1 00:00:15,420 --> 00:00:18,380 MUSIC BOX TINKLES 2 00:00:23,540 --> 00:00:31,380 The first edition of Blue Peter was broadcast on 16 October 1958 from the BBC's Lime Grove studios. 3 00:00:34,900 --> 00:00:37,860 ORIGINAL THEME MUSIC PLAYS 4 00:00:42,900 --> 00:00:46,340 It was aimed at five- to eight-year-olds. 5 00:00:46,340 --> 00:00:52,220 It was the brainchild of producer John Hunter Blair and Gilly Reilly. 6 00:00:52,220 --> 00:00:56,700 To present it they chose actor Christopher Trace. 7 00:00:56,700 --> 00:00:59,540 My father said that, at the audition, 8 00:00:59,540 --> 00:01:06,220 he was ready to talk about TV and children, but there was a train set. 9 00:01:06,220 --> 00:01:10,860 He and John Hunter Blair were enthusiasts and they got on famously. 10 00:01:10,860 --> 00:01:14,780 It was a foregone conclusion he'd get the job. 11 00:01:14,780 --> 00:01:18,700 Onto the water...and start up. MOTOR CHIRRS 12 00:01:18,700 --> 00:01:22,660 The programme was named after the flag raised 13 00:01:22,660 --> 00:01:25,140 as a ship is about to set sail. 14 00:01:25,140 --> 00:01:29,580 All the works are inside. MOTOR OFF 15 00:01:29,580 --> 00:01:31,740 Pretty good! 16 00:01:31,740 --> 00:01:36,300 Now it's time for 6-5's own popular discoveries, the Mudlarks, 17 00:01:36,300 --> 00:01:39,340 with My Grandfather's Clock. 18 00:01:39,340 --> 00:01:43,140 Chosen to join Chris was Leila Williams, 19 00:01:43,140 --> 00:01:48,660 already a TV presenter and famous for being Miss Great Britain 1957. 20 00:01:50,340 --> 00:01:56,220 I was told I was booked for a week definitely - possibly two weeks - 21 00:01:56,220 --> 00:02:00,660 and I was to act as assistant to Christopher Trace. 22 00:02:00,660 --> 00:02:05,300 It was more than we dared hope that it would last six months. 23 00:02:05,300 --> 00:02:10,220 I expected to hear I wasn't needed the following week, but I didn't, 24 00:02:10,220 --> 00:02:16,740 so I turned up to the next rehearsal and Gilly and John both met me 25 00:02:16,740 --> 00:02:22,020 and said, "It's a success! We're on the air!" It was absolutely superb. 26 00:02:22,020 --> 00:02:26,660 ANNETTE MILLS: # We want Muffin, Muffin the Mule 27 00:02:26,660 --> 00:02:30,460 # Dear old Muffin, playing the fool... # 28 00:02:30,460 --> 00:02:35,300 In the 1950s, programmes such as Muffin The Mule and Andy Pandy 29 00:02:35,300 --> 00:02:39,260 were the staple diet of children's programming. 30 00:02:39,260 --> 00:02:44,820 John Hunter Blair wanted Blue Peter to be completely different. 31 00:02:44,820 --> 00:02:48,020 He wanted it to be like a magazine, 32 00:02:48,020 --> 00:02:53,020 where you turned the page and there was something going on all the time. 33 00:02:53,020 --> 00:02:55,820 That was what he was aiming at. 34 00:02:55,820 --> 00:03:01,820 Also recruited in the early months was artist Tony Hart, whose cartoon strip, 35 00:03:01,820 --> 00:03:05,660 Packi The Elephant, was recreated on screen. 36 00:03:05,660 --> 00:03:11,940 I wrote the story, did the drawings and then I had to narrate it, you see. 37 00:03:11,940 --> 00:03:17,420 I remember in those old studios - black and white, of course, then - 38 00:03:17,420 --> 00:03:20,020 that I had a clock. 39 00:03:20,020 --> 00:03:25,820 The clock told me when to start and exactly when I had to come out. 40 00:03:25,820 --> 00:03:30,500 And Chris - dear old Chris - he was very naughty, 41 00:03:30,500 --> 00:03:33,300 and towards the end, 42 00:03:33,300 --> 00:03:40,140 he'd do this, which he wasn't supposed to do, because I could see my clock perfectly well, 43 00:03:40,140 --> 00:03:43,220 and he would try and make me laugh. 44 00:03:43,220 --> 00:03:49,900 Chris and I had a brother-sister relationship. That's the best way to explain it. 45 00:03:49,900 --> 00:03:53,380 That's how we were. We got on really well. 46 00:03:53,380 --> 00:03:58,620 And John gave me away at my wedding. It was just a little happy family. 47 00:04:00,580 --> 00:04:03,580 Blue Peter WAS a family, 48 00:04:03,580 --> 00:04:08,460 and I was extremely pleased to be allowed to be a cousin. 49 00:04:08,460 --> 00:04:11,620 Two years later, Blue Peter was thriving. 50 00:04:11,620 --> 00:04:15,060 But John Hunter Blair had to take sick leave. 51 00:04:15,060 --> 00:04:18,580 One stand-in producer was Clive Parkhurst. 52 00:04:18,580 --> 00:04:22,060 The Blue Peter family was about to break up. 53 00:04:22,060 --> 00:04:26,340 We were like two raw wires and we just exploded. 54 00:04:26,340 --> 00:04:31,620 I had a monthly contract, so at the end of the month, that was it. 55 00:04:31,620 --> 00:04:33,540 What's on? 56 00:04:33,540 --> 00:04:37,340 Auditions were held to find Leila's replacement. 57 00:04:37,340 --> 00:04:39,860 Hello, Caroline. Hello, everyone. 58 00:04:41,860 --> 00:04:45,140 'I was interviewed by Christopher Trace.' 59 00:04:45,140 --> 00:04:47,660 Christopher asked if I'd come far, 60 00:04:47,660 --> 00:04:53,140 and I said, in a very high-pitched voice, "Only from Earl's Court." 61 00:04:53,140 --> 00:04:57,140 Only from Earl's Court, about ten minutes away. 62 00:04:57,140 --> 00:05:01,020 I didn't get it the first time. Someone else did. 63 00:05:01,020 --> 00:05:03,900 I believe you started in Hollywood. 64 00:05:03,900 --> 00:05:10,060 TONY HART: It was a most beautiful lady, and her name was Anita West. 65 00:05:10,060 --> 00:05:15,060 She was brought into the studio by the producer one day, 66 00:05:15,060 --> 00:05:19,980 and I remember all the men - there was a sort of move to get closer! 67 00:05:19,980 --> 00:05:22,780 She really was a dish! 68 00:05:26,180 --> 00:05:28,660 I was a Blue Peter presenter 69 00:05:28,660 --> 00:05:35,940 between Leila and Val Singleton, but not many people remember me. 70 00:05:35,940 --> 00:05:42,300 Anita West has never been publicly acknowledged as a BP presenter until now. 71 00:05:42,300 --> 00:05:46,260 'I was in it for about six and a half months. 72 00:05:46,260 --> 00:05:49,580 'You made your things, you told a story,' 73 00:05:49,580 --> 00:05:54,180 you introduced somebody - I had some wonderful interviews. 74 00:05:54,180 --> 00:05:58,700 One was the guy from Disney who drew The Sword In The Stone. 75 00:05:58,700 --> 00:06:01,380 I thoroughly enjoyed it. 76 00:06:01,380 --> 00:06:05,380 But her marriage to jazz musician Ray Ellington 77 00:06:05,380 --> 00:06:10,580 was ending in divorce proceedings and Anita felt forced to resign. 78 00:06:10,580 --> 00:06:18,460 I was upset, and I know they were with me, because they didn't know the background of why I was leaving. 79 00:06:18,460 --> 00:06:21,900 'I didn't know how the divorce would go. 80 00:06:21,900 --> 00:06:25,820 'A messy one could have embarrassed the programme.' 81 00:06:25,820 --> 00:06:29,860 And I wanted to be there for the children. 82 00:06:29,860 --> 00:06:32,220 I don't have any regrets. 83 00:06:32,220 --> 00:06:34,980 Professionally I do, if I'm honest. 84 00:06:34,980 --> 00:06:41,980 But privately I don't. My two children are the best thing I ever did in my life. 85 00:06:41,980 --> 00:06:46,860 Let's join Christopher Trace and Valerie Singleton for Blue Peter. 86 00:06:46,860 --> 00:06:48,900 THEME PLAYS 87 00:06:48,900 --> 00:06:52,140 Second choice Valerie Singleton was asked back. 88 00:06:52,140 --> 00:06:54,980 She stayed for ten years, 89 00:06:54,980 --> 00:07:00,700 becoming the programme's longest-serving female presenter. 90 00:07:00,700 --> 00:07:06,940 Decorating cakes isn't just a job for girls, as I found out last week. 91 00:07:06,940 --> 00:07:09,820 Some of them don't look like cakes, 92 00:07:09,820 --> 00:07:12,420 but believe me, it is all cake. 93 00:07:14,980 --> 00:07:18,820 Another appointment in 1962 was Biddy Baxter. 94 00:07:18,820 --> 00:07:24,140 This young radio studio manager was offered the job of editor 95 00:07:24,140 --> 00:07:27,740 over other staff in the Children's Department. 96 00:07:27,740 --> 00:07:35,020 I had a sleepless night, thinking, "I'm not capable of doing it. 97 00:07:35,020 --> 00:07:38,460 "I'll have to say I can't take the job." 98 00:07:38,460 --> 00:07:41,740 But in the morning, I thought, "If I do that, 99 00:07:41,740 --> 00:07:46,300 "bang goes my career with the BBC, so I'd better plunge in." 100 00:07:46,300 --> 00:07:51,100 We all had a terrible feeling Biddy would get it. 101 00:07:51,100 --> 00:07:55,940 We weren't best pleased about it. She had an idea 102 00:07:55,940 --> 00:08:02,420 about what children wanted before she was able to translate it into TV terms. 103 00:08:02,420 --> 00:08:07,940 At last, the weather is kind enough to let us come to Chessington Zoo 104 00:08:07,940 --> 00:08:11,980 to finish off our Blue Peter seal competition. 105 00:08:11,980 --> 00:08:17,060 We're waiting for the prizewinner, and I can see the car coming now. 106 00:08:17,060 --> 00:08:22,140 Edward and I wanted the programme to have a distinct identity. 107 00:08:22,140 --> 00:08:26,820 He came up with the idea of a logo. Of course now it's called branding. 108 00:08:26,820 --> 00:08:33,020 TONY HART: I thought perhaps a galleon shape, a simplified form. 109 00:08:33,020 --> 00:08:35,500 There we are. 110 00:08:35,500 --> 00:08:38,180 And now, in true Blue Peter style, 111 00:08:38,180 --> 00:08:41,580 let me show you one that I did earlier. 112 00:08:43,780 --> 00:08:46,700 That is the original Blue Peter ship 113 00:08:46,700 --> 00:08:49,380 which I drew in 1963. 114 00:08:49,380 --> 00:08:54,620 I put it to Biddy - "Could you see your way to letting me have a penny 115 00:08:54,620 --> 00:08:57,460 "every time it's used?" 116 00:09:04,820 --> 00:09:09,220 I think we paid him £100. If only he'd been on a royalty, 117 00:09:09,220 --> 00:09:12,140 he'd have been a millionaire! 118 00:09:12,140 --> 00:09:19,460 The logo led on to the famous Blue Peter badge, launched with a massive nationwide balloon release. 119 00:09:19,460 --> 00:09:22,380 The badge was for programme material. 120 00:09:22,380 --> 00:09:27,340 That's what children would win for sending in ideas for the programme, 121 00:09:27,340 --> 00:09:32,220 so it was a very good way of becoming interactive. 122 00:09:32,220 --> 00:09:37,420 And it rewarded children who were helping us, so everyone was happy. 123 00:09:37,420 --> 00:09:41,140 You were shot at dawn with a rusty bullet 124 00:09:41,140 --> 00:09:47,300 if you went out on location without a badge - it was a cardinal sin. 125 00:09:47,300 --> 00:09:50,700 VAL: You had to wear it. It annoyed us. 126 00:09:50,700 --> 00:09:56,180 We should have had them like little Indian marks on our brows. 127 00:09:56,180 --> 00:09:59,420 One should have seen it as the trademark. 128 00:09:59,420 --> 00:10:06,060 It was perfectly valid, and we were stupid to be annoyed by it. 129 00:10:06,060 --> 00:10:10,620 I never had any problem. I had badges on swimming costumes, 130 00:10:10,620 --> 00:10:16,660 hard hats and everything - wherever you are, you must have your badge. 131 00:10:16,660 --> 00:10:19,060 Even on pyjamas! 132 00:10:19,060 --> 00:10:24,140 She was such a Pollyanna - sorry, Anth! She was SO good. 133 00:10:24,140 --> 00:10:28,820 She'd WANT to wear her badge, like a good girl at school. 134 00:10:28,820 --> 00:10:33,940 Putting it on today, I just think, "Hey! Back with the badge on." 135 00:10:33,940 --> 00:10:36,740 It feels quite at home. 136 00:10:38,820 --> 00:10:43,900 My father nicked some and took them home, which he shouldn't have done. 137 00:10:43,900 --> 00:10:48,620 Unknown to him, I nicked a few and sold them in the playground. 138 00:10:48,620 --> 00:10:51,940 It started my entrepreneurial life! 139 00:10:51,940 --> 00:10:56,340 In 1963, Rosemary Gill joined Biddy and Edward Barnes, 140 00:10:56,340 --> 00:11:00,580 forming children's TV's most influential team ever. 141 00:11:00,580 --> 00:11:06,900 EDWARD BARNES: We all had something different to offer, yet we worked well as a team. 142 00:11:06,900 --> 00:11:12,580 Chris Trace said it was like having a three-headed monster coming at him. 143 00:11:12,580 --> 00:11:16,580 NEWSREEL FANFARE 'Commercial television is here.' 144 00:11:18,900 --> 00:11:25,060 In the early '60s, the arrival of ITV had serious consequences for the BBC. 145 00:11:25,060 --> 00:11:28,620 Ratings fell, and the BBC took drastic action. 146 00:11:28,620 --> 00:11:34,700 The Children's Department was left with Watch With Mother and Blue Peter. 147 00:11:34,700 --> 00:11:36,860 Those of us left 148 00:11:36,860 --> 00:11:41,220 were angry because we believed in children's programmes. 149 00:11:41,220 --> 00:11:45,420 There was a job to be done, and it needed people 150 00:11:45,420 --> 00:11:48,060 with a specialisation to do it. 151 00:11:48,060 --> 00:11:51,020 'And it obsessed us, you know.' 152 00:11:51,020 --> 00:11:56,060 I'm in one of the children's wards of the Mayday Hospital in London. 153 00:11:56,060 --> 00:12:00,700 We thought it would be fun to come down with the Blue Peter cameras 154 00:12:00,700 --> 00:12:03,340 and play records for the children. 155 00:12:03,340 --> 00:12:06,980 RECORD PLAYS: "Twist And Shout" by The Beatles 156 00:12:09,260 --> 00:12:14,060 The team's obsession paid off - Blue Peter's audience grew, 157 00:12:14,060 --> 00:12:17,220 and it was given a twice-weekly slot. 158 00:12:17,220 --> 00:12:23,820 Now some news. From now on, you won't have to wait a week for the next programme. 159 00:12:23,820 --> 00:12:26,300 Blue Peter will be on Thursdays 160 00:12:26,300 --> 00:12:28,940 as well as on Mondays. 161 00:12:28,940 --> 00:12:34,140 BIDDY BAXTER: It was absolutely crucifyingly hard work! 162 00:12:34,140 --> 00:12:38,860 Could I have some Extra Strong Mints, please, and some syrup? 163 00:12:42,580 --> 00:12:46,660 It's hard work, doing the shopping with a lion! 164 00:12:46,660 --> 00:12:49,100 Five shillings. Thank you. 165 00:12:49,100 --> 00:12:50,860 HE GROANS 166 00:12:50,860 --> 00:12:54,340 Phew! Well, we got that out. 167 00:12:54,340 --> 00:13:00,860 Today in Great Britain, we have some of the finest firefighters in the world. 168 00:13:00,860 --> 00:13:06,140 It was too much for two presenters. There was one moment on Camber Sands. 169 00:13:06,140 --> 00:13:13,100 They were filming. It was cold, and he'd been in swimming trunks, waist-deep in water all day. 170 00:13:13,100 --> 00:13:19,260 He'd had enough. He said to Biddy, "It's too much. You have to bring in a third." 171 00:13:21,340 --> 00:13:23,780 This is Steve. 172 00:13:23,780 --> 00:13:28,700 Steve is a dray horse. He works for a brewery. ..Round, boy, round. 173 00:13:28,700 --> 00:13:34,580 'I wasn't keen on horses because I'd never had anything to do with them.' 174 00:13:34,580 --> 00:13:40,660 I thought, "What happens if he starts to run? What do I do?" 175 00:13:40,660 --> 00:13:44,140 Of course I dried, but I got myself out of it. 176 00:13:44,140 --> 00:13:46,740 He was a disaster when he came. 177 00:13:46,740 --> 00:13:52,020 I've never known anybody dry so much on air as Noakie did to begin with! 178 00:13:52,020 --> 00:13:56,940 There's the complete kite, all ready for frying. ..FLYING. 179 00:13:56,940 --> 00:14:04,220 BIDDY BAXTER: I think John Noakes has to be the most charismatic presenter of all time. 180 00:14:04,220 --> 00:14:08,260 There's never been one like him before or since. 181 00:14:08,260 --> 00:14:13,300 MUSIC: Overture to "The Marriage Of Figaro" by Mozart 182 00:14:16,780 --> 00:14:21,020 Aaaaaaaaaaagh! 183 00:14:34,620 --> 00:14:36,900 Ooh! Ow! 184 00:14:45,180 --> 00:14:46,620 Grub is up. 185 00:14:52,980 --> 00:14:57,020 Suddenly I feel awfully alone up here! 186 00:14:57,020 --> 00:15:03,620 The hard thing for an actor is to be yourself and not put on a show. 187 00:15:03,620 --> 00:15:09,180 I'm not stepping on John's toes if I say he continued to put on a show. 188 00:15:09,180 --> 00:15:14,260 His invented character, John Noakes, was not really like John Noakes. 189 00:15:14,260 --> 00:15:17,700 This is a trunk call from Ceylon to England. 190 00:15:17,700 --> 00:15:20,020 I hope I don't get cut off! 191 00:15:20,020 --> 00:15:24,740 I was never frightened going on stage. I used to get excited. 192 00:15:24,740 --> 00:15:29,620 I used to laugh at folk who trembled in the wings on the first night. 193 00:15:29,620 --> 00:15:34,420 "Why are you in the business? Go on and be whoever you're going to be." 194 00:15:34,420 --> 00:15:37,060 But did I get my comeuppance! 195 00:15:37,060 --> 00:15:42,740 Because that thing - that lens, that piece of glass - stripped me naked. 196 00:15:42,740 --> 00:15:45,740 Do you want a piece? Steady! 197 00:15:45,740 --> 00:15:49,660 don't drop this on your foot! 198 00:15:49,660 --> 00:15:54,700 That's for you. You don't do yourself justice. It's very light. 199 00:15:54,700 --> 00:15:57,340 Anyone got an electric saw? Let me... 200 00:15:57,340 --> 00:16:04,620 'I then invented this idiot who I called John Noakes, who was not really the real John Noakes. 201 00:16:04,620 --> 00:16:07,260 'I'm really a quiet person.' 202 00:16:07,260 --> 00:16:10,540 It's got no cheese and onion in it! 203 00:16:10,540 --> 00:16:14,860 Action Man's advent took away a bit of glory from Dad. 204 00:16:14,860 --> 00:16:22,740 There was a BP Special Assignment in Norway where my father had rather more than a special assignment. 205 00:16:22,740 --> 00:16:27,620 This got picked up. Not only did it sour the relationship with my mother, 206 00:16:27,620 --> 00:16:34,700 but it also didn't help his reputation within the BBC, and he felt it was time to move on. 207 00:16:34,700 --> 00:16:37,300 We weren't brokenhearted. 208 00:16:37,300 --> 00:16:41,820 He knew he'd had enough and we felt it was time he moved on. 209 00:16:41,820 --> 00:16:46,100 We made mistakes later, keeping on people for too long. 210 00:16:46,100 --> 00:16:49,540 Chris's replacement was actor Peter Purves. 211 00:16:49,540 --> 00:16:52,220 I saw it as a job for six months, 212 00:16:52,220 --> 00:16:57,740 and then I could go back to the serious business of acting...ho-ho. 213 00:16:59,700 --> 00:17:02,340 Right in your ear'ole! Thanks(!) 214 00:17:03,780 --> 00:17:07,220 You went all round the head, like this. 215 00:17:07,220 --> 00:17:10,100 It's not self-raising flour! Sorry. 216 00:17:10,100 --> 00:17:12,700 Oops! I blew instead of sucking. 217 00:17:15,100 --> 00:17:18,220 Special graded grains for you, Pete. 218 00:17:18,220 --> 00:17:23,900 Instead of bellows, you could use something like this. 219 00:17:23,900 --> 00:17:28,580 Holes in the top and flour inside and just sprinkle that on. 220 00:17:28,580 --> 00:17:33,220 The holes are rather large, I'm afraid. They are, aren't they? Oh! 221 00:17:35,220 --> 00:17:37,820 It's on your uniform now! 222 00:17:37,820 --> 00:17:44,380 We worked so well together and then they stopped us - we were getting too powerful. 223 00:17:44,380 --> 00:17:46,940 We were like Laurel and Hardy. 224 00:17:46,940 --> 00:17:51,220 Keep an eye on him, Peter. Yes. Go to your tables. 225 00:17:51,220 --> 00:17:54,780 Whatever you do, keep your bottles upmost. 226 00:17:54,780 --> 00:17:59,820 Here we go...to the woods... He said keep it UPMOST! 227 00:17:59,820 --> 00:18:01,260 CUCKOO! 228 00:18:01,260 --> 00:18:05,300 Right, Bunnies, are you ready? WHISTLE PEEPS 229 00:18:05,300 --> 00:18:07,780 Go on, faster! 230 00:18:07,780 --> 00:18:13,620 Go... Oh, no, you don't! How dare you try it on me?! Wait, wait. 231 00:18:13,620 --> 00:18:14,860 CUCKOO! PEEP! 232 00:18:14,860 --> 00:18:16,860 Good. Next. 233 00:18:16,860 --> 00:18:19,740 Johnny and I thought it was funny. 234 00:18:19,740 --> 00:18:27,060 Self-indulgent, maybe, but funny. But that was when they decided not to make films like that any more. 235 00:18:27,060 --> 00:18:29,980 VAL: We re-name this locomotive 236 00:18:29,980 --> 00:18:33,100 the 532 Blue Peter. 237 00:18:34,380 --> 00:18:41,700 'The sad thing was that you worked FOR the Blue Peter production team rather than with them.' 238 00:18:41,700 --> 00:18:46,180 When I moved into grown-up telly, for want of a better word, 239 00:18:46,180 --> 00:18:52,460 you could talk to your editor like an adult about problems, or suggest ideas. 240 00:18:52,460 --> 00:18:57,540 It wasn't like that on Blue Peter. We were like schoolchildren, really. 241 00:18:57,540 --> 00:19:02,580 I didn't go to the office often. I tried to avoid it, to be honest. 242 00:19:02,580 --> 00:19:05,460 Biddy ruled the roost, no question. 243 00:19:05,460 --> 00:19:12,380 EDWARD BARNES: She'd resent "ruthless", but she was ruthless on behalf of the audience. 244 00:19:12,380 --> 00:19:14,700 She would die for the audience. 245 00:19:14,700 --> 00:19:17,220 Biddy never took "no" for an answer. 246 00:19:17,220 --> 00:19:20,020 Denied money to launch the BP badge, 247 00:19:20,020 --> 00:19:24,180 she confronted Assistant Controller Donald Baverstock. 248 00:19:24,180 --> 00:19:27,500 Everyone was terrified of him. He hit the roof. 249 00:19:27,500 --> 00:19:31,380 She said, "I've got something you need to know." 250 00:19:31,380 --> 00:19:36,220 After the interview, he called in Joanna Spicer, the planning person, 251 00:19:36,220 --> 00:19:42,340 and said, "Joanna, give her £500 for badges." She said, "You can't do that!" 252 00:19:42,340 --> 00:19:48,900 He said, "I've just done it!" Donald liked that. He liked someone who'd take him on. 253 00:19:48,900 --> 00:19:54,300 Was I frightened of Biddy? Most of the BBC was. It probably still is! 254 00:19:54,300 --> 00:19:58,260 Great respect for her, but she was very demanding. 255 00:19:58,260 --> 00:20:03,740 If people weren't living up to those standards or giving their very best, 256 00:20:03,740 --> 00:20:06,820 or were cynical, God help them! 257 00:20:06,820 --> 00:20:11,100 He doesn't need a monitor. He's looking at Jemima. 258 00:20:11,100 --> 00:20:17,580 NEW SPEAKER: I loved her - I thought she was a one-off. I thought she was terribly astute. 259 00:20:17,580 --> 00:20:21,260 I had a lovely relationship with her. 260 00:20:24,780 --> 00:20:31,580 If you were introduced to Biddy as "editor", you'd absolutely assume 261 00:20:31,580 --> 00:20:35,980 she edited Vogue or Harper's, or even Cosmo, actually. 262 00:20:35,980 --> 00:20:38,660 SHE LAUGHS 263 00:20:38,660 --> 00:20:41,340 Because that's what she looks like. 264 00:20:41,340 --> 00:20:46,500 I'd imagined Biddy Baxter to be a cardiganed, grey-haired person. 265 00:20:46,500 --> 00:20:50,380 Cardigan not on, but draped round her shoulders. 266 00:20:50,380 --> 00:20:53,740 She was very glamorous. Big earrings. 267 00:20:53,740 --> 00:20:58,340 SARAH: Wearing black tights that you just knew weren't tights - 268 00:20:58,340 --> 00:21:00,260 were stockings. 269 00:21:00,260 --> 00:21:05,100 Who thought nothing of showing a little too much decolletage - 270 00:21:05,100 --> 00:21:09,220 not for the scoutmasters, which was when she used it. 271 00:21:09,220 --> 00:21:12,420 She could persuade any scoutmaster 272 00:21:12,420 --> 00:21:18,220 to spend an extra hour in the cold in the garden to get the right shot. 273 00:21:18,220 --> 00:21:23,340 I thought, "She'll be a challenge, but I'll enjoy working with her." 274 00:21:23,340 --> 00:21:26,180 'My God, she taught me so much!' 275 00:21:26,180 --> 00:21:28,660 You read the script. 276 00:21:28,660 --> 00:21:32,180 PETER: The thing everyone remembers about Biddy 277 00:21:32,180 --> 00:21:39,260 is the sound of her - the sound of her approaching, for notes or to bollock somebody or whatever it was. 278 00:21:39,260 --> 00:21:45,260 The sound of Biddy is stilettos down the steps from the gallery. 279 00:21:45,260 --> 00:21:46,700 Click, click. 280 00:21:46,700 --> 00:21:49,780 Click, click. Down the metal steps. 281 00:21:49,780 --> 00:21:55,460 You knew by the pace how bad you'd been or what had gone wrong. 282 00:21:55,460 --> 00:22:00,780 We're knocking the Pompeii story on to another programme. 283 00:22:00,780 --> 00:22:04,420 CARON: There was no autocue. You had to learn it. 284 00:22:04,420 --> 00:22:09,500 At 4.50pm, Biddy would click down the steps and change it all anyway. 285 00:22:09,500 --> 00:22:14,740 You'd go on air thinking, "I've got no idea what I'm about to say!" 286 00:22:14,740 --> 00:22:18,220 "I'm cutting this. I'm changing that." 287 00:22:18,220 --> 00:22:25,020 It took me a couple of years to acquire a discipline to cope with those changes. 288 00:22:25,020 --> 00:22:29,980 'Initially, I didn't understand why there was this additional pressure.' 289 00:22:29,980 --> 00:22:34,660 Can we swap the order of handing round lava? Hand it to Peter first. 290 00:22:34,660 --> 00:22:39,980 It's a bit odd... But it's funnier if he gives the small bit to me. 291 00:22:39,980 --> 00:22:45,340 It's the way it works out... It doesn't matter. Stop panicking. 292 00:22:45,340 --> 00:22:52,740 Because of the demands of the live programme, you would do all sorts of mischievous things. 293 00:22:52,740 --> 00:22:57,220 If he'd done a cracking innuendo, coming out of a film, say, 294 00:22:57,220 --> 00:23:04,100 those heels would be there, but he'd be out like a bat out of hell before she could catch him. 295 00:23:04,100 --> 00:23:11,140 SIMON: Hedges give the country a patchwork look, and it's good to know people are looking after them. 296 00:23:11,140 --> 00:23:13,700 There's a lot to it, isn't there? 297 00:23:13,700 --> 00:23:16,500 Yes. It's also the luck of the draw. 298 00:23:16,500 --> 00:23:21,900 One of them said if you have a good length, you can manage a good lay. 299 00:23:23,020 --> 00:23:26,100 Innuendo? What do you mean, matron?! 300 00:23:26,100 --> 00:23:31,380 We never ever saw the programme as a whole until the dress rehearsal. 301 00:23:31,380 --> 00:23:36,540 'You had this one time to put the thing together, to see if it gelled. 302 00:23:36,540 --> 00:23:43,100 'Some items wouldn't be as good as you thought. We'd expand some and cut others.' 303 00:23:43,100 --> 00:23:46,380 "Cut that page, darling..." 304 00:23:46,380 --> 00:23:49,980 'Suddenly, your whole brain had to be changed.' 305 00:23:51,340 --> 00:23:58,500 She was convinced...cos I used to back-comb my hair to keep it up, then spray masses of spray on it. 306 00:23:58,500 --> 00:24:05,860 She was certain, when she did notes in the make-up room before the show, that I sprayed it to keep her away, 307 00:24:05,860 --> 00:24:10,140 but I can't tell you if that was true or not! 308 00:24:10,140 --> 00:24:17,140 'It was the only way to produce a programme that was really going to deliver to the audience.' 309 00:24:17,140 --> 00:24:20,700 No, you get a cue to move, first of all. 310 00:24:20,700 --> 00:24:25,380 Since you can hear the drum roll finish, do it after that. 311 00:24:25,380 --> 00:24:29,420 JANET: I think I'm very unusual in this. 312 00:24:29,420 --> 00:24:32,260 I liked the last-minute changes - 313 00:24:32,260 --> 00:24:37,540 "Cut that item, take five seconds out of that." I got off on that. 314 00:24:37,540 --> 00:24:41,380 Janet Ellis could learn the telephone directory! 315 00:24:41,380 --> 00:24:44,700 Charlotte died on March 31st 1859, 316 00:24:44,700 --> 00:24:52,180 the last of the brilliant, tragic Bronte family who'd come to the Haworth parsonage 35 years before. 317 00:24:52,180 --> 00:24:56,900 Until recently, we knew what she looked like from pictures like this. 318 00:24:56,900 --> 00:25:01,660 But in 1984, the National Portrait Gallery made a discovery... 319 00:25:01,660 --> 00:25:06,380 'If the programme had gone well, you'd be thinking, "Yeah, great!"' 320 00:25:06,380 --> 00:25:12,660 She'd say, "What happened? It was 1848, darling. You said 1847. What happened?" 321 00:25:12,660 --> 00:25:15,700 "In the middle of it all, I forgot!" 322 00:25:15,700 --> 00:25:22,380 Um...now...where am I? I'm talking... Sorry. 323 00:25:22,380 --> 00:25:25,500 SIMON: 'I think, if they're honest, 324 00:25:25,500 --> 00:25:28,740 'all the presenters will admit 325 00:25:28,740 --> 00:25:33,620 'that, at one time or another, we moaned about not having autocue.' 326 00:25:33,620 --> 00:25:38,300 I'm completely lost. OK, let's start about darts again. 327 00:25:38,300 --> 00:25:41,540 Most studio programmes already used autocue. 328 00:25:41,540 --> 00:25:45,620 But it wasn't until 1987 that Biddy allowed it, 329 00:25:45,620 --> 00:25:49,860 finally putting an end to the studio memory test. 330 00:25:49,860 --> 00:25:54,740 There's just so much to learn, it's almost impossible not to have it. 331 00:25:54,740 --> 00:25:58,620 But it can really dampen spontaneity in the studio. 332 00:25:58,620 --> 00:26:03,660 That's why you tended to see more of the presenters' personality on film. 333 00:26:03,660 --> 00:26:05,660 Faster! 334 00:26:05,660 --> 00:26:07,300 Whoo! 335 00:26:08,340 --> 00:26:10,460 SCREAMING 336 00:26:10,460 --> 00:26:12,780 SHE SCREAMS 337 00:26:12,780 --> 00:26:16,020 Wow! That is the best! 338 00:26:16,020 --> 00:26:18,980 Forget the fear. Yes. 339 00:26:20,140 --> 00:26:22,020 What...? Oh! 340 00:26:22,020 --> 00:26:24,820 He won't strangle me, will he? 341 00:26:24,820 --> 00:26:27,300 Keep your mouth shut. I will! 342 00:26:29,020 --> 00:26:33,740 Blue Peter began travelling when Benidorm was considered a long haul. 343 00:26:33,740 --> 00:26:38,420 The Summer Expedition became a regular fixture. 344 00:26:38,420 --> 00:26:45,460 VAL: We didn't stop at the Raffles Hotel, because we'd heard a glass of squash there costs 3s 6d! 345 00:26:46,940 --> 00:26:52,620 'Showing them a new country and a new culture, meeting the people - 346 00:26:52,620 --> 00:26:55,660 'I think most people enjoyed it.' 347 00:26:55,660 --> 00:26:58,540 Can you guess what this is? 348 00:26:58,540 --> 00:27:02,620 MUSIC: Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, Third Movement 349 00:27:02,620 --> 00:27:05,020 A detergent bottle. 350 00:27:05,020 --> 00:27:09,660 This one is cheap and easy to make. I'll show you what to do. 351 00:27:09,660 --> 00:27:11,980 CHRIS: Cut it off... 352 00:27:11,980 --> 00:27:17,580 We need a base for our island... The hat is an ice cream cone... 353 00:27:17,580 --> 00:27:20,460 JANET: Cut out a base from card. 354 00:27:20,460 --> 00:27:25,340 Then two circles of sticky-backed plastic stuck together... 355 00:27:25,340 --> 00:27:27,820 Here's some that I froze earlier. 356 00:27:27,820 --> 00:27:31,740 CARON: This is Margaret's idea for 1986... 357 00:27:31,740 --> 00:27:38,140 Mother-of-two Margaret Parnell first wrote to the programme over 30 years ago. 358 00:27:38,140 --> 00:27:42,460 I sent an idea for a dolls' house to Valerie Singleton. 359 00:27:42,460 --> 00:27:45,460 It was made out of crepe paper. 360 00:27:45,460 --> 00:27:49,340 I put together the stages and the different bits. 361 00:27:49,340 --> 00:27:56,460 She wrote back and said they were going to use it, much to my surprise, and had I got any more ideas? 362 00:27:56,460 --> 00:28:01,500 She became a fixture. She was brilliant and enormously inventive. 363 00:28:01,500 --> 00:28:06,700 I certainly didn't have any formal art training. I left school at 14. 364 00:28:06,700 --> 00:28:11,300 That was it. But it was just that I enjoyed making things. 365 00:28:11,300 --> 00:28:13,860 Terrible scissors! 366 00:28:13,860 --> 00:28:17,100 It takes about a week to work it out 367 00:28:17,100 --> 00:28:19,940 and try different ways to do it, 368 00:28:19,940 --> 00:28:26,540 a week to do the different stages and get it ready - a fortnight on average. 369 00:28:26,540 --> 00:28:29,140 Try it against your face... 370 00:28:29,140 --> 00:28:33,940 'I still find, if I go to the shops and see the new containers, 371 00:28:33,940 --> 00:28:36,540 'I get ideas like that. 372 00:28:36,540 --> 00:28:41,420 'I have to twist them round to see if they look like an animal or a mask.' 373 00:28:41,420 --> 00:28:44,100 I see the customers looking at me, 374 00:28:44,100 --> 00:28:49,140 but I've also had a security guard looking at me once. 375 00:28:49,140 --> 00:28:52,980 I decided to leave before it got too embarrassing, 376 00:28:52,980 --> 00:28:54,860 and he followed me out. 377 00:28:54,860 --> 00:28:59,020 So it is a bit dodgy sometimes! 378 00:28:59,020 --> 00:29:02,780 Reacting to Thunderbirds fever in 1993 379 00:29:02,780 --> 00:29:07,500 triggered Blue Peter's most famous make - Tracy Island. 380 00:29:07,500 --> 00:29:11,500 ANTHEA: We knew it was going to be a very good make, 381 00:29:11,500 --> 00:29:15,860 because everybody was so interested in Thunderbirds. 382 00:29:15,860 --> 00:29:22,220 But we didn't know HOW big it would be. It was the talking point of the nation! 383 00:29:22,220 --> 00:29:25,820 I haven't made a Tracy Island for five weeks! 384 00:29:25,820 --> 00:29:31,900 700 makes later, Margaret is still finding uses for detergent bottles. 385 00:29:31,900 --> 00:29:38,780 Live battles with sticky-backed plastic are not all the presenters have to contend with. 386 00:29:38,780 --> 00:29:41,540 There was no turning back. 387 00:29:41,540 --> 00:29:48,940 'I did the thing. I've got to say I was scared - no question about it. I'm proud that I didn't chicken out. 388 00:29:48,940 --> 00:29:51,380 'It was total stupidity not to.' 389 00:29:51,380 --> 00:29:53,820 Here I go! 390 00:29:57,420 --> 00:30:02,700 'That was scary. I reached nowhere near the cars to cushion the blow.' 391 00:30:02,700 --> 00:30:07,460 The second before you hit the ramp, you want to go back. 392 00:30:07,460 --> 00:30:12,340 'At that point you think, "I'm going to die now." 393 00:30:12,340 --> 00:30:17,580 'Then you didn't die and you think, "What am I moaning about?"' 394 00:30:17,580 --> 00:30:21,020 Danger money! Never heard of it! 395 00:30:21,020 --> 00:30:23,900 Not a penny! 396 00:30:23,900 --> 00:30:30,980 I had fear...twice. Once was a kid's swing, would you believe! 397 00:30:30,980 --> 00:30:33,580 Oh, dear! 398 00:30:33,580 --> 00:30:36,620 Ahhh! This is painful! 399 00:30:38,660 --> 00:30:41,700 I'm hitting the trees! Ahhh! 400 00:30:41,700 --> 00:30:44,940 'The worst one 401 00:30:44,940 --> 00:30:49,700 'was these three giant sway-poles, they usually went up to 80 feet 402 00:30:49,700 --> 00:30:52,940 'but these just had 60 feet. 403 00:30:52,940 --> 00:30:59,060 'Fear is probably the most terrifying emotion you can actually have. 404 00:30:59,060 --> 00:31:04,340 'You freeze up, you can't think straight, your muscles don't work.' 405 00:31:04,340 --> 00:31:09,180 At the bottom, there was a concrete block that was full of dirty water. 406 00:31:09,180 --> 00:31:11,700 SQUEAKING 407 00:31:11,700 --> 00:31:15,300 I was terrified! I really was! 408 00:31:15,300 --> 00:31:20,660 My mouth is so dry I can hardly talk. Hang on, there's some water here. 409 00:31:20,660 --> 00:31:24,620 I had to swill my mouth out in order to talk. 410 00:31:24,620 --> 00:31:27,660 'That is fear!' 411 00:31:27,660 --> 00:31:31,340 I would never like to go through it again. 412 00:31:31,340 --> 00:31:36,140 It was heading along and then I heard a terrific crash! 413 00:31:40,300 --> 00:31:45,420 I could only see a shattered hull - the remains of Val's boat. 414 00:31:45,420 --> 00:31:53,220 'Later, I was told that when the engine had broken, it had flipped back and torn my seat' 415 00:31:53,220 --> 00:31:58,340 to shreds - it was within that much of tearing my back to pieces! 416 00:31:58,340 --> 00:32:01,980 INSTRUCTOR: Ready! Set! Go! 417 00:32:05,860 --> 00:32:10,980 'I was hurtling earthwards at 120mph and it was fantastic! 418 00:32:10,980 --> 00:32:15,660 'I'm a great coward and I also don't like heights.' 419 00:32:16,780 --> 00:32:22,740 It was amusing to see me going, "How high? I'll go up!" because not in real life. 420 00:32:22,740 --> 00:32:27,220 The real Janet Ellis came down to Earth with a bump - 421 00:32:27,220 --> 00:32:32,100 she broke her leg while training for a record and wanted to give up. 422 00:32:32,100 --> 00:32:38,260 Biddy said, "We'd like you to carry on. How do you feel?" I explained that I was reluctant. 423 00:32:38,260 --> 00:32:43,140 She said, "I want to think of your courage like a ketchup bottle, 424 00:32:43,140 --> 00:32:49,500 if there's only a bit left, turn it upside down and shake it. I'm sure some'll come out!" 425 00:32:49,500 --> 00:32:52,020 It did, I suppose! 426 00:32:52,020 --> 00:32:54,940 Enough to jump into the records. 427 00:32:54,940 --> 00:33:00,500 She was the first civilian woman to freefall from 20,000 feet. 428 00:33:01,740 --> 00:33:05,780 'We jumped nearly four miles above the ground.' 429 00:33:06,820 --> 00:33:12,140 'I always felt, as a girl, that I wanted to do everything.' 430 00:33:12,140 --> 00:33:17,940 I didn't see why girls shouldn't do everything. 431 00:33:17,940 --> 00:33:24,220 We had role reversal on Blue Peter years before it became common in programmes. 432 00:33:24,220 --> 00:33:29,300 MUSICL: You've Got To Roll With It by Oasis. 433 00:33:45,260 --> 00:33:47,620 I'll give you the ingredients. 434 00:33:47,620 --> 00:33:50,780 Can you imagine the postmen delivering this! 435 00:33:50,780 --> 00:33:52,460 Careful! 436 00:33:52,460 --> 00:33:55,540 You don't have to put it through the blender. 437 00:33:55,540 --> 00:33:58,220 "Souflett" is what it's called! 438 00:33:58,220 --> 00:34:04,620 Probably the most extreme example of role reversal was when viewers gained a TV brother. 439 00:34:04,620 --> 00:34:07,780 'I thought it'd be a switch-off 440 00:34:07,780 --> 00:34:12,820 for boys if Valerie Singleton was holding a baby. 441 00:34:12,820 --> 00:34:18,780 So, the idea was that John and Peter would look after Daniel. 442 00:34:18,780 --> 00:34:24,380 Ahh! Fat, hairy thing! Daniel, send them away! 443 00:34:27,820 --> 00:34:29,980 But pioneering ideas 444 00:34:29,980 --> 00:34:35,700 didn't prevent criticisms that it was old-fashioned - unlike its ITV rival. 445 00:34:41,060 --> 00:34:44,140 Magpie was a show I watched as a kid. 446 00:34:44,140 --> 00:34:49,940 Blue Peter didn't say anything for me growing up in Leeds as a working class kid. 447 00:34:49,940 --> 00:34:54,060 It always seemed a little bit too middle class. 448 00:34:54,060 --> 00:34:59,740 They always said, "Go up into the loft and find some crepe paper." 449 00:34:59,740 --> 00:35:04,900 We didn't have a loft. I lived in a council house near Castleford. 450 00:35:04,900 --> 00:35:11,300 There aren't enough middle class children to make up the viewing figures. We know that's nonsense. 451 00:35:11,300 --> 00:35:16,820 That has been proved by the contact we've had from viewers. 452 00:35:16,820 --> 00:35:21,060 These were sent in after the garden was vandalised. 453 00:35:21,060 --> 00:35:27,540 Blue Peter wasn't above cashing in on other programmes' bright ideas - like the garden. 454 00:35:27,540 --> 00:35:31,820 'I nicked it from Magpie. 455 00:35:31,820 --> 00:35:34,860 'We always monitored the opposition. 456 00:35:34,860 --> 00:35:37,540 'One of our great strengths was 457 00:35:37,540 --> 00:35:43,140 that we saw things through - if we decided to do something, we did it.' 458 00:35:43,140 --> 00:35:48,100 The Correspondence Unit has always played a crucial role. 459 00:35:48,100 --> 00:35:55,620 A record is kept of every letter to avoid sending out identical replies if a child writes more than once. 460 00:35:55,620 --> 00:36:03,340 Biddy began the system to avoid the disappointment she'd felt after writing to Enid Blyton. 461 00:36:03,340 --> 00:36:08,380 'I remember going to my mother in tears. 462 00:36:08,380 --> 00:36:13,380 'It was an identical letter to the first one. It was simply awful.' 463 00:36:13,380 --> 00:36:18,660 Whenever a viewer writes, they receive a personal reply. 464 00:36:18,660 --> 00:36:23,340 It is a truly interactive programme, with the target audience, 465 00:36:23,340 --> 00:36:29,140 ie children, interactive before its time - before the word was used. 466 00:36:29,140 --> 00:36:34,900 I've got some news about your letters because we've got an unusual programme today. 467 00:36:34,900 --> 00:36:40,220 Nearly every item is hinged on your ideas and suggestions you've sent us. 468 00:36:40,220 --> 00:36:42,140 'About 70% of the ideas 469 00:36:42,140 --> 00:36:48,180 'in each programme came directly or indirectly from viewers' letters.' 470 00:36:52,260 --> 00:36:54,780 "Vogue" by Madonna 471 00:36:57,980 --> 00:37:04,660 When Caron Keating's desire to follow the '80s fashion trends brought in large numbers of letters, 472 00:37:04,660 --> 00:37:10,060 the programme turned the complaints to its advantage. 473 00:37:10,060 --> 00:37:15,220 They had a competition to design an outfit. They had 97,000 entries. 474 00:37:15,220 --> 00:37:19,740 I chose, I think, the most inventive one I could find. 475 00:37:19,740 --> 00:37:24,620 Most people who watch Blue Peter, at any point in their lives, 476 00:37:24,620 --> 00:37:29,420 have not only sat and watched it - they've been involved in it. 477 00:37:29,420 --> 00:37:32,300 They've contributed to an appeal, 478 00:37:32,300 --> 00:37:37,980 made something they've seen, they've visited a place they've seen. 479 00:37:37,980 --> 00:37:41,660 'The key to its success 480 00:37:41,660 --> 00:37:46,500 'is the involvement that everybody has in the programme.' 481 00:37:46,500 --> 00:37:53,220 We're calling it our Rags Appeal because that's what we want - rags. We want old wool and cotton. 482 00:37:53,220 --> 00:37:59,700 We want you to collect them and send them to us. Every can will turn into money. 483 00:38:00,940 --> 00:38:08,660 The philosophy of the Blue Peter appeals has always been for every viewer to take part, 484 00:38:08,660 --> 00:38:13,660 not just to raise the maximum amount of money. 485 00:38:13,660 --> 00:38:15,780 Years before TV appealery 486 00:38:15,780 --> 00:38:21,660 had become commonplace, Blue Peter had been raising millions of pounds. 487 00:38:24,540 --> 00:38:32,100 It had to be something where children could make a difference and have some sense of empowerment. 488 00:38:34,380 --> 00:38:40,700 The 1979 appeal reacted to the devastation in Cambodia 489 00:38:40,700 --> 00:38:43,460 caused by Pol Pot. 490 00:38:43,460 --> 00:38:48,020 I think we were the first people to film there since John Pilger. 491 00:38:48,020 --> 00:38:50,900 It was quite a struggle to get in. 492 00:38:50,900 --> 00:38:58,020 It obviously touched the hearts of the nation because we had a phenomenal response. 493 00:38:58,020 --> 00:39:04,460 An extraordinary £3 million was raised. It bought food, equipment and lorries. 494 00:39:04,460 --> 00:39:08,180 Nine years later, 495 00:39:08,180 --> 00:39:12,860 Blue Peter returned when more help was needed. 496 00:39:12,860 --> 00:39:17,940 'You could see what an enormous change a programme could make. 497 00:39:17,940 --> 00:39:24,140 'We got stuck in mud and people came out to dig the Land Rover out. 498 00:39:24,140 --> 00:39:29,860 'They had hoes from ten years ago still with the Blue Peter stickers. 499 00:39:29,860 --> 00:39:32,540 'I've been in Oxfam shops' 500 00:39:32,540 --> 00:39:37,420 where I've seen kids in tears, giving away their favourite toy. 501 00:39:37,420 --> 00:39:41,460 They didn't understand what was going on, 502 00:39:41,460 --> 00:39:46,300 but they realised that they could help another girl or boy. 503 00:39:46,300 --> 00:39:50,820 You've done it! You've made £1 million! 504 00:39:50,820 --> 00:39:55,740 Your bring-and-buy sales have raised this enormous amount. Well done. 505 00:39:55,740 --> 00:39:58,900 Blue Peter thrives on tradition. 506 00:39:58,900 --> 00:40:03,860 Its cyclical nature is not only demonstrated by the appeals 507 00:40:03,860 --> 00:40:08,260 but by the favourite items that return. 508 00:40:08,260 --> 00:40:10,260 Not coming in, Leslie? 509 00:40:10,260 --> 00:40:15,540 No! There's a rule saying ladies can't swim in the Serpentine in winter! 510 00:40:15,540 --> 00:40:18,300 'This was the moment of truth! 511 00:40:20,020 --> 00:40:22,980 'It was colder than I'd expected! 512 00:40:22,980 --> 00:40:28,820 'You had to be hardy to be a member of the Serpentine Swimming Club!' 513 00:40:28,820 --> 00:40:35,100 Biddy decided to do this film which had been done with John Noakes. 514 00:40:35,100 --> 00:40:41,260 "You'd like to do it, wouldn't you?" I said, "I can't think of anything worse!" She said, "It'll be great!" 515 00:40:41,260 --> 00:40:45,700 I just couldn't jump in. Caron jumped in. 516 00:40:45,700 --> 00:40:52,380 It was like instant frostbite on my foot. I thought, "What's that going to do to other parts?" 517 00:40:52,380 --> 00:40:57,220 Finally, I jump in. I couldn't breathe. 518 00:40:57,220 --> 00:41:00,380 I was just going, "Ahhh! Ahhhh!" 519 00:41:00,380 --> 00:41:02,740 When Biddy saw it, 520 00:41:02,740 --> 00:41:07,620 she said, "You stupid boy! What's the matter with you? 521 00:41:07,620 --> 00:41:14,540 "John Noakes went up and down." I said, "He would, that's typical! At least it's different, Biddy!" 522 00:41:14,540 --> 00:41:17,180 STARTING PISTOL 523 00:41:17,180 --> 00:41:23,820 A new challenge for the men began in 1981 with the first London Marathon. 524 00:41:26,780 --> 00:41:33,620 It was probably the first time I'd been out of the studio to see how the power of TV works - 525 00:41:33,620 --> 00:41:39,300 to run 26 miles through London and see those people cheering. 526 00:41:39,300 --> 00:41:42,340 It felt like my marathon. That was special. 527 00:41:42,340 --> 00:41:48,860 Outside of the studio, leaving TV Centre, you did want to take it all off - 528 00:41:48,860 --> 00:41:52,860 take off the guise of the Blue Peter presenter. 529 00:41:52,860 --> 00:41:57,780 There are things that happen to you where you were forced to do that. 530 00:41:57,780 --> 00:42:03,180 If you nearly get run over and you scream abuse at someone... 531 00:42:03,180 --> 00:42:08,140 It's a good feeling anyway, but when they look at you and think, 532 00:42:08,140 --> 00:42:12,980 "That was Sarah Greene, Blue Peter presenter, telling me to mmm off!" 533 00:42:12,980 --> 00:42:15,700 It has a double impact. 534 00:42:15,700 --> 00:42:20,740 One had to check that there wasn't a five-year-old standing in earshot, 535 00:42:20,740 --> 00:42:24,380 because you're kind of letting them down. 536 00:42:24,380 --> 00:42:29,300 My granny used to say you should always warm the pot first. 537 00:42:29,300 --> 00:42:32,260 'When children saw a presenter, 538 00:42:32,260 --> 00:42:37,340 'it was like an old friend. They'd start a conversation.' 539 00:42:37,340 --> 00:42:40,460 Those presenters were their friends. 540 00:42:40,460 --> 00:42:45,220 She said, "Whatever's going on in those children's lives, 541 00:42:45,220 --> 00:42:50,020 "whether their parents are fighting, or getting divorced - 542 00:42:50,020 --> 00:42:57,420 "I want you presenters there in their living rooms. You're going to be a stable influence." 543 00:42:57,420 --> 00:43:04,900 That stability was shaken periodically when a presenter decided to move on. 544 00:43:04,900 --> 00:43:12,100 'I left it too late, I should have left after seven years - I stayed ten and a half' 545 00:43:12,100 --> 00:43:18,260 It wasn't, "I've got to get away from this." It was, "I've stayed here too long. 546 00:43:18,260 --> 00:43:22,780 "I can't do a kids' programme all my life." I was 40! 547 00:43:22,780 --> 00:43:27,740 What's in here? It's to remind you. Good heavens! 548 00:43:27,740 --> 00:43:30,380 LAUGHTER 549 00:43:30,380 --> 00:43:32,900 'Towards the end,' 550 00:43:32,900 --> 00:43:35,860 I was so tired, knackered. 551 00:43:35,860 --> 00:43:42,660 People used to say, "I wish I had your job!" I said, "You can have the bloomin' job - you can have it!" 552 00:43:42,660 --> 00:43:45,340 Percy Thrower! 553 00:43:45,340 --> 00:43:52,660 Ohh, Percy! You remember you gave me a surprise earlier in the year? 554 00:43:52,660 --> 00:43:57,380 Biddy couldn't accept that I would want to present any other programme. 555 00:43:57,380 --> 00:44:00,460 What more could somebody want? 556 00:44:00,460 --> 00:44:05,340 Then, when it transpired that it was another children's programme, 557 00:44:05,340 --> 00:44:08,700 that must have taken some getting over. 558 00:44:08,700 --> 00:44:12,940 Oh, dear. Look at this pink. Matches me hair! 559 00:44:12,940 --> 00:44:17,940 Blue Peter had shown that it could survive the loss of a presenter. 560 00:44:17,940 --> 00:44:22,260 But in 1988, Biddy herself decided to call it a day. 561 00:44:22,260 --> 00:44:25,900 Her deputy, Lewis Bronze, took over. 562 00:44:25,900 --> 00:44:30,940 There you are. You're so kind! 563 00:44:30,940 --> 00:44:34,780 It's a bit like, could we imagine life without Mrs Thatcher? 564 00:44:34,780 --> 00:44:36,980 Well, we could. 565 00:44:36,980 --> 00:44:39,860 We were all very nervous about it. 566 00:44:39,860 --> 00:44:44,780 I would have said it was on the verge of becoming a bit twee. 567 00:44:44,780 --> 00:44:50,860 And during my era there, with Lewis, it had more of an edge to it. 568 00:44:50,860 --> 00:44:57,380 How long have these cracks been here? A couple of weeks. 569 00:44:57,380 --> 00:45:01,580 I wanted to bring a slightly more topical, newsy... 570 00:45:01,580 --> 00:45:06,820 It's not a news programme, but I wanted a more topical edge. 571 00:45:06,820 --> 00:45:12,180 Nelson Mandela has claimed victory in South Africa's election. 572 00:45:12,180 --> 00:45:15,820 He tells his people they can now reclaim their country. 573 00:45:15,820 --> 00:45:20,300 ..we can loudly proclaim from the rooftops... 574 00:45:20,300 --> 00:45:22,940 free at last. 575 00:45:24,580 --> 00:45:28,900 Under apartheid, Tim and I wouldn't be able to walk together. 576 00:45:28,900 --> 00:45:32,900 I would never have set foot in a black township like Soweto. 577 00:45:32,900 --> 00:45:38,100 We would have been forced to use separate buses and separate schools. 578 00:45:38,100 --> 00:45:42,260 Diane wouldn't have been able to go to a white town without permission. 579 00:45:42,260 --> 00:45:47,980 For a children's programme to do a trip, without being heavy about it, 580 00:45:47,980 --> 00:45:52,180 presenting the facts, to bring an issue up like that, 581 00:45:52,180 --> 00:45:57,380 in a way children can understand, is one of the strengths of Blue Peter. 582 00:45:57,380 --> 00:46:01,540 In a couple of weeks, there will be three Blue Peters a week. 583 00:46:01,540 --> 00:46:06,020 You can see from our clock which days they're going to be. 584 00:46:06,020 --> 00:46:09,420 The biggest change for Lewis came in 1995. 585 00:46:09,420 --> 00:46:12,020 It was a risk that paid off. 586 00:46:12,020 --> 00:46:14,740 Three times a week worked. 587 00:46:14,740 --> 00:46:19,420 The audience figures were fantastic for six months after we did it. 588 00:46:19,420 --> 00:46:23,900 When I left, I thought, "Go while you're ahead." 589 00:46:23,900 --> 00:46:29,340 During his eight years as editor, he's been known as "Funky Lou". 590 00:46:29,340 --> 00:46:35,100 Lewis Bronze is also credited with bringing in a more relaxed approach, 591 00:46:35,100 --> 00:46:37,900 behind and in front of the camera. 592 00:46:37,900 --> 00:46:42,660 I'm going to miss the whole team. 30 seconds on chat. 593 00:46:42,660 --> 00:46:47,020 And, um... 30 seconds on chat?! 30 seconds, Lewis! 594 00:46:47,020 --> 00:46:50,500 It's a great programme to work on, Tim. 595 00:46:50,500 --> 00:46:54,340 I love standing on telly with a pom-pom! 596 00:46:54,340 --> 00:46:59,580 His successor, Oliver MacFarlane, had also worked under Biddy Baxter. 597 00:46:59,580 --> 00:47:04,100 He had to face the challenge of cable and satellite channels. 598 00:47:04,100 --> 00:47:08,740 Can't the other three be a bit closer? 599 00:47:08,740 --> 00:47:11,660 PROMOTION: 'Digital television - 600 00:47:11,660 --> 00:47:16,460 'the biggest development in TV since the introduction of colour.' 601 00:47:18,500 --> 00:47:24,220 We'll need to adapt, but we're not going to rush along with the pack. 602 00:47:24,220 --> 00:47:28,300 Blue Peter has a website and its own CD-ROM. 603 00:47:28,300 --> 00:47:33,340 The programme can't dominate in a multi-channel world. 604 00:47:33,340 --> 00:47:39,460 But we can remain distinctive, and be a major voice for children. 605 00:47:39,460 --> 00:47:44,300 The days of one programme dominating the landscape are gone for ever. 606 00:47:44,300 --> 00:47:47,180 They'll never come back. 607 00:47:47,180 --> 00:47:51,820 No programme could become today, starting from scratch, 608 00:47:51,820 --> 00:47:55,300 what Blue Peter was in the '60s and '70s. 609 00:47:55,300 --> 00:47:59,860 I think, as long as BBC ONE exists, Blue Peter will exist. 610 00:47:59,860 --> 00:48:03,340 It may change its transmission times, 611 00:48:03,340 --> 00:48:06,220 or its shape, or its presenters. 612 00:48:06,220 --> 00:48:09,300 But there will always be Blue Peter. 613 00:48:09,300 --> 00:48:12,860 It will always provide that public service - 614 00:48:12,860 --> 00:48:16,540 informational cornerstone to BBC children's programmes. 615 00:48:37,740 --> 00:48:41,380 Subtitles by Red Bee Media