of the show, he sits alone reading the newspaper while the children begin to draw with the rest of the older generation.
“They arrived and behaved as you’d expect four year olds to behave – they introduced themselves en masse and then shouted a lot and squabbled,” he says. “So really one wondered what one had got oneself in for.”
Hamish lost a leg when he was run over by a truck aged 14, so he was concerned about his role. Which, we wonder, is why he’s unwilling to admit he enjoyed the experience.
“I didn’t see myself as being able to participate,” he says. “I’ve been an amputee for 74 years and it seemed to me that little children of four years old would really be wanting to jump and run and get down on the ground.”
And yet, as this most heartwarming of shows progresses, Hamish becomes more involved and cracks begin to appear in his grumpy façade. In one of the many truly lovely scenes in the two-part series, he even dives on to the floor during a game to pretend to be a sleeping lion.
“Sleeping lions was pleasing,” he finally admits, while refusing to acknowledge that the study has improved his life.
“The thing that the children enjoyed most was jumping off chairs on to the bean bags. They would do this with no encouragement at all. So getting down on the floor to lie there and attempt to eat them was certainly pleasing.”
But that’s not all. When questioned further, Hamish confesses that he was the compere at sports day, narrated a play and made a final speech at the end of the experiment.
“The filmmakers will be out to demonstrate that the children had enriched our lives. They will claim it
has worked, so we shall see,” he says. “But did my views on children change? No, not at all.”
It’s clear, however, despite his denials, that he loved spending time with the kids.
“One was enjoying episodes when one was doing them,” he grins.
“The children were remarkably well behaved. The boys were real characters. And there was a girl, Amiya, who became attached to me, and also Eva, who tried to bring me cheer and comfort. One did form a relationship, though not one where you wished they were there when they were gone.”
Hamish will concede that he would now agree to do a similar experiment again and, as the standout star of the show, he’s prepared to go back on TV – perhaps hosting a quiz, as he enjoys watching University Challenge.
“I work out how ignorant I am by watching that,” he says. “I wouldn’t say no to hosting a quiz show. They say I have a voice that’s very clearly understood, so I’ll happily sign up for any offers. Would I do this show again? Certainly. For shorter periods.”
NEW! Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds Tuesday 9pm C4
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