List of Blue Peter presenters

Blue Peter is a British children's television programme created by John Hunter Blair. The first programme was broadcast on 16 October 1958,[1] and the series still airs as of 2015.[2] It is the longest-running children's television programme in the world,[3][4] and also one of the longest-running television programmes in the world.[5] Blue Peter currently airs weekly on Thursdays in the United Kingdom on CBBC, 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.[1] There have been thirty-seven official presenters of Blue Peter.[6]
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 (although no footage of her has been retained by the BBC).[7] 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.[8] 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.[8] Her tenure was so short that no footage from her time on Blue Peter exists in the BBC Archives,[9] although footage of her audition remains, along with that of Valerie Singleton and other auditionees.[8] It was not until 1998 that West was officially recognised as a former presenter.[10] John Noakes is the longest-serving 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 occasional presenter until 1975.[8] Singleton's last 'official' appearance on the show came on 20th October, 1975[11] although she was also credited with appearing on the 1975 'review of the year' programme, broadcast on December 29, 1975[12] 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.[8] The youngest presenter of Blue Peter was Yvette Fielding, who was eighteen when she began presenting,[13] and the oldest was John Noakes, who was forty-four when he left.[14] 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.[15]
The only presenter to have been fired from Blue Peter mid-contract is Richard Bacon, who was dismissed from the show in 1998 after it emerged that he had taken cocaine.[16] A number of other presenters have garnered negative publicity for aspects of their private lives, which has been described in some sections of the British media as the "curse of Blue Peter".[17] Nevertheless, many of the show's former presenters have continued to work in the media. Indeed, Bacon's career survived his dismissal; he has since presented The Big Breakfast and Top of the Pops among numerous other radio and television shows, some of which were for the BBC.[16]
After its move to Salford in September 2011, Blue Peter had a format with two permanent presenters, Helen Skelton and Barney Harwood, supplemented by guest presenters for particular topics, such as Naomi Wilkinson for wildlife.
On 4 March 2013, the BBC announced they were searching for a new presenter to start in the summer of 2013. They announced that CBBC stars Dick and Dom would be hosting a new TV show to find the next presenter.[18] The show began on 24 June as Blue Peter - You Decide!. The judges were Myleene Klass, Eamonn Holmes and Ceallach Spellman.[19] The winner was chosen after five weeks of competition, via a public vote. On 25 July 2013, it was announced that 22-year-old Lindsey Russell had won the public vote to become Blue Peter's 36th presenter.[20]
On 8 August 2013, Skelton announced on air that she was leaving the show in September after five years to be replaced by Radzi Chinyanganya.[21]
The new 2013 Presenter line up have done lots of challenges including duck herding, rally car racing, getting gunged for Children in Need, having a Next Step 'dance off',Formula 1 racing and many more. Most recently Lindsey took part in a Mountain Marathon - her first big Blue Peter challenge.
The brand continues to bring in celebrities that can inspire and will appeal to kids. R5, Union J, The Vamps, Foxes, Brett Domino, Quentin Blake, Rixton, Ed Sheeran, Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Kaiser Chiefs, Pixie Lott have recently appeared on air and online.
The most recent game to launch is called Dress for Success.[22] Dress for Success. In this game kids need to dress one of the presenters up ready for their next big challenge. The game, as well as the site is now available on desktop, mobile and tablet platforms.
Contents
Presenters



: Current Blue Peter presenter
No. | Presenter | Tenure began | Tenure ended | Length[23] | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Christopher Trace | 16 October 1958 | 24 July 1967 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [24] |
2 | Leila Williams | 16 October 1958 | 8 January 1962 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [7][lower-alpha 1] |
* | Ann Taylor | 17 September 1959 | 11 December 1959 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [lower-alpha 2] |
* | Tony Hart | 13 November 1959 | 20 November 1959 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [lower-alpha 3] |
3 | Anita West | 7 May 1962 | 3 September 1962 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [9] |
4 | Valerie Singleton | 3 September 1962 | 3 July 1972 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [25] |
* | Sandra Michaels | 20 April 1964 | 27 April 1964 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [lower-alpha 4] |
5 | John Noakes | 30 December 1965 | 26 June 1978 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [14] |
6 | Peter Purves | 16 November 1967 | 23 March 1978 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [26] |
7 | Lesley Judd | 5 May 1972 | 12 April 1979 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [27] |
8 | Simon Groom | 15 May 1978 | 23 June 1986 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [28] |
9 | Christopher Wenner | 14 September 1978 | 23 June 1980 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [29] |
10 | Tina Heath | 5 April 1979 | 23 June 1980 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [30] |
11 | Sarah Greene | 19 May 1980 | 27 June 1983 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [31][lower-alpha 5] |
12 | Peter Duncan | 11 September 1980 | 18 June 1984 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [15] |
13 | Janet Ellis | 28 April 1983 | 29 June 1987 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [32] |
14 | Michael Sundin | 13 September 1984 | 24 June 1985 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [33] |
* | Peter Duncan | 9 September 1985 | 27 November 1986 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [15] |
15 | Mark Curry | 23 June 1986 | 26 June 1989 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [34] |
16 | Caron Keating | 13 November 1986 | 22 January 1990 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [35] |
17 | Yvette Fielding | 29 June 1987 | 29 June 1992 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [13][lower-alpha 6] |
18 | John Leslie | 20 April 1989 | 20 January 1994 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [36] |
19 | Diane-Louise Jordan | 25 January 1990 | 26 February 1996 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [37] |
20 | Anthea Turner | 14 September 1992 | 27 June 1994 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [38] |
21 | Tim Vincent | 16 December 1993 | 24 January 1997 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [39] |
22 | Stuart Miles | 27 June 1994 | 21 June 1999 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [40] |
23 | Katy Hill | 23 June 1995 | 19 June 2000 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [41] |
24 | Romana D'Annunzio | 1 March 1996 | 20 February 1998 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [42] |
25 | Richard Bacon | 21 February 1997 | 19 October 1998 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [43] |
26 | Konnie Huq | 1 December 1997 | 23 January 2008 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [44][45] |
27 | Simon Thomas | 8 January 1999 | 25 April 2005 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [46] |
28 | Matt Baker | 25 June 1999 | 26 June 2006 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [47] |
29 | Liz Barker | 23 June 2000 | 10 April 2006 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [48][49] |
30 | Zöe Salmon | 23 December 2004 | 25 June 2008 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [50][51] |
31 | Gethin Jones | 27 April 2005 | 25 June 2008 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [52][53] |
32 | Andy Akinwolere | 28 June 2006 | 28 June 2011 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [54] |
33 | Helen Skelton | 23 September 2008 | 26 September 2013 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [55] |
34 | Joel Defries | 23 September 2008 | 14 December 2010 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [56] |
35 | Barney Harwood![]() |
17 January 2011 | Present | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [18] |
36 | Lindsey Russell![]() |
5 September 2013 | Present | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [18] |
37 | Radzi Chinyanganya![]() |
17 October 2013 | Present | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | [57] |
Notes
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References
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External links
- Blue Peter BBC
- Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). Blue Peter at IMDb
- Blue Peter Museum of Broadcast Communications
- The A–Z of Blue Peter The Independent, 12 March 2005
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- ↑ http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/7439ad93015349b384bf987c5a65f8d6
- ↑ http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/abf1b2cd9e84485189e5a328829b15b8
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- ↑ Hewitt, Rick (25 October 2002). "The curse of Blue Peter". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
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