
They were the second dance troupe to appear regularly on Top of the Pops, succeeding the Go-Jos in May/June 1968. Starting with monthly appearances, they became a weekly feature of the programme following its revamp and time extension in January 1970, continuing in the show until April 1976. As a result of line-up changes just one dancer, Ruth Pearson, appeared on the whole run.
Due to their weekly exposure on British television the group acquired a high profile, and in addition as a result of the increasing number of preserved recordings from 1973 onwards, the 'classic' line-up which existed from 1972 to 1974 is still widely recognised today. The dancers in this line-up were:
Babs Lord (born 1945) – member 1966–1975
Dee Dee Wilde (born 1946) – member 1966–1975
Ruth Pearson (13 July 1946 – 27 June 2017) – member 1967–1976 and choreographer on some shows 1967–1970
Louise Clarke (3 September 1949 – 25 August 2012) – member 1967–1974
Cherry Gillespie (born 1955) – member 1972–1976
The principal choreographer for Pan's People's entire existence was Flick Colby (23 March 1946 – 26 May 2011), who was also a dancer from 1966 to 1972.