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Blue Peter badge
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A Blue Peter badge is a much coveted award for Blue Peter viewers, given by the children's television programme for those appearing on the show, or in recognition of achievement. They are awarded to children aged 6 to 15, or to adults who have appeared on the show.
The badges were introduced to the programme by editor Biddy Baxter in 1963 from an idea by Blue Peter producer Edward Barnes.
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Encyclopedia
A Blue Peter badge is a much coveted award for Blue Peter viewers, given by the children's television programme for those appearing on the show, or in recognition of achievement. They are awarded to children aged 6 to 15, or to adults who have appeared on the show.
The badges were introduced to the programme by editor Biddy Baxter in 1963 from an idea by Blue Peter producer Edward Barnes. Except for the "Gold" badge and the pre-2005 "Competition Winners' Badge", the badges are in the shape of a shield containing the Blue Peter ship logo, designed by the late Tony Hart.
The badge provides the wearer with free entry to many British attractions, particularly museums and exhibitions that are featured on the show. The programme producers suspended the privileges amid concerns about the badges being sold in March 2006, but they were reintroduced with additional security a few months later (see below).
Use by presenters
The presenters almost always wear their badges - 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.
Sometimes new presenters first appear on the programme with no badge on before it is clarified to the audience that they are the new presenter. For example, Zöe Salmon appeared as a customer on the show before one week later being introduced as a presenter; Simon Groom first appeared during a filming assignment at a disco where he was a DJ; and Gethin Jones made a debut appearance disguised as Santa Claus on Zoe Salmon's first appearance.
Many presenters are awarded a more prestigious "gold badge" when they leave the show, and several former presenters have been awarded them when appearing as guests on the program. When presenter Simon Thomas left in 2005, he was awarded a gold badge on his last programme, and this has become a tradition with Liz Barker, Matt Baker, and Konnie Huq also awarded gold badges on their final show.
Valerie Singleton was awarded a gold badge during a studio interview recorded for the 1990 video release "The Best of Blue Peter, the 60's and 70's". Her fellow presenters John Noakes and Peter Purves were given gold badges on the first programme in 2000 when the time capsule for the year 2000 was dug up. Peter Duncan was presented with a gold badge in February 2007, whilst appearing on the programme as a guest.
The History Of Badges
The badge was originally introduced in 1963, featuring the blue ship logo on a white plastic shield. This design 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.
In 2004, coinciding with the show's September revamp, a new badge design was introduced. It is 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).
Over the years, several variations of badge have been introduced with specific applications, as discussed below. Various limited edition birthday badges have also been produced:
- A 25th birthday badge, introduced in October 1985.
- A 45th birthday badge, introduced in October 2003. This moulding was made of rubber and larger than the traditional badge; it consisted of a white shield with a raised 'bubble ship' applique.
- A 50th birthday badge, introduced in October 2008. This was a gold shield with a blue ship, with the digits "50" superimposed. It was awarded to viewers who sent in something to the programme which celebrated the 50th birthday.
The types of Blue Peter badge
Along with the limited edition 50th birthday badge (see above), there are six current types of Blue Peter badge:
- The Blue badge (a blue ship on a white shield): This is what the presenters on the show usually wear. Viewers of the programme can win one by either sending in an interesting letter, poem, picture or story, or by appearing on the programme.
- The Silver badge (a silver ship on a blue shield): This is awarded to viewers who have already won a Blue badge, for a further achievement.
- The Green badge (a white ship on a green shield): This is
Blue Peter's environmental award, awarded for any correspondence from viewers with a conservation, nature or environmental theme. Presenters on the programme occasionally wear this badge instead of the blue one, as does the gardener Chris Collins, and they have been given out to those appearing on editions of the programme dedicated to environmental issues. Current recipients also receive a Blue Peter pedometer. The Orange, or Competition Winners badge (a white ship on an orange shield): This is given to viewers who have been either a winner or runner up in any of Blue Peter's many competitions. This replaced the original competition winners badge, which was a circular metal badge with the ship in the centre and the words "Blue Peter Competition Winner" around the outside, in 2005. The Purple, or Team Player's badge (a white ship on a purple shield): Introduced in September 2006, this was originally awarded to 12 children a month who won the chance to spend a day working with the Blue Peter team by having ideas for the programme. It was also awarded to the 'Purple Lady' visited by Gethin Jones on the show broadcast on Thursday 10 May 2007. From the September 2007 series, the team players scheme was changed and viewers are now awarded these badges when writing a review of an edition of the programme. The Gold badge (a gold-plated brooch in the shape of the ship logo): This is Blue Peter's highest award and is given for exceptional achievement, such as to people who have performed acts of extreme bravery, or represented their country in a major event. It takes the form of a gold-plated ship-shaped pin brooch. Gold badge holders include David Beckham, Terry Wogan, JK Rowling, Dani Jacobson (2008), Queen Elizabeth II (2001) and Lewis Hamilton (2009). Two dogs have also received the Gold badge: Bonnie in 1991 and Endal in 2003. It has also become tradition to present a leaving presenter with a gold badge on their final show (see above).The Factbyte Factory badge is the shows latest accalade. It was announced in early 2009 that this badge would be awarded to those achieving VIP Level 7 in the online Factbyte Factory game. This level is achieved by collecting factbytes (interesting facts and information represented by a gold circle containing an f). The badge is the traditional sheild shape but contains a hologram which oscillates between the blue peter logo and a factbyte logo. To coincide with release of this badge three characters have been created - Yuk, Wow and Lol.
The 'ultimate' Blue Peter badge is the "Outstanding Endeavour" award that was introduced to the show in 1978. It is circular, made from brass, and bears the show's ship logo. It was presented to the programme on its 20th Anniversary show by original presenter Christopher Trace. Trace was working at a factory at the time and his colleagues made the award to be presented to a viewer who had achieved some remarkable endeavour, such as saving a life or overcoming a particular adversity. It is rarely presented, typically only once a year on the show's anniversary. Some believe the award was devalued when, in 1981, it was presented to the band Musical Youth for having had a number one record.
Badges for sale
In March 2006 the news that Blue Peter badges were available for sale on auction websites such as eBay attracted a great deal of media interest, with the suspicion that the right to free entry was being abused. In a leader article The Times described the news as "a knife to the national psyche", while The Sun launched a campaign in which readers could "send in the names of people they know who have an illegal Blue Peter badge".
After news of the sales reached a wide audience, the number of badges for sale on eBay exploded from a few dozen to 300. eBay said that it would remove any auctions proven to involve fake badges on the grounds of copyright infringement, but that trade in real badges was not illegal and would not be halted by eBay administrators.
On 29 March 2006 the decision was made to withdraw the privileges the badges offered until measures could be put in place to stop the badges being sold for commercial gain, with the show appealing to the public for ideas. Accompanying the statement of suspensions the show's Editor Richard Marson said Blue Peter wished to "protect children who have earned their badges and who are feeling very let down by this cynical trade."
Blue Peter badges were re-introduced on 19 June 2006, under a new system in which all current holders of a Blue Peter badge and those who win a badge will also need to be issued with a photo ID card. The idea was thought up by 11-year old Blue Peter viewer and Blue badge winner Helen Jennings, who even included a prototype design of the ID card in the letter that she sent to the show. The producers awarded Helen with a Silver badge for proposing the system.. ID cards for previous badge winners aged 6 to 15 can be obtained by entering details into a form on the Blue Peter website. The cards are supplied by Thames Card Technology.
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