Peter Purves
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Peter Purves (publicity portrait) |
Peter Purves (born
February 10,
1939) is an
English actor and
television presenter.
Purves was born in
Blackpool,
Lancashire, England, and originally planned to go into teaching, but began acting with the
Barrow-in-Furness Repertory Company. He first became well-known to
television audiences in the mid-
1960s as
Steven Taylor, one of the original time-travelling companions in the programme
Doctor Who.
After leaving
Doctor Who, Purves became a regular presenter on the children's magazine programme,
Blue Peter, and was one of the longest-serving, lasting from
1967 to
1978. For much of that time, he co-presented with
John Noakes and
Valerie Singleton, and was so closely associated with the programme, especially as the sensible one, that he found the image difficult to shake off afterwards. His subsequent career has mainly been as a presenter, frequently for major
dog shows such as
Crufts. He was also host of the long-running
BBC1 motorbike trials series
Kick Start.
He has also made cameo appearances as himself in episodes of programmes such as the
soap opera EastEnders and the hugely popular
sitcom The Office. Fans of
I'm Alan Partridge will remember Purves featured in one of Partridge's all time classic anecdotes, the punchline of which was the wonderful pun "don't be blue Peter".
Purves now lives in the
Suffolk village of
Sibton.
