Hoskins got his first big break when he was brilliantly cast by the BBC as the illiterate van driver in
a show constructed to support and encourage people with reading difficulties to sign up in a nationwide adult literacy drive. The programmes looked a bit like Sesame Street with their low-budget speak-and-spell graphics, but their main focus was to raise the profile of the scheme and its locally offered education services. So Hoskins's ability to portray a strong character admitting to weakness in a way that was recognisably human and admirable, was crucial for helping illiterate adults to identify with him and feel that it would be okay to admit they needed help reading.
I've found one complete episode online here ...
Hoskins's character appears in the title sequences, and in two brief slots, at 2:27 and at 4:15
Not one the best episodes, but it gives you an idea of how Hoskins was able to make a name for himself so quickly from such an unpromising and inauspicious start.