A DIAMOND LIFE FOR BLUE PETER
Children’s favourite celebrates 60 years on TV
WHETHER IT was John Noakes having his foot stepped on by a defecating baby elephant, Anthea Turner making Tracey Island from the contents of her rubbish bin or Helen Skelton performing daredevil stunts - the stand-out moments from Blue Peter over the last 60 years have defined generations of childhoods.
And even as it approaches the age of retirement, CBBC’s flagship children’s programme shows no signs of stopping.
Next month, it will hold a diamond anniversary special, with an one-hour live show that will remind the nation how it came to capture hearts of children - and parents - across the nation, reuniting former presenters and putting its newest recruits to the test with challenges in true Blue Peter style.
Perhaps its most-loved presenter however, will be notably absent. Noakes, who was born in Shelf near Halifax, died last year at the age of 83 after a battle with Alzheimer’s.
Some of his feats on the show go down in television history, from ascending Nelson’s Column without a safety harness, to his wonderful partnership with the canine stars of Blue Peter.
It was undoubtedly the golden age of Blue Peter, from his debut in 1965 to his farewell in 1978, but being in front of the camera did not come easily at first for the former actor. He spoke of feeling stripped naked by the camera, and even visited a faith healer and a hypnotist to get over his fears. He told how he only survived the job by acting the clown and developing an on-screen persona as “this idiot called John Noakes”.
Yorkshire has been well represented on Blue Peter over the years, with Mark Curry, who presented the show in the late 1980s alongside the likes of Janet Ellis, Peter Duncan, Caron Keating, Yvette Fielding and John Leslie, growing up in Allerton Bywater, near Castleford; and Richard Bacon, who left the show under a cloud of scandal in 1998 educated in Worksop in Nottinghamshire, close to the South Yorkshire border.
Countryfile host Helen Skelton, who presented the show from 2008 until 2013, now lives in Leeds.Blue Peter’s enduring popularity means the show still inspires children to send in more than 100,000 letters and pictures each year with nearly 200,000 under 16s owning at least one Blue Peter badge - each and every one as special as the commemorative diamond badge created earlier this year by designer Henry Holland to mark the 5,000th episode.
During the live broadcast, which will be screened on CBBC on Tuesday October 16 at 5pm, Valerie Singleton, Peter Purves, Anthea Turner, Konnie Huq and Tim Vincent will return with washing up liquid bottles and toilet rolls for a live ‘make’ with a difference, while Halifaxborn singer Ed Sheeran will be honoured with the highest Blue
Peter accolade, a Gold Blue Peter badge.
There will be an announcement about the return of the show’s hugely successful Bring and Buy Sales campaign in support of BBC Children in Need this November.
Blue Peter editor Ewan Vinnicombe said: “Blue Peter is a very special club to be part of and the Big Birthday show will be a moment to remember and one to watch for all generations of Blue Peter fans. We are celebrating in style so if you’ve got a Blue Peter badge wear it with pride on our big day.”
If you’ve got a Blue Peter badge wear it with pride on our big day. Blue Peter editor, Ewan Vinnicombe.
BLUE PETER was not just the most popular children’s television programme ever. It was a national institution that saw its presenters – and their pets – become household names. Unmissable family viewing that combined a spirit of adventure with practical tasks that inspired the catchphrase ‘Here’s one I made earlier’, all old episodes are to be digitised to mark the programme’s upcoming 60th anniversary.
Everyone will have their favourite moment – who can forget Yorkshire-born John Noakes climbing Nelson’s Column in a daredevil programme that would not be possible under today’s health and safety laws? – the lingering regret is that there’s no longer a place for a series like Blue Peter on the BBC’s mainstream channels.
A classic show that encouraged children to show their creative skills, and help the less fortunate through its charity appeals, its ethos is just as relevant in the digital era as it was in the programme’s pomp prior to the computer age.