‘It's Still A Wonderful World'

It’s 40 years since a giggly Simon Townsend and a lovable dog called Woodrow burst onto our screens

- Craig Bennett

Simon Townsend has faced more challenges than most, yet the much-loved host of iconic children’s TV show Simon Townsend’s Wonder World! hasn’t lost his sense of humour or his famous giggle.

“I loved hosting Wonder World! because it made me laugh,” says Simon. “It was the highlight of my showbiz life, and it was a show that made everyone feel good. It’ll be 40 years this September since the show debuted, and in some ways it seems like yesterday, as I remember it all so vividly, but in other ways it seems as if it were several lifetimes ago!”

Wonder World! was like no other show on Australian TV.

FAITHFUL SIDEKICK

Simon, now 73, introduced each episode, and was always accompanied by his pet and trusty companion, Woodrow, an American bloodhound, who sadly died in 1986. He was replaced with a sulphur-crested cockatoo, and then a labrador named Logie – because Simon won so many of the TV awards during Wonder World!’s eightyear run.