List of Blue Peter presenters

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates

Blue Peter is a British children's television programme created by John Hunter Blair. The first programme was broadcast on 16 October 1958.[1] It is the longest-running children's television programme in the world,[2][3] and also one of the longest-running television programmes in the world.[4]

Blue Peter currently airs weekly on Fridays in the United Kingdom on CBBC, a digital television channel. The show 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 forty-three official presenters of Blue Peter.

History

A woman with black hair wearing a sparkly, light-blue shirt and blue jeans standing in front of a shiny, blue-bricked wall and looking at the viewer
Konnie Huq, the 26th presenter, was the longest-serving continuing female presenter, from 1997 to 2008.

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).[5] 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.[6]

When Williams was dismissed 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, something she had not revealed to the producers.[6] Her tenure was so short that no footage from her time on Blue Peter exists in the BBC Archives,[7] although footage of her audition remains, along with that of Valerie Singleton and other auditioners.[6] It was not until 1998 that West was officially recognised as a former presenter.[8]

John Noakes was 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.[6] Singleton's last 'official' appearance on the show came on 20 October 1975[9] although she was also credited with appearing on the 1975 'review of the year' programme, broadcast on 29 December 1975.[10]

Singleton made the first of her many returns to the programme in January 1976 following the death of the first Blue Peter cat, Jason. She also returned to Blue Peter on 16 October 1978 to co-present the live UK TV balloon release for the 20th anniversary. Singleton presented her last Special Assignment in May 1981, and returned to co-present Blue Peter to moderate the live UK TV link-up to launch the 25th Silver Anniversary balloon hunt on 17 October 1983; these additions make her total presenting span 21 years. Sandra Michaels presented the show twice in April 1964 in the absence of Singleton, and impressed producer Edward Barnes enough that he considered her as a replacement for Singleton; however, Michaels turned this down and he opted to carry on with Singleton, something he admitted in hindsight he was glad he did.[6] The youngest presenter of Blue Peter was Yvette Fielding, who was eighteen when she began presenting,[11] and the oldest was John Noakes, who was forty-four when he left.[12] 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.[13]

File:Richard Bacon.jpg
Richard Bacon, the 25th presenter from 1997 to 1998, is the only presenter to have his contract terminated mid-run.

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.[14] 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".[15] 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.[14]

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 that it was 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.[16] The show began on 24 June as Blue Peter – You Decide! The judges were Myleene Klass, Eamonn Holmes and Cel Spellman.[17] 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 PeterTemplate:'s 36th presenter.[18]

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.[19]

Harwood left the programme on 14 September 2017. Chinyanganya left after five-and-a-half years on 18 April 2019.[20] On 26 April, Chinyanganya's replacement was announced as Richie Driss.[21] It was announced on 13 May 2020 that Mwaksy Mudenda would join Russell and Driss, returning the show to a three-presenter format.[22] On 1 September 2020, Adam Beales was announced as the show's 40th presenter.[23]

On 24 June 2021, Russell announced she would be leaving the programme, with her last appearance on 15 July 2021.[24] On 17 June 2022, Beales announced that he would be leaving, with his last appearance to be aired on 15 July 2022.[25] Joel Mawhinney became the 41st presenter on 11 November 2022, following a recent stint of guest presenting during the summer.[26]

On 3 February 2023, Driss announced that after 4 years he would leave the show,[27] with his last show to be aired on 3 March. His replacement, Abby Cook, became the 42nd presenter on the following episode, aired on 10 March 2023.[28] Mudenda departed in September 2023;[29] she was replaced four months later by Shini Muthukrishnan.[30]

Presenters

Relief

No. Presenter Tenure began Tenure ended Length Ref(s)
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Official

No. Presenter Tenure began Tenure ended Length Ref(s)
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [31]
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [5][lower-alpha 4]
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [7]
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd[lower-alpha 5] [32]
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [12]
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [33]
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [34]
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [35]
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [36]
10 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [37]
11 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [38][lower-alpha 6]
12 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [13]
13 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [39]
14 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [40]
Script error: No such module "sort". Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [13]
15 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [41]
16 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [42]
17 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [11][lower-alpha 7]
18 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [43]
19 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [44]
20 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [45]
21 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [46]
22 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [47]
23 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [48]
24 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [49]
25 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [50]
26 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [51][52]
27 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [53]
28 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [54]
29 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [55][56]
30 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [57][58]
31 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [59][60]
32 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [61]
33 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [62]
34 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [63]
35 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [64][65]
36 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [18][24]
37 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [66][20]
38 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [21]
39 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [22]
40 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Template:Ayd [23][25]
41 Script error: No such module "Sort".Template:Double-dagger Template:Dts present Template:Ayd [26]
42 Script error: No such module "Sort".Template:Double-dagger 10 March 2023 present Template:Ayd [28]
43 Script error: No such module "Sort".Template:Double-dagger 19 January 2024 18 July 2025 Template:Ayd [67]
Key
<templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> Template:Double-dagger : Current Blue Peter presenters

Timeline

<timeline> ImageSize = width:1250 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = left:120 bottom:70 top:0 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1958 till:04/05/2026 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1958 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1958

Colors = 

 id:presenter  value:blue         legend:Presenter
 id:bars       value:gray(0.92)

BackgroundColors = bars:bars

BarData = 

 bar:Trace       text:Christopher Trace
 bar:Williams    text:Leila Williams
 bar:Taylor      text:Ann Taylor
 bar:Hart        text:Tony Hart
 bar:West        text:Anita West
 bar:Singleton   text:Valerie Singleton
 bar:Michaels    text:Sandra Michaels
 bar:Noakes      text:John Noakes
 bar:Purves      text:Peter Purves
 bar:Judd        text:Lesley Judd
 bar:Singleton2  text:Singleton Part Time
 bar:Groom       text:Simon Groom
 bar:Wenner      text:Christopher Wenner
 bar:Heath       text:Tina Heath
 bar:Greene      text:Sarah Greene
 bar:Duncan      text:Peter Duncan
 bar:Ellis       text:Janet Ellis
 bar:Sundin      text:Michael Sundin
 bar:Curry       text:Mark Curry
 bar:Keating     text:Caron Keating
 bar:Fielding    text:Yvette Fielding
 bar:Leslie      text:John Leslie
 bar:Jordan      text:Diane-Louise Jordan
 bar:Turner      text:Anthea Turner
 bar:Vincent     text:Tim Vincent
 bar:Miles       text:Stuart Miles
 bar:Hill        text:Katy Hill
 bar:DAnnunzio   text:Romana D'Annunzio
 bar:Bacon       text:Richard Bacon
 bar:Huq         text:Konnie Huq
 bar:Thomas      text:Simon Thomas
 bar:Baker       text:Matt Baker
 bar:Barker      text:Liz Barker
 bar:Salmon      text:Zoe Salmon
 bar:Jones       text:Gethin Jones
 bar:Akinwolere  text:Ayo Akinwolere
 bar:Skelton     text:Helen Skelton
 bar:Defries     text:Joel Defries
 bar:Harwood     text:Barney Harwood
 bar:Russell     text:Lindsey Russell
 bar:Chinyanganya text:Radzi Chinyanganya
 bar:Driss       text:Richie Driss
 bar:Mudenda     text:Mwaksy Mudenda
 bar:Beales      text:Adam Beales
 bar:Mawhinney   text:Joel Mawhinney
 bar:Cook        text:Abby Cook
 bar:Muthukrishnan text:Shini Muthukrishnan

PlotData= 

width:14 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(11,-4)
 color:presenter
 bar:Trace         from:start       till:24/07/1967
 bar:Williams      from:start       till:08/01/1962
 bar:Taylor        from:17/09/1959  till:11/12/1959
 bar:Hart          from:13/11/1959  till:20/11/1959
 bar:West          from:07/05/1962  till:03/09/1962
 bar:Singleton     from:03/09/1962  till:03/07/1972
 bar:Michaels      from:20/04/1964  till:27/04/1964
 bar:Noakes        from:30/12/1965  till:26/06/1978
 bar:Purves        from:16/11/1967  till:23/03/1978
 bar:Judd          from:05/05/1972  till:12/04/1979
 bar:Singleton2    from:03/07/1972  till:29/12/1975
 bar:Groom         from:15/05/1978  till:23/06/1986
 bar:Wenner        from:14/09/1978  till:23/06/1980
 bar:Heath         from:05/04/1979  till:23/06/1980
 bar:Greene        from:19/05/1980  till:27/06/1983
 bar:Duncan        from:11/09/1980  till:18/06/1984
 bar:Ellis         from:28/04/1983  till:29/06/1987
 bar:Sundin        from:13/09/1984  till:24/06/1985
 bar:Duncan        from:09/09/1985  till:27/11/1986
 bar:Curry         from:23/06/1986  till:26/06/1989
 bar:Keating       from:13/11/1986  till:22/01/1990
 bar:Fielding      from:29/06/1987  till:29/06/1992
 bar:Leslie        from:20/04/1989  till:20/01/1994
 bar:Jordan        from:25/01/1990  till:26/02/1996
 bar:Turner        from:14/09/1992  till:27/06/1994
 bar:Vincent       from:16/12/1993  till:24/01/1997
 bar:Miles         from:27/06/1994  till:21/06/1999
 bar:Hill          from:23/06/1995  till:19/06/2000
 bar:DAnnunzio     from:01/03/1996  till:20/02/1998
 bar:Bacon         from:21/02/1997  till:16/10/1998
 bar:Huq           from:01/12/1997  till:23/01/2008
 bar:Thomas        from:08/01/1999  till:25/04/2005
 bar:Baker         from:25/06/1999  till:26/06/2006
 bar:Barker        from:23/06/2000  till:10/04/2006
 bar:Salmon        from:23/12/2004  till:25/06/2008
 bar:Jones         from:26/04/2005  till:25/06/2008
 bar:Akinwolere    from:28/06/2006  till:28/06/2011
 bar:Skelton       from:23/09/2008  till:26/09/2013
 bar:Defries       from:23/09/2008  till:14/12/2010
 bar:Harwood       from:17/01/2011  till:14/09/2017
 bar:Russell       from:05/09/2013  till:15/07/2021
 bar:Chinyanganya  from:17/10/2013  till:18/04/2019
 bar:Driss         from:16/05/2019  till:03/03/2023
 bar:Mudenda       from:14/05/2020  till:29/09/2023
 bar:Beales        from:03/09/2020  till:15/07/2022
 bar:Mawhinney     from:11/11/2022  till:end
 bar:Cook          from:10/03/2023  till:end
 bar:Muthukrishnan from:15/01/2024  till:end

</timeline>

Notes

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. ↑ Taylor presented the show alongside Trace for six weeks in 1959 for an absent Williams and often replaced Williams on other occasions, even presenting the show alone at least once.[6]
  2. ↑ Hart co-presented two early editions of the show, including hosting at least one in 1959 in place of both Trace and Williams.[6]
  3. ↑ Michaels presented two episodes on 20 and 27 April 1964 with Trace, while Singleton was on holiday.[6]
  4. ↑ Williams was absent from many episodes in 1959, and more often leading up to her final appearance.[6]
  5. ↑ Singleton continued to make occasional guest appearances in the studio and was a presenter for most series of Blue Peter Special Assignment until 1981
  6. ↑ Greene returned to cover for Janet Ellis in 1984, after Ellis injured her pelvis during a parachute landing.[6]
  7. ↑ Fielding stepped in as a temporary replacement for Richard Bacon in 1998, following Bacon's dismissal.[6]

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References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Hewitt, Rick (25 October 2002). "The curse of Blue Peter". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".Template:Cbignore
  25. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  34. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  35. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  37. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  38. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  39. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  40. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  41. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  42. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  43. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  44. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  45. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  46. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  47. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  48. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  49. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  50. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  51. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  52. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  53. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  54. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  55. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  56. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  57. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  58. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  59. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  60. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  61. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  62. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  63. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  64. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  65. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  66. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  67. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

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