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The 36th presenter of Blue Peter is revealed after 10 potential presenters battled it out to be crowned the winner. The winner was chosen by CBBC viewers.

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Lindsey Russell, 22, from Oxford, was announced as the newest addition to the Blue Peter team, following five weeks of challenges carried out as part of the Blue Peter - You Decide! programme.

Graduate Lindsey, who has recently achieved her degree from the University of Bristol, will start presenting the show in September.

Speaking about the process, Lindsey said: "This whole experience has been incredible and overwhelming - it's just ridiculously amazing. I've been so determined throughout and I'm literally living my dream. It's been hard to take it all in."

Thousands of people applied to take part in Blue Peter - You Decide!, all keen to compete for the most coveted job in television, and 10 hopefuls made it through to take part in the series.

BAFTA-winning presenters Dick and Dom (Richard McCourt and Dominic Wood) guided the hopefuls through five weeks of challenges, including helping to paint Blackpool Tower whilst presenting to camera, breaking a world record with the help of hundreds of children, interviewing girl-band Stooshe whilst learning a dance routine, and heading into the iconic Blue Peter studio to try their hand at one of the show's famous 'makes'.

The hopefuls were whittled down from 10 to three by the show's expert judging panel - Eamonn Holmes, Myleene Klass and Friday Download's Cel Spellman - and with just three remaining, the online iVote was opened for children to choose their new presenter. Viewers have been voting online since Monday for the presenter they would most like to see hosting the show.

The CBBC audience watched as Lindsey Russell and her fellow finalists - Ben Hunte and Freddie Ingleby - found out the results of the audience vote as they joined Barney Harwood and Helen Skelton on stage for Blue Peter's broadcast from CBBC's Live in Leeds event.

Cheryl Taylor, CBBC Controller, said: "CBBC are always looking for new things to excite and entertain our audience and it's brilliant that viewers have been so closely involved in choosing a new Blue Peter presenter. 'You Decide' has got everyone talking and over summer there's plenty more on TV, mobile and the CBBC website to share with friends. Thanks to everyone who voted - we can't wait to see how Lindsey gets on."

To see the moment Lindsey was announced as the new presenter of Blue Peter visit BBC iPlayer, where the programme will be available for the next seven days.

For more information on Blue Peter - You Decide! please visit the CBBC website.
CB2

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The 36th presenter of the world's longest-running children's TV show has been revealed today, chosen for the first time by CBBC viewers.

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Blue Peter fan club goes live every Thursday between 5.30-6.30 pm. This allows fans to engage with each other by playing live games.

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It's exciting times here at Blue Peter HQ... the new Fan Club is officially live. If you're worried you're missing out, fear not Fan Clubbers and head over to the *NEW* page here...

See you in Fan Club! 🤣😍

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Blue Peter - CLOSED: Blue Peter Fan Club

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It's exciting times here at Blue Peter HQ... the new Fan Club is officially live. If you're worried you're missing out, fear not Fan Clubbers and head over to the *NEW* page here... See you in Fan Club! 🤣😍

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The Daily Mail reports how only 100,000 people are tuning into the program after the BBC made the decision to switch the program to CBBC from BBC1.

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Show was once watched by eight million - now averages just 100,000

Decision to drop it from BBC sparked controversy at the time

Today is 50th anniversary of famous badge

Former presenter Valerie Singleton admits it could be time for it to end

Watching Blue Peter after school was a rite of passage for generations of children who dreamed of being awarded one of the show's iconic badges.

But now the days of learning to make toys and games using 'sticky-back plastic' and toilet rolls appear to be on the way out.

The numbers watching the show have fallen by two-thirds since it was relegated from BBC1 to the Corporation's' dedicated children's channel CBBC last year.

Blue Peter, which was once watched by eight million and celebrates 50 years of handing out its iconic badge today, now attracts an average audience of just 100,000 viewers.

This compares to more than 340,000 who tuned in for each episode in 2012 when it was still being shown on the BBC's main channel.

The decision to drop the much-loved show from BBC1 sparked controversy at the time.

Filming had already moved from Television Centre, the London home of Blue Peter's famous garden, to Salford, and critics claimed the show was being watered-down.

Last year the programme, which first aired in 1958, was also cut to just one show per week hosted by two presenters.

It has previously had four presenters and was broadcast three times a week.

Last night, Valerie Singleton, 76, who presented the show for a decade from 1962, told The Mail on Sunday: 'I haven't understood many of the decisions the BBC has made in the past few years - including the move to Salford.

'It is sad but all good things come to an end eventually and maybe it's finally time to say that Blue Peter has had its day.

'Everyone has such fond memories of the show but I just think kids have got so many other things to distract them these days.'

Peter Duncan, 59, who was a Blue Peter presenter for five years over two spells in the 1980s, added: 'Blue Peter was the first programme that had this wonderful idea of interaction - it wasn't about phoning a telephone line to give a quid to Simon Cowell. The show was interacting with children with its appeals.'

The BBC sparked controversy in December 2011 when it announced that Blue Peter, now presented by Barney Harwood and Helen Skelton, would be aired first on CBBC and then repeated on BBC1 a day later. The Corporation risked further fury by stopping screening repeats on BBC1 altogether last year.

Last night a BBC spokeswoman said that only 57,000 children aged six to 12 watched the show when it was aired on BBC1, but now it is screened on CBBC more children in that age group watch it. She said: 'Far from being in decline, Blue Peter is growing in popularity with children and we're delighted by its success.

'And children are finding even more ways to interact with the show - 80,000 visit the website each week and we receive about 2,000 letters and emails every week.'

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The Blue Peter badge no-one wants: Show was watched by almost every child in its BBC1 heyday... now just 100,000 are tuning in after switch to CBBC

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Show was once watched by eight million - now averages just 100,000 Decision to drop it from BBC sparked controversy at the time Today is 50th anniversary of famous badge Former presenter Valerie Singleton admits it could be time for it to end Watching Blue Peter after school was a rite of passage for generations of children who dreamed of being awarded one of the show's iconic badges.

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The Mirror reports how Blue Peter badge holders will lose entry to many attractions ran by Merlin Entertainments. This includes big attractions such as Lego land, Alton Towers and Thorpe Park.

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If you're lucky enough to have bagged yourself a Blue Peter badge, prepare for some bad news.

One of the major perks of the badge has been scrapped - free entry to Alton Towers .

Upsetting, isn't it?

And it's not just Alton Towers, but 29 Merlin attractions , including Legoland, Thorpe Park, and Madame Tussauds.

Blue Peter badge winners have for years benefited from free entry into 200 top venues across the UK.

Many of those are from Merlin Entertainments, which is the world's second largest theme park operator after Disney.

The company made profits of £250m last year.

But Merlin has decided to take away the incentive and now badge holders (or their parents) face ticket prices in full - around £45 for the more exciting theme parks.

It comes after the business was fined £5m for last year's crash on the Smilier rollercoaster at Alton Towers.

You'd have thought it would be after good PR? People aren't pleased, as you'd expect...

There are around 140,000 active Blue Peter badge holders in the UK. Last year, 61,846 Blue Peter badges were applied for - the most ever.

Merlin has commercial deals with the BBC, which runs Blue Peter and introduced the badges in 1963.

Kids can apply for five different designs, the most famous being a white shield with the classic Blue Peter ship printed on the front.

Merlin said it took away the free entry after reviewing its marketing.

A spokesman told the i newspaper : "We regularly review our partnerships to ensure we are offering fair value and great benefits to our visitors of all ages.

"As part of this review, we've agreed with the BBC to end the long-standing relationship to give Blue Peter badge holders free access to attractions. This is not a decision we've taken lightly as we have been involved in the scheme for many years. We hope badge holders may take advantage of many other Merlin offers in the future."

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Blue Peter badge holders in uproar as Alton Towers scraps major perk

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And it's not just Alton Towers, but 29 Merlin attractions , including Legoland, Thorpe Park, and Madame Tussauds which are affected

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A brief synopsis into the history of Blue Peter and the impact the badges had upon viewers.

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BBC, 16/10/1958 -

c. 3700 episodes by start of 2003 (colour from 14/09/1970)

Editors

Biddy Baxter

Lewis Bronze

Oliver MacFarlane

Steve Hocking

Series Producers

Bridget Caldwell

Richard Marson

Taking its name from the flag of a ship beginning its voyage, Blue Peter has journeyed far and wide since it launched on Thursday 16 October 1958. Initially commissioned for five-to-eight year olds too old for Watch With Mother and too young for the junior magazine Studio E, the original weekly fifteen-minute shows featured train sets for boys, dolls for girls and stories illustrated by Tony Hart.

This television institution's rituals were largely formulated by Biddy Baxter, producer/editor from 1962-88 (with Edward Barnes and Rosemary Gill also key). In December 1962 presenter Chris Trace unveiled Petra, 'a dog for everyone', intended as a companion to children who could not keep an animal. From June 1963, it introduced a shield badge (with a galleon design by Tony Hart), awarded to viewers writing in with letters and ideas. Viewers also became involved via yearly appeals from 1962, collecting old junk and household items to be converted into cash for good causes, from guide dogs for the blind to schools for the Third World. 1965 saw the programme escaping the studio, with its first 'summer expedition' to far-flung Norway producing several films screened on the team's return.

The coming of John Noakes in 1965 expanded the presenting team to three, enabling more location filming. Noakes' reputation as the original 'action man', parachuting, bobsleighing or climbing Nelson's column, would be taken up by many subsequent presenters. Much of Blue Peter's success, in the public's eyes, depends on the chemistry of its presenting team. ' Val, Pete and John' are seen as definitive but successive generations have their favourites.

Blue Peter became the children's programme most watched, copied, studied, parodied and pilloried. The young audience was encouraged to be active - to make, to care for animals and help others. It was also an early adopter of environmental issues in the late 1980s ('green' badges were issued). Despite this, critics complained about its 'bourgeois ideologies'.

The weekend after the programme's fortieth anniversary programme a tabloid claimed presenter Richard Bacon had snorted cocaine in a nightclub. Bacon was immediately sacked, with children's controller Lorraine Heggessey apologising on air the next Monday. Soon, outgoing colleague Stuart Miles was calling the series 'twee', arguing it should have tackled Bacon's misdemeanours and other adolescent concerns head on. Nevertheless, the programme bounced back with an enthusiastic new presenting team, remaining relevant if always mindful of its illustrious past.

Alistair McGown

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BBC, 16/10/1958 - c. 3700 episodes by start of 2003 (colour from 14/09/1970) Editors Biddy Baxter Lewis Bronze Oliver MacFarlane Steve Hocking Series Producers Bridget Caldwell Richard Marson Taking its name from the flag of a ship beginning its voyage, Blue Peter has journeyed far and wide since it launched on Thursday 16 October 1958.

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50 interesting facts about Blue Peters history.  Information such as when the program first aired and about awards won.

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BBC - Press Office - Network TV Programme Information Week 42 Blue Peter Feature

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Valerie Singleton, one of the longest running presenters of the show talks about the bad decision to move the program to CBBC.

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Executives are discussing plans to remove the programme from BBC One, where it has been broadcast for more than 50 years, as part of a cost-cutting drive. Instead it would be aired exclusively on the CBBC or CBeebies digital channels.

Miss Singleton, who presented the much-loved show from 1962-1972, said: "It seems like moving Blue Peter to a digital channel is a bit mad. it does sound a bit of a death knell. But then so many of the BBC's moves at the moment seem barmy. They try and save money and then start another Radio 4 channel."

She was referring to digital channel Radio 4 Extra, home to the new Archers spin-off.

Another former presenter, Simon Groom, said he was "appalled" by the digital proposals. "I think this is criminal. If this happens, I fear for the future of the show," said Groom, who hosted Blue Peter from 1978-1986.

"Blue Peter was founded in 1958 but it hasn't lived in the past, it has kept reinventing itself. If Blue Peter is now sidelined, what will become of its marvellous appeals which, over the decades, have made massive contributions to great causes and charities? I wonder if they could sustain the quality of the appeals if Blue Peter is taken off mainstream television."

Mr Groom, now a documentary-maker, added: "Although I'm absolutely appalled by this, I'm not totally surprised seeing as the BBC has, in the view of myself and many of my broadcasting colleagues, lost the plot in recent years.

"BBC One and BBC Two should represent the whole population, not just one range. Are children part of society or are we sectioning them off?"

A BBC spokesman said: "This is only one of many proposals." Blue Peter staff are also facing a move to Salford as part of the corporation's relocation to the North.

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Valerie Singleton: moving Blue Peter to digital will kill off the show we love

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Executives are discussing plans to remove the programme from BBC One, where it has been broadcast for more than 50 years, as part of a cost-cutting drive. Instead it would be aired exclusively on the CBBC or CBeebies digital channels.

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Director and Producer Alex Leger talks about writing his memoirs based on spending 36 years working at Blue Peter.

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When I joined Blue Peter in 1975, its small office looked more like a jumble sale in progress than the nerve centre of one of the world's most successful and popular children's TV shows.

In those days, BBC Television Centre in Wood Lane, London, was strictly analogue - full of typewriters, whirring reel-to-reel recorders and tickertape machines.

Ceefax had gone live a year earlier using a state-of-the-art system that took up a whole room but gave minimal actual computing power.

If nothing else, the piles of clippings, strange souvenirs from overseas trips, half-finished 'makes' from the show and half-dead pot plants disguised the fact something ground-breaking was happening in the cramped Blue Peter offices.

Legendary editor Biddy Baxter ran the twice-weekly show with a rod of iron. She was a powerful leader, a stickler for detail and had helped make Blue Peter a household name. We were all terrified of letting her, and the show, down.

I would watch amused as middle-aged male contributors tried to flirt with Biddy. They were never in her league and, without exception, she would make mincemeat out of them.

Biddy knew the average ten-year-old has a short attention span and was easily distracted and if Blue Peter ever re-hashed tired ideas our viewers would simply switch off. Our viewing figures - eight million in BP's Seventies heyday - bore testament to an 'anything goes as long as its new, interesting and doesn't patronize viewers' attitude.

The filming budget for each episode in the early days was just £180 - decades later it is nearer £60,000 per programme - and ideas came from everywhere: personal experiences, viewers' letters, publicity handouts and newspapers.

In the studio, the 'makes', later to become famous for their use of so-called 'sticky back plastic tape' - no overt brands were allowed on Blue Peter - were crucial to the success of the show. Viewers could make their own and send them in and they did, everything from model ranches to bird tables to hamster homes to Tracy Island from Thunderbirds when there was a national shortage of shop-made toys during Christmas 1992. We were overwhelmed with requests for the instructions!

On the road, where I increasingly found myself, exciting exploits were the name of the game. I felt my job was to try and bring some extra oomph to the show where I could. I'd always loved getting off the beaten track and Blue Peter was the ideal platform for travel and adventure.

Mount Etna is erupting, take Simon Groom and a camera and go and film rivers of molten lava; Nelson's Column needs a clean, send John Noakes up a very long ladder to scrape off bird droppings; famine has struck Ethiopia, take Simon Groom (again) and a film crew and report on Oxfam building water distribution systems paid by the fundraising efforts of a staggering 800,000 viewers.

These, and many other adventures, too many to recount here, fronted by talented, and often incredibly courageous, presenters kept Blue Peter miles ahead of the competition.

Children's TV was still very much in its infancy. Health & Safety was covered, mostly, by common sense and careful preparation, and as a result we were able to embark on adventures that would stymie later generations of TV presenters and directors with reams of paperwork.

Many of the stunts undertaken by our presenters and crew simply wouldn't get past the planning stage today. Back then, I knew if we botched something badly someone might die and it would be on my conscience.

The show might also be cancelled as a result. That in itself was an incredibly powerful motive for not letting anything go wrong. Today, I sometimes feel the television industry has become in thrall to box ticking, and that can increase risk because it doesn't encourage lateral thinking or common sense.

The simple fact is that Blue Peter was exciting challenges and risk was inevitable.

Pushing presenters to their limits, and sometimes beyond, kept them on their toes and made amazing TV. It didn't matter if they were terrified, as long as they weren't struck dumb and could describe their experiences for viewers.

These incidents in particular remind me of the risks we took in the pursuit of a story. Simon Thomas freefalling at 120mph above the California desert with the fantastic RAF Falcons display team when his parachute failed to deploy immediately. His two instructors, falling alongside him, punched his pack until it released. Naturally, he was shaken, but showed great courage and carried on training.

Matt Baker piloting a hang-glider solo with minimal training in windy conditions when his earpiece started to fail, leaving him without instructions from the ground. Helen Skelton wearing a 'beard of bees' for the programme without any protective clothing. Later we were told another swarm had stung a sheep to death. She was incredibly cool under pressure.

And Gethin Jones accepting an incredibly risky challenge, surfacing, initially, from 18 metres underwater in a submarine escape training tank. The risk assessment I wrote that day stated simply: 'Gethin might die.'

Needless to say, thankfully, all three of these talented young men survived unscathed to present another day, and viewers loved their exploits.

Every year I would wake up in a cold sweat at the thought of finding even more far-flung places for the show to visit, and ever more challenging adventures for its presenters to undertake. It was rare for a presenter to say no. If they did, one of their colleagues would step up.

Over four decades with Blue Peter I've never failed to be amazed at the generosity of contributors, sharing their time, their expertise, their vintage aircraft, their bees... Nor of the impact the show has had on generations of British children. Everyone has their favourite presenter, their best moment and it's amazing how many drinks I've been bought over the years after a complete stranger has discovered my involvement in the TV show that helped define their childhood.

I finally retired last year after 36 years on the show to write my memoirs, but here's hoping Blue Peter and its brilliant presenters celebrate many more amazing adventures showing just how good the best children's TV can be.
www.bluepeterbook.co.uk

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Blue Peter and the Golden Age of British Children's Television

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When I joined Blue Peter in 1975, its small office looked more like a jumble sale in progress than the nerve centre of one of the world's most successful and popular children's TV shows. In those days, BBC Television Centre in Wood Lane, London, was strictly analogue - full of typewriters, whirring reel-to-reel recorders and tickertape machines.

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Blue Peter is fined 50,000 after an investigation from Ofcom revealed that a competition was faked. The winner was in fact a child posing as the competition winner as the BBC couldn't receive calls due to technical fault. .

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The BBC has been fined £50,000 after the results of a Blue Peter competition were faked last November.

The show allowed a child visiting the studio to pose as a caller when technical problems stopped real calls getting through to the studio.

Media watchdog Ofcom criticised the BBC for "negligence" and for "making a child complicit" in the deception.

It is the first time Ofcom has imposed a financial penalty on the BBC for an editorial failure.

It fined the BBC £45,000 for faking the competition and £5,000 for repeating the show on children's channel CBBC.

"We regret that Ofcom found it necessary to impose a fine," the broadcaster said.

"As our previous statements have made clear, we fully accept the seriousness of this case and apologise for the breach of trust with our audiences."
A spokeswoman confirmed that the fine would be paid out of licence-fee money.

The contest, on 27 November, was raising money for children orphaned by Aids in Malawi.

More than 13,800 people entered, with calls costing 10p each, including 3.25p for the Unicef charity.

But an "unavoidable technical difficulty" meant callers' details could not be accessed, so a researcher asked a child visiting the studio to stand in.

"The decision to involve the child in the deception for the sake of expediency demonstrated a casual lack of regard for the welfare of that child," Ofcom said in its ruling.

Inadequate training

It added that the incident had only occurred because of a "background of management and compliance failures".

These included inadequate training for the researcher running the competition, who made the decision to select a fake "winner" without getting approval from senior members of the team.

Ofcom also noted that the incident was only discovered three months later when another visitor to the programme set, Mona Zahoor, wrote to the BBC's Have Your Say messageboard.

"Had no complaint actually been received from a member of the public, knowledge of what had happened would almost certainly not have been communicated beyond the Blue Peter team," Ofcom said.

It added that actions taken by the BBC to rectify the mistake - including an on-air apology, a re-run of the competition and the offer of a refund to participants - would not have happened if Ms Zahoor had not contacted the corporation.

The decision not to notify senior managers outside the Blue Peter team of the incident was a "serious editorial failure", it added.

A repeat edition of the programme on CBBC later the same day also incurred a fine because it did not make it clear that the competition lines were closed.

More than 3,500 further calls were received during the repeat. The BBC accepted its on-screen captions "were not adequate".

However, Ofcom agreed with the BBC that Blue Peter had not set out to mislead its audience on either occasion, and noted that both BBC One and CBBC had a good compliance record in the past.

Editor moved

It also took into account that the fine would be paid from the licence fee, and set the amount accordingly.

After the incident came to light in March, Blue Peter host Konnie Huq told viewers: "We'd like to say sorry to you because when this mistake happened, we let you down."

The programme's editor, Richard Marson, has since left his job and been given a role elsewhere in the BBC.

Responding to Ofcom's decision, the BBC Trust - which oversees the corporation's activities - said it expected bosses to "learn from these breaches".

"The culture of the BBC must be such that any proposal to mislead audiences is instantly dismissed as wholly inappropriate," it said.

The Trust, which represents the interests of licence fee-payers, has already commissioned a review of the use of premium rate phone-ins on BBC programmes.

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The BBC has been fined £50,000 after the results of a Blue Peter competition were faked last November. The show allowed a child visiting the studio to pose as a caller when technical problems stopped real calls getting through to the studio.

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The official Ofcom report, that contains information as to why the BBC was fined over the telephone scandal.