Alzheimer’s took our John but think of him with Shep and all the fun they shared.. that’s how we would like him remembered – His family yesterday
JOHN Noakes was the scruffy daredevil with the Yorkshire accent who inspired a generation of children and changed television forever.
His death at 83 has left us mourning the loss of another national treasure.
But the Blue Peter presenter’s passing ended the suffering he and his family endured through his Alzheimer’s in later years.
Family friend Wendy Downes said yesterday: “While he will be greatly missed by his wife, family and many friends, his release from continuing ill health must be counted as a blessing.
“His many escapades with his faithful companion Shep during his time with Blue Peter will live on in many people’s memories and that is how his family would like him remembered.”
Noakes was unforgettable as the Blue Peter action man from 1965 to 1978 with his “Get down, Shep!” catchphrase as he tried to control his excitable Border collie.
His adventures – climbing 170ft Nelson’s Column without a safety harness, skidding down the Cresta bobsleigh run, skydiving from five miles up – still make for heart-stopping TV decades on.
He scaled Nelson’s Column on a rickety ladder in 1977 but a sound problem meant he had to do it twice. As he scrambled on to Nelson’s head, he announced: “By gum! His hat’s a bit dirty.”
In 1973, he set a civilian world record by freefalling five miles in a parachute jump with the RAF.
And he lowered his trousers to show his bruises after skidding down the Cresta Run on his backside at 80mph – revealing his wife Vicky’s black lace knickers.
Another classic TV moment came when Lulu the elephant ran amok in the Blue Peter studio in 1969 and Noakes shouted: “Ow, get off my foot.” His try-anything attitude, paired with one of the first regional accents on the BBC, made him a favourite with fans.
But it was his close friendship with Shep that captivated viewers.
Shep arrived in 1971 during the show’s heyday with presenters Peter Purves and Valerie Singleton and their pets, mongrel Petra and Siamese cat Jason.
He was so popular that Get Down, Shep became a hit song by The Barron Knights when John left the programme in 1978.
Shep later appeared in episodes of Go With Noakes.
In 1987, Noakes returned to the BBC to break some “very bad news” on the Fax show, fighting back tears as he informed the nation that Shep had died.
In 2008, John broke down again on The Weakest Link, talking
about Shep’s final days with his Aunt Evie.
Behind the scenes, Noakes was unhappy with his treatment on Blue Peter. He called editor Biddy Baxter an “awful woman” in 1999.
He added: “The pressure was terrible. One year I did nine weeks with only one-and-a-half days off.
“I collapsed on the floor and couldn’t go on.”
Baxter recruited Noakes after spotting a newspaper review of his appearance in Hobson’s Choice. He had taken up acting after leaving the RAF, where he was a mechanic.
Born John Bottomley in 1934, he was brought up by his gran after his parents split when he was nine.
He later took the name of his stepfather, Canadian trumpet player Alfie Noakes. After leaving school without qualifications, he spent a short time in the RAF before enrolling at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
He spent six years in theatre before his Blue Peter break teamed him with Purves and Singleton. The show drew eight million viewers at its peak.
“It was a bit like an overgrown schoolboy’s job,” Noakes said. “I was Peter Pan, really. I some-times think I still am.”
He appeared in a millennium special in 2000 to dig up a time capsule the trio buried in 1971, and met the Queen on the show’s 50th anniversary in 2008.
In 1982, Noakes set off to sail round the world with Vicky but they were shipwrecked. They settled in Majorca two years later.
In June 2015, Noakes went missing on the island and Vicky confirmed he had been suffering from Alzheimer’s for “some years”.
Singleton said last night: “John was incredibly special – a rare talent who never conformed. Even now people ask me about him, which goes to show how much people still care.”
It was an overgrown schoolboy’s job. I was Peter Pan really JOHN NOAKES