IT'S not often you share fond memories of the same kids' television presenter with your own children. It's almost an unwritten rule that the faces from your own childhood have moved on by the time your kids are creating their own TV memories. But there are always exceptions to every rule, and one of those is Chris Jarvis.
He first made his name in the early 1990s on Children's BBC, presenting from the Broom Cupboard, alongside Zoe Ball and Josie d'Arby, as well as hosting shows like Look Sharp. He's also been a constant presence since the beginning of CBeebies in 2002.
So, what has made him stay in children's TV for almost 30 years and not follow his former colleagues and the likes of Phillip Schofield into mainstream presenting?
"The great thing about working in children's television is you get to do a little bit of everything," the 53-year-old tells me.
"I've worked for teenagers with Fully Booked, but I also do a lot of pre-school work which involves music, drama and comedy. Anyone working in grown-up TV tends to get pigeon-holed."
This weekend Chris will be holding a TV presenting and performing workshop at the Ulster Museum as part of the Cinemagic Film Festival. He will be sharing his thoughts on everything from interview techniques to how to prevent on-screen giggles with six- to 11-year-olds.
I ask him if he feels presenting and performing go hand-in-hand when working in kids' television: "Yes. I started off doing radio drama and character work and sort of fell into presenting by accident. There are no rules or qualifications that you need to have at all. I think enthusiasm is more important than talent and likeability is probably more important than confidence."
He also highlights the need for resilience: "You have to accept that if you're going to put yourself in the spotlight, not everybody is going to like what you do."
What he doesn't advocate as a prerequisite to becoming a TV presenter is having been a 'YouTuber'.
"That is a very lonely existence and I believe working with other people in show business is so important," Chris says.
"To get the best performance you need someone to bounce off and keep you in check. You need people who can tell you 'that's rubbish' or 'that's quite good', otherwise you won't learn and are just gauging your ability by how many clicks you get."
For 20 years he's been working alongside Pui Fan Lee, who was once one of the Teletubbies. After presenting together on CBeebies for eight years, the duo went on to front Show Me Show Me, where they invite children to have have fun playing games, singing songs and practising groovy moves in their magical playroom.
"We also went on to tour a stage show together. Pui and my relationship demonstrates the importance of working with others. It doesn't just provide dialogue on-screen, but so much more potential and ideas," he explains.
Chris also reveals that Pui's son's love of a song Chris and his father penned led to the development of another popular CBeebies show, Old Jack's Boat, featuring the late Bernard Cribbins.
The Bafta-winning programme features Old Jack, the owner of a multi-coloured fishing boat, who in each episode tells a story to his dog, Salty.
"My dad wrote the lyrics to the song and I wrote the music and I was delighted when CBeebies ran with the idea," adds Chris, who also devised the show Rockpool Tales.
"I'm happy working either behind the scenes or on-screen - I love both."
Chris has also written and appeared in some of the big CBeebies Christmas spectaculars and has just finished directing this year's show, Dick Whittington and His Cat.
A host of CBeebies stars, including Justin Fletcher, aka Mr Tumble, as the Lord Mayor and presenter Ben Cajee as Dick Whittington, bring a show bursting with catchy songs, laughs and festive fun.
The audience will join the heroes as they travel to London for the Lord Mayor's Christmas parade, only to discover a trio of cheeky rats are intent on ruining everyone's fun.
"What makes CBeebies different is the bravery and variety of what we do. We've tackled Shakespeare, ballet and the Proms, and reflect different cultures," says Chris.
"We very much present an alternative Christmas show, whilst still capturing good storytelling and theatrical experience and good storytelling.
"Partly in response to Pixar and Disney, the ambition and production values have shot up in recent years. This is a CBeebies version of Dick Whittington, so it's a bit more whimsical," adds Chris, who is also writing and directing Cinderella in Poole this year, and playing Buttons.
Beyond kids' TV, are we likely to see him pop up on any reality shows in the future?
"No, I've been asked a few times, but as a children's presenter you need to be careful. I did a karaoke show on Channel 5 in the 90s which was great fun, but I find a lot of the current panel shows tedious, compared to the likes of The Generation Game," says Chris.
"We've lost a lot of fun and I think there should be more family sitcoms on the television like 'Allo 'Allo! and Dad's Army that the whole family can watch".
Perhaps this is something Chris can work on in the future as he continues to entertain more generations of young viewers - and their parents...
:: TV Presenting and Performing with Chris Jarvis is on Saturday October 29 at 10.30am. Cinemagic present the Northern Ireland premiere of Dick Whittington and His Cat on November 27 at Belfast's Odeon cinema. For tickets and full programme visit Cinemagic.org.uk.
