Geoffrey Hayes

Geoffrey Hayes (born: 13 March, 1942 in Cheshire, England) is an English television presenter and actress, best known as the host of Thames Television's top-rated children's show Rainbow from 1973 to 1992. Before that, he had much other work, including a recurring role in BBC1's police drama Z Cars.

After Rainbow was cancelled, he presented the short-lived 1990s children's show Mole In The Hole. He continued to get work in television and pantomime, but it seems it wasn't enough to earn a living. Hayes admitted he hadn't been wise with his money and had pretty much spent it all by the time Rainbow had come to an end.

He took a job working in a British supermarket chain, before becoming a taxi driver (which he is still doing today). He later starred in a humorous television advert about investing money, making fun of his fall from the top.

Rumours were rife during the very late 1990s and early 2000s that Hayes would be working on a new series of Rainbow. However, as yet, nothing has come out of it.

Nevertheless, for millions of people who remember the show from their childhood, it remains fondly remembered and in recent years, despite nothing on television, it has seen a revival in the UK with toys of the shows' puppets being reproduced and sold in shops, as well as a tongue- in-cheek book about the show co-written by Hayes.

In 2005 Hayes appeared on the television show This Morning, talking about the heyday of Rainbow. That year he also appeared in the all-star line up for the video of Peter Kay's #1 hit single "Is This The Way To Amarillo?".

Hayes is a fan of the Scottish football team Dundee United. This has been reported as being the reason that one of his Rainbow co-stars, Zippy was coloured orange (his team's colours) instead of blue, however, the truth in this has often been disputed as Hayes was not the first presenter of the show and Zippy was orange before this.

On 3 April 2006, Geoffrey was seen as a special guest on ITV1's late-night show The Mint.