Irish parents have voted Ray D’Arcy of The Den as the nation’s number one children’s TV presenter of all time. In a new survey of Irish parents, mums and dads also revealed Ian Dempsey of Dempsey’s Den and The Disney Club’s Emma O’Driscoll as their second and third choices respectively. The survey was carried out by children’s toy brand Chad Valleyto celebrate its new educational range PlaySmart. According to the research, parents think children’s TV has a role to play in a child’s educational development, with 72 per cent agreeing that programmes can help children enjoy learning. In fact, one in four parents voted iconic children’s show Dempsey’s Den as the programme they learnt the most from when growing up. Famous for launching the careers of many TV characters, including Zig and Zag and Dustin the Turkey, the show also had a reputation for airing many new episodes of shows such as Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Totally Spies! And Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In addition to children’s TV supporting children’s learning, 89 per cent of all Irish parents said that some of the most significant learning takes place outside the classroom. Of those polled, a total 35 per cent of Irish parents said that playing make-believe games helps children to learn best outside school. Ireland’s Top Children’s TV presenters: Ray D’Arcy (The Den) Ian Dempsey (Dempsey’s Den) Emma O’Driscoll (The Disney Club) Jonathan Ryan (Bosco) Aengus McAnally (Anything Goes) Mary Fitzgerald (How Do You Do?) Frank Twomey (Bosco) Mary Kingston (Scratch Saturday) Marian Richardson (Bosco) In honour of the results, (or because we'll take any excuse to play this), here's a classic moment from The Den, albeit post the D'Arcy years... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0S1VmlHb0Y