Blue Peter
contains the only known broadcast quality footage of the lost final episode of the
Doctor Who serial "
The Tenth Planet", which depicts
The Doctor's first
regeneration.
Blue Peter has had a longstanding relationship with
Doctor Who, often running features on the show with appearances by actors and behind-the-scenes personnel. One notable contest in
1967 had viewers design a monster in the style of those featured on
Doctor Who. A similar competition was held in 2005 to help design a new monster for one of the episodes, which became "
Love & Monsters".
In addition, longtime host
Peter Purves was himself a former co-star on the series. One programme asked viewers to help recover the lost footage of
Doctor Who.
The show has seen redesigns during its long history, often accompanied by new arrangements of the programme's signature tune. The original, and probably most famous, was the arrangement by the British
light music composer
Sidney Torch, which accompanied the memorable 'seasaw' opening. This remained until
1979, when another notable version was produced by the British composer and instrumentalist
Mike Oldfield, and originally released as a
7" single on
November 30; according to the cover of the single, 'part of the proceeds of the sale' of that record were 'donated to the
Blue Peter Cambodia Appeal'. The opening drum roll was performed by presenter
Simon Groom; it was then used on the programme itself for several years. The version of the theme available on single and numerous Mike Oldfield compilation albums is actually a re-recording (in stereo, as opposed to the mono TV mix) and does not contain the opening drum roll; the as-used-on-TV version of the Oldfield theme has never been commercially released.
Between 1989 and 1994, the signature tune was re-recorded twice, both times by Simon Brint and coinciding with a major revamp of the studio set. In
1994, the show featured the group
Stomp, who produced music using instruments fashioned from recyclables and other
household waste; the show's producers were so impressed with their work that they commissioned them to do a cover of the traditional
Blue Peter theme music. Their rendition was aired until
1999 when the show got a 'millennium' makeover, with a newly designed 'bubble ship' variant of the show's logo (used alongside the original
Blue Peter ship - minus its rigging) and another reworking of the signature tune, this time a full orchestral variant also featuring aspects from other cultures, such as the
steel drum and
tabla drum. Presenter
Konnie Huq played the final cymbal crash. The new 'bubble ship' lasted until the end of the series in June 2004, and the following series (from September 2004 onwards) used, as its sole emblem, the traditional ship, still without the rigging detail which did not lend itself to neat digital or online use. Coinciding with it was a new arrangement of "Barnacle Bill", by Nial Brown, and a revised studio set, making much use of the sail shapes of the ship logo, decking and a two tone blue seating unit. The seating unit was replaced a year later by bean bags as the series wanted to be less formal. In 2006 the signature tune is to be re-arranged again, this time by
Doctor Who composer
Murray Gold. 40 viewers are to be selected through a competition to play alongside the
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra on the new recording. The new version of the theme by Gold, does not include the drum roll, the opening bars and, most disappointingly, the closing theme.
Many items from
Blue Peter's history have passed into television legend, especially moments when things have gone wrong, such as the much-repeated clip of Lulu the elephant (from a
1969 edition) who defecated on the studio floor and then proceeded to attempt an exit, dragging her keeper along the ground behind her. Other well-remembered and much-repeated items include the
Girl Guides' bonfire that got out of hand on the
1970 Christmas edition, John Noakes' report on the cleaning of
Nelson's Column, and Simon Groom referring to a previous item on door-knockers with the words 'What a beautiful pair of knockers', which has usually been explained as an accidental turn of phrase, but which Groom later admitted was a deliberate joke. Additionally, Groom is remembered for inappropriately reciting, while wearing a suit of armour, 'Once a king always a king, but once a (k)night is enough', while Peter Duncan's cookery instructions to 'finely chop one raw egg' will also go into the annals.
There have also been times when the show has broadcast breaking news in the days before 24-hour news channels. Possibly the most famous is showing the first colour images on British television of the sinking of the
RMS Queen Elizabeth in 1972.
Blue Peter's remit is very wide-ranging. Most programmes include a filmed report. There will also often be a demonstration of an activity in the studio, and/or a music or dance performance. The programme is made at
BBC Television Centre, and often comes from Studio 1, which is the largest TV studio in Europe. This enables
Blue Peter to include large-scale demonstrations and performances within the live programme. The show is also famous for its 'makes', which are demonstrations of how to construct a useful object or prepare food. These have given rise to the oft-used phrase 'Here's one I made earlier', as presenters bring out a perfect and completed version of the object they are making. Time is also often given over to reading letters and showing pictures sent in by viewers.
Enduring features of the programme include the annual charity appeal, which involves young viewers by asking them to collect items that can be recycled or sold to raise money for the chosen cause. This is always a charity project in the UK in odd-numbered years, and abroad in even-numbered. The appeal is usually launched in late November and runs through to February or March of the following year. One of the most popular forms of raising appeal money has been through encouraging viewers to hold "Blue Peter Bring And Buy Sales" at which buyers are also encouraged to bring their own bric-a-brac or produce to sell. In the history of Blue Peter, the Great Bring And Buy Sale was used every few years or so as a means of adding variety to the collecting theme during other years. However, between 2001-2003 a series of "Bring And Buy Appeals" led many viewers and the media to voice their concern that the traditional method of collecting scrap items to recycle was being abandoned in favour of the "easier revenue" generated by the sales. This led to an on-air explanation by presenter Konnie Huq during the 2003 Get Together Appeal that this particular appeal required the sort of funding that only Bring And Buy Sales could raise. Tellingly, the 2004 and 2005 appeals have seen a return to the collecting theme: the first being to collect old clothes that Oxfam could sell in its stores to raise funds for a family-searching service in third world countries ravaged by war, and the second being the collection of old mobile telephones and coins that could be recycled to raise money for ChildLine.
The
Blue Peter Summer Expedition is another long-running tradition. These visits focus on a single country and are filmed while the programme is off the air from June to September.
The team of presenters keep pets and bring them onto the show. The original idea of this was to show viewers lucky enough to own animals how to care for them, and for the creatures to act as surrogate pets for children without them. The first pet was a dog named
Petra. Other canines have included Patch,
Shep the
Border Collie and golden retrievers Goldie and her daughter Bonnie. There also have been tortoises, including Freda (originally misidentified as a male and called Fred), Maggie, Jim and
George, and cats, such as Jason, Jack and Jill, Willow, Kari and Oke and the late Smudge. The current animal line-up comprises: dogs Meg, Lucy and Mabel; Socks the cat; Shelley the tortoise, and the rarely seen
Blue Peter Riding for the Disabled horse, Jet, who replaced Rags.
The presenters also maintain the infamous
Blue Peter Garden, adjacent to Television Centre, which was designed by
Percy Thrower. Its features include an Italian sunken garden with a pond, which contains
goldfish, a vegetable patch, greenhouse and viewing platform. The 2000
Blue Peter time capsule, which is due to be dug up in 2029, is buried there. George the Tortoise was interred in the garden following his death in
2004, and there are also a bust of Petra, sculptures of Mabel and the
Blue Peter ship, and a plaque in honour of Percy Thrower. The garden is also available to other programmes for outside broadcasts, and is often used for the links between children's programmes during the summer months and for BBC One's
Breakfast weather broadcasts. In
1984, the garden was vandalised, leading to an on-air appeal for viewers to come forward with information — which now often appears on clip shows.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the programme sometimes included a cartoon series as 'light relief' from some of the more informative articles. One such was
Bleep and Booster, which started in
1963 and continued in the
Blue Peter books until
1977.
The programme also marks annual events, including
Chinese New Year,
St David's Day,
Shrove Tuesday,
Mothering Sunday,
Guy Fawkes Night and
Christmas. The latter, in particular, is a special occasion with a traditional format repeated year on year, featuring the story of the Nativity, a last-minute Christmas make, a filmed clip and the grand finale, children from local schools marching into the studio from the cold outside (lanterns in hand!) singing a Christmas carol around the Blue Peter Christmas tree.
The programme maintains its long-standing practice of avoiding using commercial names on air. Most famously, this policy led to the invention of the phrase '
sticky-backed plastic' (marketed under the trade name
Fablon) back in the 1970s. An extreme example occurred in February
2005, when the show ran a feature on how
Smarties are made, without once mentioning the name of the product.
Many of these long-standing traditions were started during the 1960s and 1970s by the show's editor,
Biddy Baxter, along with producers Edward Barnes and Rosemary Gill, and most of them still feature on the programme.
Children (and occasionally adults) who appear on the show or achieve something notable may be awarded the coveted
Blue Peter badge. The
Blue Peter badge allows holders free entry into a number of visitor attractions across the UK. In March 2006, this privilege was temporarily suspended after a number of badges were discovered for sale on the auction site
eBay by a number of people. This suspension was lifted in June 2006, when a new 'Blue Peter Badge Card' was introduced to combat the problem. Each badge winner is now issued with an ID card to prove that they are the rightful owners. The original badge was slightly smaller in size than the current version, but still featured a blue coloured ship logo printed on a white plastic shield. This remained unchanged until the 1990s when a revised badge featuring a raised moulding of the ship design by Tony Hart was introduced (more detailed and neat than the previous printed reproduction). This version disappeared in 1997 when the old-style badge returned. It was not until 2004, coinciding with the show's September revamp, that a new badge was introduced. Slightly larger in dimension and with a much bolder printing of the new-style traditional ship without its rigging detail (though the pre-2000 style flags remain). In October 2003, to celebrate the 45th birthday of the programme, a new, limited edition, badge was introduced, to last only a year. This moulding was made of rubber and larger than the traditional badge. It consisted of a white shield with a raised 'bubble ship' applique.
The presenters almost always wear their badge; the only exception being when their apparel is incompatible (for example, a life jacket), in which case a sticker with the ship emblem is normally used instead. In addition, large prints or stickers of the ship are attached to vehicles driven by the presenters during filming assignments. Other badges exist, and are awarded for various achievements:
*
Blue Badges (a white shield with a blue ship print) are given to viewers who have stories, poems, pictures etc.
*
Silver badges (a blue shield with silver ship print) are given to viewers or participants who have already won a blue badge.
*
Green badges (green shield with white ship print) and a
Blue Peter pedometer are awarded for any correspondence from viewers with a conservation, nature or environmental theme (in addition, the presenters often wear this badge when their reports deal with such issues, or when in the garden).
*
Gold badges (a gold-plated ship-shaped pin brooch) are very rarely awarded and are usually given only to people who have performed acts of extreme bravery, represented their country in a major event and so on. Bizarrely, and perhaps disappointingly, the gold badge has been awarded on several occasions to famous film actors or sportspeople - slightly at odds with the youth ethos of the programme.
* The
Competition badge was previously a round metal disc in white, with the blue ship, printed with the words 'Blue Peter Competition Winner'. However, after more than 40 years, it has recently been redesigned to look similar to the other badges, and is now an orange shield with a white ship. These badges are awarded to all winners and runners-up of
Blue Peter competitions - with the new look badges being introduced in September 2006.
* The new
Team Player's badge (a purple shield with white ship print), which will be introduced in September, will be given to 12 children every month, who have ideas for the show; these children will also win the chance to spend a day working with the
Blue Peter team. This is the first new badge to be introduced, since 1988.
* The limited edition
Birthday Badge (very similar to blue badge but has a raised moulding of the Millennium bubble ship used between 1999-2004, and is made out of rubber) was awarded in the year of the 45th Birthday, in place, or with a blue badge. It is rare edition. * Please note that you are only ever awarded one badge at a time.
In a list of the
100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the
British Film Institute in
2000, voted for by industry professionals,
Blue Peter was placed 6th.
Asteroid 16197 Bluepeter is named in its honour. The asteroid was discovered on
7 January 2000, the day that the
Blue Peter time capsules from
1971 and
1984 were unearthed.
The following is a list of all the musicians who have recorded a version of the
Blue Peter signature tune:
*Ashworth/Hope: October
1958 to January
1979 —
Blue Peter Theme Tune from 1958*
Mike Oldfield: January
1979 to June
1989 —
Blue Peter Theme from 1979*
Simon Brint: July
1989 to August
1994 —
Blue Peter Theme from 1990 Blue Peter Theme from 1993*
The Yes/No People: September
1994 to August
1999 —
Blue Peter Theme from 1996*
David Arnold and the
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra: September
1999 to June
2004 —
Blue Peter Theme from 2002*
Nial Brown: September
2004 to present —
Blue Peter Theme from 2005A new version of the signature tune was arranged by
Murray Gold and recorded in
2006, to be used when the series returns from its summer break in September 2006.[
1]
Nearly as famous as the opening signature tune is the closing theme which has been used and rearranged from 1958 â€" 1999 in line with the various rearrangements. Nial Brown rearranged the closing signature tune from 2004 to June 2006. During the period from 1999 â€" 2004 a shorter version of the opening tune was used to close the programme. The editor at the time, Steve Hocking, said that he was happy for the same tune to be used at the beginning and end of each broacast, though it says much about how fondly regarded the closing music is that in recent years the traditional finale track has returned.
"Blue Peter Music Makers" was a nation-wide competition run by
Blue Peter] to find 40 young and talented musicians to take part in re-recording the famous
Blue Peter theme tune.
Auditions, which were held at the Odyssey in
Belfast, and five other locations across
England, received over 26,000 applicants, making it the biggest
Blue Peter competition ever. The lucky 40 were then whisked away to
Stonyhurst College,
Lancashire, where they met the presenters, and the tune's arranger,
Murray Gold. After three days of hard practice, they recorded the theme tune in the BBC Manchester Recording Studio with the
BBC Philarmonic.
The Music Makers are next scheduled to appear in the BBC
Blue Peter Proms in the
Royal Albert Hall.
In 1964, the very first Blue Peter Book was published. Although an annual in all but name, the books are rarely referred to as such. Each book (published in time for Christmas) features highlights from the previous twelve months of Blue Peter features and chronicles major guests who visit the studio, the Summer Expedition, the annual appeal and the pets. The style of the books' contents has changed very little over the years, with the only noticeable difference between a 1960s book and the current one is the increase in colour photography and digital artwork. Otherwise, the principle is the same. There has, at a point in the mid-1980s and between 1992-1998, been a break in the publication of the books, and the publisher has in recent years appeared to change almost annually! However, since Pedigree took over the books in 2004, there has been a noticeable step up in quality. The books are now bigger than ever before with far greater number of pages, a testament to their enduring popularity and viability. Traditionally, the Blue Peter editor and members of the production team write the book and choose its content. As for the "book" or "annual" debate, it is interesting to note that as of Book 34 in 2004, the cover makes reference to it as "Annual XXXX" and the spine marking it as "Book XX"
A lucrative collectors' market has developed as a result of the Blue Peter Books, with Book One being especially rare and commanding triple figures on online auction websites. Books from the late 1960s and 1970s are more common and often turn up for less than a pound in second hand bookshops or charity stores. Books from the 80s and the later 90s ones tend to be more expensive and rarer, as people realised the value of keeping hold of them.
| ¦¦ Name | Started | Ended | Length of time |
|---|
| 1. | Christopher Trace | 16 October 1958 | 24 July 1967 | 8 years, 9 months |
| 2. | Leila Williams | 16 October 1958 | 8 January 1962 | 3 years, 3 months |
| 3. | Anita West | 7 May 1962 | 3 September 1962 | 0 years, 4 months |
| 4. | Valerie Singleton | 3 September 1962 | 3 July 1972 | 9 years, 10 months |
| 5. | John Noakes | 30 December 1965 | 26 June 1978 | 12 years, 6 months |
| 6. | Peter Purves | 16 November 1967 | 23 March 1978 | 10 years, 4 months |
| 7. | Lesley Judd | 5 May 1972 | 12 April 1979 | 6 years, 11 months |
| 8. | Simon Groom | 15 May 1978 | 23 June 1986 | 8 years, 1 month |
| 9. | Christopher Wenner | 14 September 1978 | 23 June 1980 | 1 year, 9 months |
| 10. | Tina Heath | 5 April 1979 | 23 June 1980 | 1 year, 2 months |
| 11. | Sarah Greene | 19 May 1980 | 27 June 1983 | 3 years, 1 month |
| 12. | Peter Duncan | 11 September 1980 | 18 June 1984 | 3 years, 9 months |
| | 9 September 1985 | 27 November 1986 | 1 year, 2 months |
| 13. | Janet Ellis | 28 April 1983 | 29 June 1987 | 4 years, 2 months |
| 14. | Michael Sundin | 13 September 1984 | 24 June 1985 | 0 years, 9 months |
| 15. | Mark Curry | 23 June 1986 | 26 June 1989 | 3 years, 0 months |
| 16. | Caron Keating | 13 November 1986 | 22 January 1990 | 3 years, 2 months |
| 17. | Yvette Fielding | 29 June 1987 | 29 June 1992 | 5 years, 0 months |
| 18. | John Leslie | 20 April 1989 | 20 January 1994 | 4 years, 9 months |
| 19. | Diane-Louise Jordan | 25 January 1990 | 26 February 1996 | 6 years, 1 month |
| 20. | Anthea Turner | 14 September 1992 | 27 June 1994 | 1 year, 9 months |
| 21. | Tim Vincent | 16 December 1993 | 24 January 1997 | 3 years, 1 month |
| 22. | Stuart Miles | 27 June 1994 | 21 June 1999 | 5 years, 0 months |
| 23. | Katy Hill | 23 June 1995 | 19 June 2000 | 5 years, 0 months |
| 24. | Romana D'Annunzio | 1 March 1996 | 20 February 1998 | 1 year, 11 months |
| 25. | Richard Bacon | 21 February 1997 | 19 October 1998 | 1 year, 8 months |
| 26. | Konnie Huq | 1 December 1997 | present |
| 27. | Simon Thomas | 8 January 1999 | 25 April 2005 | 6 years, 3 months |
| 28. | Matt Baker | 25 June 1999 | 26 June 2006 | 7 years, 0 months |
| 29. | Liz Barker | 23 June 2000 | 10 April 2006 | 5 years, 10 months |
| 30. | Zöe Salmon | 23 December 2004 | present |
| 31. | Gethin Jones | 27 April 2005 | present |
| 32. | Andy Akinwolere | 28 June 2006 | present | |
For many years,
Anita West was not officially recognised as a
Blue Peter presenter, having stood in for several months between Leila Williams leaving the show and a full-time replacement being found. West was finally added to the official list of presenters at the time of the show's 40th anniversary celebrations in
1998.
Of the 32 presenters who have fronted the programme during its lifetime, one or two have failed to live up to the 'squeaky-clean' image required of them. The most infamous scandal involving a presenter occurred in
1998, when
Richard Bacon had his contract terminated, after publicly confessing to having taken
cocaine; the BBC's Head of Children's Programming,
Lorraine Heggessey, addressed viewers on-air before the first edition of the programme following his sacking to explain to the audience why he had been asked to leave and to apologise for his actions. Ironically, Bacon became a successful broadcaster because of the scandal, rather than despite it.
The programme maintains friendly links with most of its former presenters, many of whom have made further appearances on the show after leaving, particularly in the show's Christmas specials.
Other people who have played roles on the show include the zoologist
George Cansdale, who was the programme's first on-screen vet, and
Percy Thrower who was the show's resident gardening expert from the 1960s until shortly before his death in 1988. He was followed briefly by
Chris Crowder, and then
Clare Bradley, who was replaced by the current incumbent,
Chris Collins.
Another contributor, though rarely seen on screen, was
Margaret Parnell, who created almost all of the show's 'makes' from the early 1960s until her retirement in 2001. Her role is now filled by
Gillian Shearing, though Parnell's name still appears in the credits from time to time when a classic 'make' is re-used.
*The programme is often broadcast live. Former editor,
Biddy Baxter, hated presenters' ad-libs and
Simon Groom would infuriate her and test his fellow presenters by making ad-libbed double-entrendres, with a straight face.
*The two most famous phrases associated with
Blue Peter - 'And now for something completely different' (later made synonymous with
Monty Python) and 'Here's one I made earlier' - were both coined by its very first presenter,
Christopher Trace.
*Tony Hart originally asked for his design fee for the
Blue Peter badges to be paid as a royalty of 1d for each badge made, but was offered a flat fee of £100 (equivalent to around £1,600 at 2006 rates).
*Petra, the first
Blue Peter pet, was a mongrel dog introduced in 1962. She gave birth to eight puppies in 1965, one of which - Patch - became John Noakes' pet when he began presenting in 1965. Petra died in 1977.
*Petra was not actually who she seemed. The first pet, Petra, died after the first show, and was secretly replaced by an identical dog, also named Petra, so as not to upset the viewers. The facts surrounding Petra II were not revealed until after her death.
*
Blue Peter official site*
I Love Blue Peter*
Blue Peter Special Assignment From TV Cream*
Encyclopedia of Television*
British Film Institute Screen Online*
Profile of Biddy Baxter*
The National Deaf Children's Society 'Blue Peter Loan Service'*
BBC News Online: "TV novice becomes Blue Peter host"# Edition broadcast 5 November 1973. [
2]# Edition broadcast 3 July 1969. [
3] Contrary to popular belief, the episode was not live, but recorded to allow the presenters to catch a flight to
Ceylon for a filming trip. # Edition broadcast 30 May 1977. [
4]# Edition broadcast 14 January 1980. [
5]# Edition broadcast 10 January 1972. [
6]# Edition broadcast 18 February 2005. [
7]# Edition broadcast 19 June 2006.# The statement was broadcast before the programme on 19 October 1998. That day's episode (a filmed special about gorilla conservation, in which Bacon did not appear) was then broadcast as scheduled.
