'' is a popular, long-running
BBC Television programme for children. It is named after the blue-and-white
Flag hoisted by ships in port when they are ready to sail. The reasoning behind the choice of title is that the programme is intended to be a voyage of adventure and discovery for the viewers, constantly covering new topics.
The signature tune, in recognition of the origin of the title, is a
Sea Shanty called ''Barnacle Bill'', and the programme's motif is a stylised sailing ship designed by
Tony Hart . Hart's original design was never successfully used in a totally uniform fashion, with several different near-identical reproductions used in studio, on badges, the BP books and on-screen graphics. This was until the show's redesign in 1999, when the ship's rigging and hull detail was removed and in 2000 the flags were subtly reshaped. This version is still in use today and now appears across all media (although the revised badges retain the old-style flags).
The programme, devised by
John Hunter Blair and edited for many years by
Biddy Baxter , was first shown on
October 16 ,
1958 , the original presenters being
Christopher Trace and
Leila Williams . The format consisted mainly of the two presenters demonstrating dolls and model railways, with the male presenter concentrating on traditional "boys'" toys such as model aeroplanes, and the female restricting herself to domestic tasks, such as cookery.
Over the years the programme changed to reflect the times. Originally it was a 15-minute weekly programme; currently it is 25 minutes and is shown three times a week on
BBC One , with two more programmes (mainly comprising previously-broadcast material) each week on the
CBBC Channel . The 4000th edition was broadcast on
14 March 2005 . Most episodes are still broadcast live.
Almost every episode from
1964 onwards still exists in the BBC archives. This is extremely unusual for programmes of that era, and stands as testament to Baxter's foresight and initiative, as she personally ensured that
Telerecording s and, from
1970 ,
Video copies were kept of the episodes. Among the benefits of this policy is that one
1973 episode 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''. In addition, longtime host
Peter Purves was himself a former co-star on the series. The programme has also recently asked viewers to help recover the lost footage of ''Doctor Who''.)
The show has seen many 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 . His was 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.
Boeing 757 landing at
London Heathrow Airport ]]
Between 1989 and 1994, the theme song 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 new "millennium" makeover, which involved 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 . The then presenter
Katy Hill played the final cymbal crash. The new 'bubble ship' lasted until the end of the series in June 2004 and the new September 2004 series used as its sole emblem the traditional ship, still without the fiddly rigging detail which did not lend itself to neat digital or online use. Coinciding with it was a new arrangement of "Barnacle Bill" by N Brown and a revised studio set, making much use of the sail shapes of the ship logo. In 2006 the theme music 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.
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 lovely 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 TV 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 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.
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.
The team of presenters keeps various pets. 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 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 famous ''Blue Peter'' Garden, adjacent to Television Centre, which was originally 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 makes a point of marking annual events, including
Chinese New Year ,
Shrove Tuesday ,
Mothering Sunday ,
Guy Fawkes Night and
Christmas .
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 . 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 actual ship design by Tony Hart launched (more detailed and neat than the previous printed reproduction). This version disappeared in 1997 when the old-style badge returned. It wasn't until 2004, coinciding with the show's September revamp, that a new badge was introduced. Ever so slightly larger in dimension and with a much bolder printing of the new-style ship without its rigging detail (though the pre-2000 style flags remain). It is also worth noting that 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, magnetic logos are often attached to vehicles driven by the presenters during filming assignments. Other badges exist, and are awarded for various achievements: 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) 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, some 'celebrities' have been awarded the gold badge for their services to their country or to the industry in which they work. Finally, the Competition badge is a round metal disc in white, with the blue ship and the words "Blue Peter Competition Winner" printed on it. These badges are awarded to all winners and runners-up of Blue Peter competitions.
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 instigated 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 to this day.
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 Capsule s from
1971 and
1984 were unearthed.
,
Konnie Huq ,
Zöe Salmon ,
Liz Barker and
Gethin Jones ]]
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 total of 31 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 at the time,
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.
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.
Apart from the presenters, other people who have played important 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 and she was replaced by the current incumbent,
Chris Collins .
Another important 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 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
- to June 1989 — [http://www.bbc.co.uk/newtalent/musicmakers/bb/theme2_oldfield.ram ''Blue Peter'' Theme from 1979]
- to August 1994 — [http://www.bbc.co.uk/newtalent/musicmakers/bb/theme3_brint1.ram ''Blue Peter'' Theme from 1990] [http://www.bbc.co.uk/newtalent/musicmakers/bb/theme5_brint2.ram ''Blue Peter'' Theme from 1993]
- to August 1999 — [http://www.bbc.co.uk/newtalent/musicmakers/bb/theme6_yesno.ram ''Blue Peter'' Theme from 1996]
- to June 2004 — [http://www.bbc.co.uk/newtalent/musicmakers/bb/theme7_arnold.ram ''Blue Peter'' Theme from 2002]
- to present — [http://www.bbc.co.uk/newtalent/musicmakers/bb/theme8_brown.ram ''Blue Peter'' Theme from 2005]
A new version of the signature tune is to be recorded for the show in
2006 .
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