"the second and final ""Blue Peter"" parrot, brought into the programme in the 1960s after the death of the previous parrot, Joey. When Barney died, he was not replaced. There has not been a parrot since. Blue Peter pets The Blue Peter pets are animals that regularly appear on the long-running BBC children's television series ""Blue Peter"". For 27 years, when not on TV, these pets were often looked after by ""Blue Peter""'s long-standing pet keeper Edith Menezes, who died in 1994. The exceptions were the dogs Petra, Shep and Goldie, who lived with Peter Purves, John Noakes and Simon"
"Trace and Leila Williams were the first presenters of ""Blue Peter"" in October 1958, and since then, there have been 37 subsequent presenters. The current presenting team comprises Radzi Chinyanganya and Lindsey Russell, who both joined the programme in 2013. Other personnel who have played roles on the show include the zoologist George Cansdale, who was the programme's first on-screen veterinarian, and Percy Thrower who was the show's gardening expert from 21 March 1974 to 23 November 1987 and was presented with a Gold ""Blue Peter"" badge shortly before he died in 1988. He was followed from 1988 until 1991"
"relinquishing the role in 1988. Throughout the show's history there have been many presenters. Currently, these are Lindsey Russell and Radzi Chinyanganya. ""Blue Peter"" content is wide-ranging. Most programmes are broadcast live, but usually include at least one filmed report. There will also often be a demonstration of an activity in the studio, or a music or dance performance. Between the 1960s and 2011 the programme was made at BBC Television Centre, and often came from Studio 1, the fourth-largest TV studio in Britain and one of the largest in Europe. This enabled ""Blue Peter"" to include large-scale demonstrations and"
"did not appear for six editions, and was eventually fired, leaving Christopher Trace on his own or with one-off presenters. Parkhurst was replaced by John Furness, and Anita West joined Trace on 7 May 1962. She featured in just 16 editions, making her the shortest-serving presenter, and was replaced by Valerie Singleton, who presented regularly until 1972, and on special assignments until 1981. Following the departure of Furness, a new producer who was committed to ""Blue Peter"" was required, so Biddy Baxter was appointed. At the time she was contracted to schools' programmes on the radio, and therefore unable to"
"to, Monty Python, and ""Here's one I made earlier"", since adopted by nearly all subsequent presenters on ""Blue Peter"". Christopher Trace Christopher Leonard Trace (21 March 1933 – 5 September 1992) was an English actor and television presenter, notable for his nine years as a presenter of the BBC children's programme ""Blue Peter"". Trace was the youngest of three children born to Edith (née Morley) and Lawrence Archibald Trace. His two older siblings were Ann and David Morley Trace. Trace was educated at Cranleigh School, a boarding independent school in the town of Cranleigh in Surrey, which he left early."
"Simon Thomas (presenter) Simon Thomas (born 26 January 1973) is an English television presenter, who worked on ""Blue Peter"" for six years, and now presents live Premier League football on Sky Sports. Simon Thomas was born in Norwich, Norfolk, to Andrew and Gill Thomas. He has two sisters, Hannah and Rebecca. Although Thomas initially grew up in Cromer, and then Grimston, where he attended Grimston Primary and Middle School, the family later moved to Surrey, where he attended Aberdour School in Tadworth, and St. John's School, Leatherhead. After leaving school, he went to Birmingham University, where he graduated with a"
"Blue Peter Blue Peter is a British children's television programme that was first broadcast in 1958. The programme, which has had continuous seasons since it was first aired, is now the longest-running children's TV show in the world. It is currently shown live on the CBBC television channel. The show's content, which follows a magazine/entertainment format, features viewer and presenter challenges, competitions, celebrity interviews, popular culture and sections on making arts and crafts items from household items. The longevity of ""Blue Peter"" has established itself as a significant part of British culture. It was broadcast mainly from BBC Television Centre"
"be published. She was the subject of ""This Is Your Life"" in 2001 when she was surprised by Michael Aspel. Earlier, in 1974, she had been the featured castaway on ""Desert Island Discs"". Valerie Singleton Valerie Singleton, OBE (born 9 April 1937) is an English television and radio presenter best known as a presenter of the popular children's series ""Blue Peter"" from 1962-1972. She also presented the BBC Radio 4 ""PM"" programme for ten years as well as a series of radio and television programmes on financial and business issues. She is the daughter of an ex-RAF wing commander from"
"after a nine-month relationship. They have two children. Konnie Huq Kanak Asha ""Konnie"" Huq (; born 17 July 1975) is a British television presenter and writer. She was the longest-serving female presenter of ""Blue Peter"", having presented it from 1 December 1997 until 23 January 2008. She presented the 2010 series of ""The Xtra Factor"" on ITV2. Huq was born in Hammersmith, west London to Sunni Muslim Bangladeshi parents who had emigrated to England in the 1960s. She grew up in Ealing, west London, with her two elder sisters, Rupa and Nutun. She was educated at Notting Hill & Ealing"
"Matt Baker (presenter) Matthew James Baker MBE (born 23 December 1977) is an English television presenter, best known for his television work with the BBC. Baker co-presented the children's television show ""Blue Peter"" from 2000 until 2006, BBC One's ""Countryfile"" since 2009 and ""The One Show"" since 2011, with Alex Jones. Baker was born in Easington, County Durham. His father ran a newsagent's shop, and his parents had a smallholding in the village. He has one sister and two half-sisters. Baker attended Easington Village School, then, when he was aged 10, his parents bought a farm west of Durham, which"
"Christopher Trace Christopher Leonard Trace (21 March 1933 – 5 September 1992) was an English actor and television presenter, notable for his nine years as a presenter of the BBC children's programme ""Blue Peter"". Trace was the youngest of three children born to Edith (née Morley) and Lawrence Archibald Trace. His two older siblings were Ann and David Morley Trace. Trace was educated at Cranleigh School, a boarding independent school in the town of Cranleigh in Surrey, which he left early. After working as a farm labourer, he joined the British Army and trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst."
"Lindsey Russell Lindsey Russell is the 36th presenter of the long running BBC television programme ""Blue Peter"" who hosted with Barney Harwood from 2013 to 2017 and with Radzi Chinyanganya beginning in 2013. Russell was born in Belgium and was raised in Oxford. She was successful in a competition to find the next presenter for ""Blue Peter"" that attracted 20,000 applicants and was judged by a panel that included TV presenters Eamonn Holmes and Myleene Klass. She won the role shortly after graduating from the University of Bristol after a four-year French and drama course. In 2016 Russell attempted to"
"Richard Bacon (broadcaster) Richard Paul Bacon (born 30 November 1975) is an English television and radio presenter. He was a host of the children's show ""Blue Peter""—his first high-profile media role—until he was fired in 1998 after 18 months for admitting to taking cocaine. He has since worked as a reporter or presenter on numerous television shows, including ""The Big Breakfast"", and on radio stations including Capital FM, Xfm London and BBC Radio Five Live. In 2016 Bacon became the presenter of The National Geographic Channel's reboot of its documentary/panel discussion TV series, ""Explorer"". Bacon grew up in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire,"
"subsequently purchased and installed at Sunderland University's David Puttnam Media Centre in August 2013. When the new series started on 26 September 2011, after the usual summer break, Harwood and Skelton revealed the new look ""Blue Peter"" studio along with the new music and title sequence. Departed presenter Andy Akinwolere was not initially replaced, and for the first time in 50 years only two presenters remained on the programme. The new ""Blue Peter"" Garden, located outside the studios, was officially opened by Princess Anne in February 2012. From 12 January 2012, ""Blue Peter"" has been broadcast all year round (with"
"suffered while trying for a fourth child. Away from writing and broadcasting Ellis is a Board Member of the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith, a Patron of Maggie's Centres, a patron of Humanists UK, and a Council and Honorary Member of the National Youth Theatre. Ellis was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to charity and theatre. Janet Ellis Janet Michell Ellis, (born 16 September 1955) is an English television presenter, actress and writer, who is best known for presenting the BBC children's television programmes ""Blue Peter"" and ""Jigsaw"" between 1979"
"Konnie Huq Kanak Asha ""Konnie"" Huq (; born 17 July 1975) is a British television presenter and writer. She was the longest-serving female presenter of ""Blue Peter"", having presented it from 1 December 1997 until 23 January 2008. She presented the 2010 series of ""The Xtra Factor"" on ITV2. Huq was born in Hammersmith, west London to Sunni Muslim Bangladeshi parents who had emigrated to England in the 1960s. She grew up in Ealing, west London, with her two elder sisters, Rupa and Nutun. She was educated at Notting Hill & Ealing High School in London and left school with"
"longest-serving ""Blue Peter"" presenter and its longest-serving female host, having passed Valerie Singleton's record on 1 October 2007. Huq presented the seventh series of ""The Xtra Factor"" on ITV2, replacing Holly Willoughby who was unable to fulfil the role due to her ongoing commitments at ""This Morning"". Between 2002 and 2004, Huq co-presented the CBBC Channel's ""UK Top 40"". In early 2003 Huq was briefly a presenter for ""Top of the Pops"". She presented GMTV's ""LK today"" coverage of New York Fashion Week on the week of 10 September 2007. In June 2007 she was a guest panellist on the"
"cross the 21 miles between Northern Ireland and Scotland in a three-metre zorb in aid of Sport Relief. She had to eventually abort the attempt due to bad weather. Lindsey Russell Lindsey Russell is the 36th presenter of the long running BBC television programme ""Blue Peter"" who hosted with Barney Harwood from 2013 to 2017 and with Radzi Chinyanganya beginning in 2013. Russell was born in Belgium and was raised in Oxford. She was successful in a competition to find the next presenter for ""Blue Peter"" that attracted 20,000 applicants and was judged by a panel that included TV presenters"
"Valerie Singleton Valerie Singleton, OBE (born 9 April 1937) is an English television and radio presenter best known as a presenter of the popular children's series ""Blue Peter"" from 1962-1972. She also presented the BBC Radio 4 ""PM"" programme for ten years as well as a series of radio and television programmes on financial and business issues. She is the daughter of an ex-RAF wing commander from Hitchin, Hertfordshire, named Dennis Singleton, later an advertising manager. She was educated at Frensham Heights School in Surrey and at the independent Arts Educational School, Tring Park in Hertfordshire. Singleton wanted to be"
"Peter"" won the BAFTA for Best Children's Programme (Factual): Lewis Bronze. In 2008 ""Blue Peter"" was nominated for the BAFTA Children's Kids Vote Award. 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. Blue Peter Blue Peter is a British children's television programme that was first broadcast in 1958. The programme, which has had continuous seasons since it was first aired, is now the longest-running children's TV show in the world. It is currently shown live on the CBBC"
"increase viewership, by mid-2009. In September 2010, the show was moved from Wednesdays and Tuesdays to Mondays and Tuesdays at the same time slot. From Thursday, 12 January 2012 another episode was dropped, with the show coming full circle by only broadcasting one new episode each week. For the first time in the show's history, first run episodes were now broadcast on the CBBC Channel, at 5.45pm on Thursdays. However, a repeat was still broadcast the following day on BBC One. Eventually however, in December 2012, ""Blue Peter"" ended its 54-year run on BBC One and now airs only on"
"Simon Groom Simon Groom (born 12 August 1950) is a British producer and director. He was a presenter of ""Blue Peter"" from 1978 to 1986. Groom was born in Chesterfield in Derbyshire, and was brought up on a farm in Dethick, which he often visited for ""Blue Peter"" reports. He was educated at Herbert Strutt Grammar School in Belper in Derbyshire, followed by the University of Birmingham. Groom worked briefly as an English teacher before becoming a disc jockey and joining ""Blue Peter"" in 1978. Groom's co-presenters on ""Blue Peter"" until leaving in 1986 were Lesley Judd, John Noakes, Christopher"
"credited to Christopher Trace, though Marguerite Patten is another possibility. Trace also used the line ""And now for something completely different"", which was later taken up by ""Monty Python"". Time is also often given over to reading letters and showing pictures sent in by viewers. Over 5,000 editions have been produced since 1958, and almost every episode from 1964 onwards still exists in the BBC archives. This is unusual for programmes of that era. Editor Biddy Baxter personally ensured that telerecordings and, from 1970, video recording were kept of each episode. Many items from ""Blue Peter"" history have become embedded"
"Stewart White (journalist) Stewart White (born 18 April 1947) is a British journalist, presenter and newsreader, most famous for presenting the East Anglian regional BBC News programme ""Look East"". Beginning his career at several regional BBC Radio stations he later became a presenter and continuity announcer for Central Independent Television. In 1984 he became the lead presenter on ""Look East"", where he has remained to the present day. He is currently the longest-serving BBC regional news presenter in the UK following Chris Vacher's retirement in 2011. ITV's Fred Dinenage is, by far, the longest-serving regional presenter overall with more than"
"""Blue Peter"" pet for 12 years. A pedigree Golden Retriever she was born to Laytoncroft India of Highbrae (mother) and Lilling Dessie (father). She famously once wandered into Paul O'Grady's dressing room and was scared off by his dog. On 4 April 2011, it was announced that Lucy had died, aged 13, following a struggle with cancer. Meg (born c. 2000 - 15 June 2011) was a Border Collie who belonged to presenter Matt Baker. Whilst not considered an official ""Blue Peter"" pet, as she lived with Baker's family in County Durham and was trained as a sheepdog, she frequently"
"claimed that they still had their Blue Peter badge). During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the programme's main presenter was Gordon Clough, who would typically prepare for the programme by completing the ""Times"", ""Guardian"" and ""FT"" crosswords. Valerie Singleton and Hugh Sykes co-presented the show during the 1980s but had a difficult relationship, with Singleton admitting she threw a cup of water in his face while live on air. Singleton made a one-off return to ""PM"" on 29 February 2016 to co-present a special 'Leap Day' programme, alongside Eddie Mair, and proposed marriage to him at the end of"
"BBC One programme was moved from 5 pm to 4.35 pm to accommodate ""The Weakest Link"", and as a result, ""Blue Peter""s ratings initially dropped to as low as 100,000 viewers in the age 6–12 bracket, before steadily improving. As with the previous decade, numerous presenters joined and left the programme. This included the exits of Thomas, Baker and Barker and the additions of Zöe Salmon, Gethin Jones and Andy Akinwolere. Early 2008 saw the departure of Huq, who had become the longest serving female presenter with over ten years on the show. Later that year, Salmon and Jones both"
"appeared in December 2017 in a tribute programme to fellow Blue Peter presenter, John Noakes, who had died earlier that year. On 16 October 2018, she appeared on BBC Breakfast and later that day on Blue Peter to celebrate their sixtieth anniversary. Lesley Judd Lesley Judd (born 20 December 1946) is an English dancer and television presenter, best known as a long-serving host of the BBC children's programme ""Blue Peter"". Born in London, Judd was educated at the independent Arts Educational School, Tring Park in Hertfordshire. One of Judd's earliest appearances was as a child actor, playing a schoolgirl in"
"the 2011 GB Skeleton Bobsleigh Trials and even appearing on screen in the front row of the audience for the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament. He is also a Catholic and holds a strong belief in the Holy Trinity and Jesus Christ's resurrection. Radzi Chinyanganya Radzi Chinyanganya (born 12 September 1986) is a British presenter of the BBC children's TV programme ""Blue Peter"", beginning in 2013, and a co-presenter for the ITV gameshow ""Cannonball"" since 2017. Previously he presented ""Wild"" on CBBC and was also the host of ""Match of the Day Kickabout"" from 2013 until 2014, when Ben Shires"
"Anthea Turner Anthea Millicent Turner (born 25 May 1960) is an English television presenter. She was a host of ""Blue Peter"" from 1992 until 1994, and of ""GMTV"" from 1994 until 1996. Turner was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire and educated at the direct grant grammar catholic school St Dominic's High School for Girls, Brewood, South Staffordshire. She was one of three daughters born to her parents Brian and Jean Turner. One of her sisters, Ruth, died aged 15. Her other sister is presenter Wendy Turner Webster. Turner joined BBC Radio Stoke as a runner, eventually joining breakfast show presenter Bruno"
"Baker met his wife Nicola, a physiotherapist, when he was performing in the disco show at Pier 39 in Cleethorpes. The couple married at Winston in Teesdale, in 2004 and live in Buckinghamshire with their son Luke and daughter Molly. In early 2011, Baker was elected as the president for the National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs. Matt Baker (presenter) Matthew James Baker MBE (born 23 December 1977) is an English television presenter, best known for his television work with the BBC. Baker co-presented the children's television show ""Blue Peter"" from 2000 until 2006, BBC One's ""Countryfile"" since 2009 and"
"having been her owner for more than nine years. There is a bust of Petra in the ""Blue Peter"" garden. It originally stood in front of BBC Television Centre but was moved to the garden in 1984 due to redevelopment works and now stands in the current garden at MediaCityUK. It was later revealed that the original (unnamed) puppy had died of distemper a few days after her first appearance on ""Blue Peter"", broadcast just before Christmas 1962. Instead of informing viewers, and feeling there was no need to upset children needlessly, the programme's director and producer Edward Barnes and"
"dancer in the video for Rick Astley's ""She Wants to Dance With Me"" (1988). In 1988 Sundin fell ill. At the age of 28, he died in the Newcastle General Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne. ""The Times"" newspaper reported (on 26 July 1989) that he had died of liver cancer. Earlier the same year Sundin had denied having AIDS. Michael Sundin Michael Sundin (1 March 1961 – 23 July 1989) was an English television presenter, actor, dancer and trampolinist. He was a presenter of the BBC children's programme ""Blue Peter"" presenter for 77 episodes between 1984 and 1985. Michael Sundin was"