List of Blue Peter presenters
Encyclopedia
Blue Peter
is a British
children's
television programme created by John Hunter Blair
. The first programme was broadcast on 16 October 1958, and the series still airs as of 2011. It is the longest-running children's television programme in the world, and also one of the longest-running television programmes in the world. Blue Peter airs twice-weekly in the United Kingdom during the CBBC
programming block on BBC One
, a terrestrial
television channel
, and is repeated on the CBBC Channel
, a digital
television channel. Blue Peter is produced in a magazine format, often transmitting live
, and features a combination of studio presentation, interviews and outside broadcasting
items. There have been thirty-five official presenters of Blue Peter.
The first presenters of Blue Peter were Christopher Trace
and Leila Williams
. Trace presented for nearly nine years, and Williams for just over three years. In the early days, as the show ran continuously on a weekly basis, other presenters occasionally stepped in to give the regular team a break. Artist Tony Hart
and actress Ann Taylor both presented the show either in place of either Trace or Williams, or sometimes in place of both, with Taylor replacing Williams for six weeks in 1959 and presenting the show at least once alone, as did Hart. When Williams was fired from the show in 1962 following a series of spats with a newly appointed producer, Trace continued to present the show alone or with one-off presenters until a replacement was found. The role went to Anita West
, who presented sixteen editions over a four-month period in 1962 — the shortest tenure of any full time presenter — before abruptly resigning due to her imminent divorce, a reason she hid from the producers. Her tenure was so short that no footage from her time on Blue Peter exists in the BBC Archives, although footage of her audition remains, along with that of Valerie Singleton and other auditionees. It was not until 1998 that West was officially recognised as a former presenter. John Noakes
is the longest-serving male presenter, having presented the show for over twelve years, and Konnie Huq
is the longest-serving female presenter, with a tenure of over ten years, beating Valerie Singleton by three months. However, although Singleton left the series full time in 1972 to present the spin-off series Blue Peter Special Assignment
, she continued to be an irregular presenter until 1975. Sandra Michaels presented the show twice in April 1964 in the absence of Singleton and impressed producer Edward Barnes enough that he considered replacing Singleton, but Michaels turned him down and he opted to carry on with Singleton, something he admits in hindsight he was glad he did. The youngest presenter of Blue Peter was Yvette Fielding
, who was eighteen when she began presenting, and the oldest was John Noakes, who was forty-four when he left. Only one presenter, Peter Duncan
, had two stints of presenting, his first being from 1980 to 1984, and his second being from 1985 to 1986.
In September 2011, it was announced that the programme would move to Salford with two permanent presenters (currently Helen Skelton
and Barney Harwood
) and have guest presenters for particular topics, such as Steve Backshall
for wildlife.
#
Former presenter Sarah Greene returned to cover for an injured Janet Ellis and Yvette Fielding stepped in to replace Richard Bacon upon his dismissal.
Guest Presenters - September 2011 Revamp
As of September 2011, there are two main presenters (Barney Harwood and Helen Skelton). The shows new format has included guest presenters covering particular topics. These are the guest presenters so far:
Steve Backshall - Wildlife:
Stefan Gates - Experimental Chef:
Saira Khan - Business (Appeal Adviser):
Liz Bonnin - Science Expert
titled The Curse of Blue Peter aired on Five on 1 September 2003, detailing the fates of Blue Peter presenters, and featured interviews with past presenters.
Christopher Trace cheated on his wife with a nineteen-year-old girl while on location in Norway in 1967. His wife divorced him, and Trace left the show soon after when the production team readily accepted his last but oft repeated threat to resign. After a short period of reporting on Nationwide
, he eventually took a job as a taxi driver before declaring himself bankrupt. Although she remained with the show for nearly seven years, the tenure of Lesley Judd
was often in doubt, particularly in 1975 when her ex -husband threatened to go public with details of their marriage. As a precaution, Tiswas presenter Sally James was lined up as Judd's replacement, but the scandal did not emerge and Judd remained with the show, although only on short-term, three-month contracts.
Michael Sundin
's contract was not renewed in 1985 as he was unpopular with viewers. Following his departure, a tabloid newspaper outed Sundin as a homosexual and a video emerged of him dancing with male strippers. Romana D'Annunzio left of her own accord, but could just as easily have been fired, as the production team tired of her refusal to undertake any of the programme's more challenging aspects; when she refused to take part in a Hallowe'en 'bobbing for apples' game as she didn't want to spoil her make up, the producers' already tested patience evaporated and her contract was not renewed.
Clips of Peter Duncan appearing in a 1975 erotic thriller film The Lifetaker surfaced; John Leslie
was arrested in 2002 and 2008 following numerous allegations relating to rape and assault; and on 18 October 1998, the tabloid newspaper News of the World
reported on its front page that Richard Bacon had been using cocaine
. The following day Lorraine Heggessey
, then Head of Children's BBC, appeared on BBC One informing viewers that "Richard admits that he has done this and that he very much regrets it. I believe that Richard has not only let himself down ... but he's also let all of you down badly." He was released from his contract immediately.
Nevertheless, not all Blue Peter presenters have had poor fates after leaving Blue Peter. Tim Vincent
presented Short Change
and Fully Booked
, acted in Emmerdale
, and presented Access Hollywood
and Phenomenon
for NBC
in the United States; Katy Hill
went on to present Live and Kicking
, Top of the Pops
and hit40UK
, a networked music singles chart for commercial radio
; and Matt Baker
presents Countryfile
and The One Show
, and was runner up in 2010 series of Strictly Come Dancing
. Indeed, Bacon's career survived his scandal, and he has since presented The Big Breakfast
, Top of the Pops, and numerous radio shows, even some for the BBC.
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
is a British
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
children's
Children's television series
Children's television series, are commercial television programs designed for, and marketed to children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run in the early evening, for the children that go to school...
television programme created by John Hunter Blair
John Hunter Blair
John Hunter Blair was the creator of Blue Peter, and its producer from 1958 to 1961.- References :...
. The first programme was broadcast on 16 October 1958, and the series still airs as of 2011. It is the longest-running children's television programme in the world, and also one of the longest-running television programmes in the world. Blue Peter airs twice-weekly in the United Kingdom during the CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
programming block on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, a terrestrial
Terrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
television channel
Television channel
A television channel is a physical or virtual channel over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the broadcast or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with carrier frequencies of 55.25 MHz for NTSC analog video and...
, and is repeated on the CBBC Channel
CBBC Channel
CBBC is a BBC television channel aimed at 6 to 12 year olds. It complements the CBBC programming that continues to air on BBC One and BBC Two. Launched on 11 February 2002, it broadcasts from 7am to 7pm on Freeview, cable, IPTV and digital satellite, occupying the same bandwidth as, but a different...
, a digital
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
television channel. Blue Peter is produced in a magazine format, often transmitting live
Live television
Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...
, and features a combination of studio presentation, interviews and outside broadcasting
Outside broadcasting
Outside broadcasting is the electronic field production of television or radio programmes from a mobile remote broadcast television studio. Professional video camera and microphone signals come into the production truck for processing, recording and possibly transmission...
items. There have been thirty-five official presenters of Blue Peter.
The first presenters of Blue Peter were Christopher Trace
Christopher Trace
Christopher Leonard Trace was an English actor and television presenter, best remembered for his nine years as a presenter of the BBC children's programme Blue Peter.-Career:...
and Leila Williams
Leila Williams
Leila Williams is a former British beauty queen and television presenter.-Career:In 1957, Williams was awarded the title of Miss Great Britain; then, a year later, she became the first female Blue Peter presenter, co-presenting with Christopher Trace.Williams left Blue Peter at the start of 1962,...
. Trace presented for nearly nine years, and Williams for just over three years. In the early days, as the show ran continuously on a weekly basis, other presenters occasionally stepped in to give the regular team a break. Artist Tony Hart
Tony Hart
Norman Antony "Tony" Hart was an English artist and children's television presenter. He was famous for television shows such as Vision On, Playbox, Take Hart and Hartbeat.-Early life:...
and actress Ann Taylor both presented the show either in place of either Trace or Williams, or sometimes in place of both, with Taylor replacing Williams for six weeks in 1959 and presenting the show at least once alone, as did Hart. When Williams was fired from the show in 1962 following a series of spats with a newly appointed producer, Trace continued to present the show alone or with one-off presenters until a replacement was found. The role went to Anita West
Anita West
-Blue Peter:On 7 May 1962, she joined the British children's television show Blue Peter as co-host, following the departure of Leila Williams...
, who presented sixteen editions over a four-month period in 1962 — the shortest tenure of any full time presenter — before abruptly resigning due to her imminent divorce, a reason she hid from the producers. Her tenure was so short that no footage from her time on Blue Peter exists in the BBC Archives, although footage of her audition remains, along with that of Valerie Singleton and other auditionees. It was not until 1998 that West was officially recognised as a former presenter. John Noakes
John Noakes
John Noakes is a British television presenter and personality, best known for co-presenting the BBC children's magazine programme Blue Peter in the 1960s and 1970s. He remains the show's longest-serving presenter, with a stint that lasted 12 years and 6 months...
is the longest-serving male presenter, having presented the show for over twelve years, and Konnie Huq
Konnie Huq
Kanak Asha "Konnie" Huq is a British television presenter, who is best known for being the longest-serving female presenter of Blue Peter, having presented it from 1 December 1997 until 23 January 2008...
is the longest-serving female presenter, with a tenure of over ten years, beating Valerie Singleton by three months. However, although Singleton left the series full time in 1972 to present the spin-off series Blue Peter Special Assignment
Blue Peter Special Assignment
Blue Peter Special Assignment was a factual BBC TV series broadcast in the 1970s and early 1980s, the first spin-off from the long running BBC series Blue Peter. It ran regularly from 1973 until 1981, usually at weekends on BBC1, and was heavily promoted on Blue Peter itself...
, she continued to be an irregular presenter until 1975. Sandra Michaels presented the show twice in April 1964 in the absence of Singleton and impressed producer Edward Barnes enough that he considered replacing Singleton, but Michaels turned him down and he opted to carry on with Singleton, something he admits in hindsight he was glad he did. The youngest presenter of Blue Peter was Yvette Fielding
Yvette Fielding
Yvette Fielding is a British broadcaster, producer and actress. She is best known for being the presenter of the TV shows Blue Peter, Most Haunted and Ghosthunting With....-Early life and career:...
, who was eighteen when she began presenting, and the oldest was John Noakes, who was forty-four when he left. Only one presenter, Peter Duncan
Peter Duncan (actor)
Peter Duncan is a British actor and television presenter, best known as a former presenter of Blue Peter and for his later family travel documentaries.-Education:...
, had two stints of presenting, his first being from 1980 to 1984, and his second being from 1985 to 1986.
In September 2011, it was announced that the programme would move to Salford with two permanent presenters (currently Helen Skelton
Helen Skelton
Helen Skelton is an English television presenter. She has worked on the BBC children's programme Blue Peter since 2008...
and Barney Harwood
Barney Harwood
Barney Harwood is an English television presenter and actor, known for his work with CBBC.-Television:For CBBC, he presented Prank Patrol and was a voice-over commentator for The Smokehouse, while on BBC Two, he co-presented Basil's Swap Shop , alongside Basil Brush.Previous work for CBBC included...
) and have guest presenters for particular topics, such as Steve Backshall
Steve Backshall
Steve Backshall is a British naturalist, writer and television presenter, best known for BBC TV's "Deadly 60'. This series sees Backshall travelling the world in search of predators that are, "Not just deadly to me, but deadly in their own world"...
for wildlife.
Presenters
| Presenter | Tenure began | Tenure ended | Length | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3,204 days | ||||
| 2 | 1,181 days | ||||
| * | 8 days | ||||
| * | 86 days | ||||
| 3 | 120 days | ||||
| 4 | 3,592 days | ||||
| * | 8 days | ||||
| 5 | 4,562 days | ||||
| 6 | 3,781 days | ||||
| 7 | 2,534 days | ||||
| 8 | 2,962 days | ||||
| 9 | 649 days | ||||
| 10 | 450 days | ||||
| 11 | 1,135 days | ||||
| 12 | 1,377 days | ||||
| 13 | 1,524 days | ||||
| 14 | 285 days | ||||
| — | 445 days | ||||
| 15 | 1,100 days | ||||
| 16 | 1,167 days | ||||
| 17 | 1,828 days | ||||
| 18 | 1,737 days | ||||
| 19 | 2,224 days | ||||
| 20 | 652 days | ||||
| 21 | 1,136 days | ||||
| 22 | 1,821 days | ||||
| 23 | 1,824 days | ||||
| 24 | 722 days | ||||
| 25 | 606 days | ||||
| 26 | 3,706 days | ||||
| 27 | 2,300 days | ||||
| 28 | 2,559 days | ||||
| 29 | 2,118 days | ||||
| 30 | 1,463 days | ||||
| 31 | 1,156 days | ||||
| 32 | 1,827 days | ||||
| 33 | Incumbent | days | |||
| 34 | 813 days | ||||
| 35 | Incumbent | days | |||
Former presenter Sarah Greene returned to cover for an injured Janet Ellis and Yvette Fielding stepped in to replace Richard Bacon upon his dismissal.
Guest Presenters - September 2011 Revamp
As of September 2011, there are two main presenters (Barney Harwood and Helen Skelton). The shows new format has included guest presenters covering particular topics. These are the guest presenters so far:
Steve Backshall - Wildlife:
Stefan Gates - Experimental Chef:
Saira Khan - Business (Appeal Adviser):
Liz Bonnin - Science Expert
The "curse" of Blue Peter
Many former presenters of Blue Peter have been plagued by scandals which have effectively ended their television careers. A light-hearted documentary produced by North One TelevisionNorth One Television
North One Television is a television production company based in London and Birmingham, England, and Sydney, Australia. It was originally known as Chrysalis Television and is now part of All3Media....
titled The Curse of Blue Peter aired on Five on 1 September 2003, detailing the fates of Blue Peter presenters, and featured interviews with past presenters.
Christopher Trace cheated on his wife with a nineteen-year-old girl while on location in Norway in 1967. His wife divorced him, and Trace left the show soon after when the production team readily accepted his last but oft repeated threat to resign. After a short period of reporting on Nationwide
Nationwide (TV series)
Nationwide was a BBC News and Current affairs television programme broadcast on BBC One each weekday following the early evening news. It followed a magazine format, combining political analysis and discussion with consumer affairs, light entertainment and sports reporting...
, he eventually took a job as a taxi driver before declaring himself bankrupt. Although she remained with the show for nearly seven years, the tenure of Lesley Judd
Lesley Judd
Lesley Judd is an English dancer and TV presenter, best known as a long-serving host of the BBC children's programme Blue Peter. She was educated at the independent Royal Ballet School...
was often in doubt, particularly in 1975 when her ex -husband threatened to go public with details of their marriage. As a precaution, Tiswas presenter Sally James was lined up as Judd's replacement, but the scandal did not emerge and Judd remained with the show, although only on short-term, three-month contracts.
Michael Sundin
Michael Sundin
Michael Sundin was a television presenter, actor, dancer and trampolinist, who is best remembered for his short time as a Blue Peter presenter .-Career history:...
's contract was not renewed in 1985 as he was unpopular with viewers. Following his departure, a tabloid newspaper outed Sundin as a homosexual and a video emerged of him dancing with male strippers. Romana D'Annunzio left of her own accord, but could just as easily have been fired, as the production team tired of her refusal to undertake any of the programme's more challenging aspects; when she refused to take part in a Hallowe'en 'bobbing for apples' game as she didn't want to spoil her make up, the producers' already tested patience evaporated and her contract was not renewed.
Clips of Peter Duncan appearing in a 1975 erotic thriller film The Lifetaker surfaced; John Leslie
John Leslie (television presenter)
John Leslie is a Scottish former television presenter. He has presented BBC One's Blue Peter and ITV's This Morning and the ITV gameshow Wheel of Fortune. He was also the roving reporter for the first series of the UK version of Survivor...
was arrested in 2002 and 2008 following numerous allegations relating to rape and assault; and on 18 October 1998, the tabloid newspaper News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
reported on its front page that Richard Bacon had been using cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
. The following day Lorraine Heggessey
Lorraine Heggessey
Lorraine Heggessey is a British television producer and former Chief Executive of the production company Talkback Thames...
, then Head of Children's BBC, appeared on BBC One informing viewers that "Richard admits that he has done this and that he very much regrets it. I believe that Richard has not only let himself down ... but he's also let all of you down badly." He was released from his contract immediately.
Nevertheless, not all Blue Peter presenters have had poor fates after leaving Blue Peter. Tim Vincent
Tim Vincent
Tim Vincent is a Welsh actor and television presenter who was a presenter on the popular children's programme Blue Peter between 1993 and 1997...
presented Short Change
Short Change
Short Change was a consumer affairs programme for children, broadcast on BBC One and later also the CBBC Channel. It was essentially a version of the prime-time show Watchdog except that it was aimed at children. The show was first aired on 20 February 1994...
and Fully Booked
Fully Booked
Fully Booked was a magazine show for children produced by BBC Scotland and broadcast from 1995 to 1999, and in revised form as FBi in 2000. The show was a summer-time replacement for Live & Kicking, which would normally not broadcast over the summer months...
, acted in Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
, and presented Access Hollywood
Access Hollywood
Access Hollywood is a weekday television entertainment news program covering events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was created by former Entertainment Tonight executive producer Jim Van Messel, and is currently directed by Robert Silverstein. In previous years, Doug Dougherty and...
and Phenomenon
Phenomenon (TV series)
Phenomenon is a competition show judged by mystifier Uri Geller and illusionist Criss Angel and hosted by Tim Vincent which debuted live on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 on NBC. The show featured ten contestants competing to become the next great mentalist, to be determined by viewers voting by phone...
for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in the United States; Katy Hill
Katy Hill
Katy Hill is an English television presenter, who worked on the BBC children's magazine programme Blue Peter for five years.-Biography:...
went on to present Live and Kicking
Live and Kicking
Live and Kicking may refer to:*Live & Kicking, a British children's show*Live and Kicking , a 1999 Australian-rules football variety program*Live and Kicking *Live and Kicking...
, Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
and hit40UK
Hit40uk
Hit40UK was a networked Top 40 chart show broadcasting on around 130 UK commercial radio stations every Sunday from 4pm to 7pm. It is now a TV programme shown on 4Music. The radio version was produced in house by Global Radio and Somethin' Else...
, a networked music singles chart for commercial radio
Commercial broadcasting
Commercial broadcasting is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship...
; and Matt Baker
Matt Baker
Matthew James Baker is an English television presenter who co-hosts the Monday-Thursday editions of BBC One's The One Show and co-presents Countryfile on the same channel.-Early life:...
presents Countryfile
Countryfile
Countryfile is a British magazine-style television programme produced by BBC Birmingham, first aired on 24th July 1988, which reports on rural and environmental issues within the United Kingdom. For its first 20 years it was fronted by broadcaster John Craven, until he stepped back from the role of...
and The One Show
The One Show
The One Show is a topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One and BBC One HD, hosted by Alex Jones and Matt Baker. Chris Evans joins Jones to present the programme on Friday...
, and was runner up in 2010 series of Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing is a British television show, featuring celebrities with professional dance partners competing in Ballroom and Latin dances. The title of the show suggests a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing, with an allusion to the film Strictly Ballroom...
. Indeed, Bacon's career survived his scandal, and he has since presented The Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast was a British light entertainment television show shown on Channel 4 and S4C each weekday morning from 28 September 1992 until 29 March 2002 during which period 2,482 shows were produced. The Big Breakfast was produced by Planet 24, the production company co-owned by former...
, Top of the Pops, and numerous radio shows, even some for the BBC.
External links
- Blue Peter BBC
- Blue Peter Museum of Broadcast Communications
- The A–Z of Blue Peter The Independent, 12 March 2005