Did anyone actually enjoy watching Blue Peter as a kid?

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Matrixblackhole@reddit

Not to brag but I got a Blue Peter badge

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Matrixblackhole@reddit

It was a green one! I drew and coloured in some kind of recycling booklet and posted it to them.

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GeggingIn@reddit

That’s brilliant. You must have been so chuffed.

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Ill_Refrigerator_593@reddit

I didn't like it.

I think it was mostly they would show how to make things using sticky-backed plastic but I could never find the stuff anywhere so gave up watching out of frustration.

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FerretChrist@reddit

Is that the same as "double-sided sticky tape"?

In my memory, that's the thing they always had which I was super-jealous of, and couldn't find anywhere.

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YouthThat3880@reddit

Everything involved pipe cleaners too.
I’ve since found out they’re actually for cleaning smoking pipes, not water pipes. Who tf had them lying around?

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Moppo_@reddit

We had pipe cleaners. My mam bough them for crafty stuff. I think by the 90s most people used them for that instead of pipes. I never saw anyone smoking pipes.

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Danmoz81@reddit

wtf is sticky back plastic? - every child in the UK

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smeghead9916@reddit

That's why Art Attack was the best, basic art supplies and household rubbish was all you needed.

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

They did assume every household was a Hobbycraft

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yesbutnobutokay@reddit

It took me far too long to realise that sticky backed plastic was actually Sellotape. Missed out on a lot of projects because of that.

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confused_ape@reddit

It's not Sellotape.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-adhesive_plastic_sheet

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yesbutnobutokay@reddit

Oh yes, that's right. Sticky tape was Sellotape, sticky back plastic was Fablon. Either way, we didn't have either in our house!

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confused_ape@reddit

We probably had Sellotape, but I didn't know where, and I didn't have a clue about how to get hold of "Fablon".

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yesbutnobutokay@reddit

Fablonn was sold by Woolworths in various patterns but I think it was about 3 bob a yard, a lot more than my pocket money.

I did later buy some of the wood pattern to stick on the dash of my Viva, but I was earning then!

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Ilikeporkpie117@reddit

I always loved watching Blue Peter, it was the highlight of the day.

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

What did you like about it?

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My favourite bits were always the activities the presenters would do, e.g. "This week Matt Baker is on a jetski looking for dolphins!". Bear in mind, I grew up in the days before YouTube, so watching someone bungie jump or skydive on children's TV was so cool and exciting. I imagined today's children are a bit more jaded.

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Confudled_Contractor@reddit

Two words: Sarah Greene.

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joebmc@reddit

You spelled Katie Hill wrong.

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ClickerKnocker@reddit

So did you. *Katy Hill.

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CrustyHumdinger@reddit

Liked it up the chuff

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DoctorWhofan789eywim@reddit

I remember enjoying it when it was Konnie Huq and Matt Baker. But I don't think I ever watched it out of choive, I think it was just on after ChuckleVision and Bodger and Badger, both of which I would race home from school to watch.

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Robotica_Daily@reddit

Omg Bodger and badger! I remember absolutely loving it but thinking back I can't remember a single thing about the plot or the premise, all I remember is MASHED POTATO! I do remember being confused by the concept that mashed potato was powder in a box. I don't know what class it puts me in but my mum would be horrified by powdered mash! 😂

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FerretChrist@reddit

The powdered mash thing was weird. My parents liked to believe they were on the posh side of middle class, yet somehow still considered mash-in-a-box to be a suitable dinner accompaniment.

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DoctorWhofan789eywim@reddit

It stands up surprisingly well, mainly because they actually wrote it as a sitcom with proper jokes, and all the slapstick of course. I'm 31 now but I still watch it on YouTube and it still makes me laugh.

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Ilikeporkpie117@reddit

Those were the halcyon days on blue peter

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Uhura-hoop@reddit

Both charismatic presenters, yes, particularly Konnie Huq. It’s a shame she’s not on telly more these days. A lot of great young female presenters seem to bow out early? Remember Carol Smilie? She was nice. Nowhere to be seen now. But a lot of the men seem to have much longer careers as presenters...

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ClickerKnocker@reddit

There was one of those 'have you met a celebrity? What were they like?' posts a few weeks back where several people said that Carol Smilie is a complete prick in real life. I always assumed she would be nice too...

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SongsAboutGhosts@reddit

Those are the Blue Peter presenters for me too, and I also enjoyed it

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wildflower12345678@reddit

Yes, John Noakes, Peter Purvis, Valerie Singleton, Petra, Shep, and a cat who's name I can't recall. I think there was a tortoise too, I remember him being prepared for his winter sleep, and being brought out in spring. They were fun, and they had people on who did fun things, had interesting lives, which took me out of my boring, tedious one for a few minutes each day.

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msma46@reddit

I haven’t given this one iota of thought for 50 years, but the name “Jason” immediately popped into my head when you mentioned the cat. Perhaps someone can confirm.

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wildflower12345678@reddit

I think you might be right there.

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steepholm@reddit

Freda was the tortoise (my era too, Lesley Judd joined when I was seven). I enjoyed parts of BP (when the presenters were doing things), but I also remember some very boring stories about worthy historical individuals and segments about things that didn’t interest me at all. But back then there wasn’t much on TV for children so we had low expectations.

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propostor@reddit

Yes as a kid I thought Blue Peter was the boring one that you had to endure until there was something better to watch.

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popshares@reddit

I watched it through the 60's and 70's and it was by and large pretty good.

I used to drive my mum crazy with all the half-arsed models I failed to make out of toilet roll tubes I had scattered all over the house. It did teach me nothing is ever as simple as it appears.

Into the 80's it was background noise with cheesy presenters, but I had long outgrown it by then and paid it little attention.

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FerretChrist@reddit

If you watched it "through the 60's and 70's", then even if you'd started watching at birth, you'd have been at least 20 by the time you were watching it in the 80s.

Given that, it's not too surprising that you felt you'd "long outgrown it"!

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ShowMeYourPapers@reddit

I made the coat hanger, tinsel and candle advent decoration one year and nearly burned the house down.

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aeropagitica@reddit

The Advent Crown!

https://youtu.be/PsUhrH36ozI

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inacrashx@reddit

I’m so glad someone agrees!

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Adhyskonydh@reddit

This and Newsround. What kid actually gave a stuff about ANYTHING on Newsround? It was like the boring bit of kids tv.

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pajamakitten@reddit

Except it was always at the end of the CBBC block, except for Newsround.

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mankytoes@reddit

It felt far too "parent/teacher approved". But we had four channels and the other ones had boring grown up stuff on so it won by default. If I'd had Youtube or Sky it would have had no chance.

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

Exactly!

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fantasticdave74@reddit

Only part I looked forward to was the candles at Christmas

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nickllhill@reddit

Took me years to realise sticky back plastic was sellotape

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Awkward-Loquat2228@reddit

Years and you still got it wrong.

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nickllhill@reddit

Every day is a school day

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quite_acceptable_man@reddit

Nah, sellotape was referred to as 'sticky tape'.

Sticky backed plastic is just another word for vinyl wrap. It always baffled me as a child, because it wasn't something anyone would have lying around at home.

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Expensive-Estate-851@reddit

Never even thought about that before

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SwirlUp@reddit

What?! Was it not some special plastic that my parents could not afford to buy?

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Bennjoon@reddit

I kinda of hated all live action stuff tbh but it wasn’t that bad.

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younevershouldnt@reddit

Not actively, but we didn't always watch TV to enjoy it in the 80s.

There really wasn't much choice when there was only 3 channels

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

What were the alternatives in the 80s?

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younevershouldnt@reddit

Bbc2 or ITV

I can't remember exactly what was on then, sorry

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Careful-Coffee280@reddit

We had to go out and play. But obviously autumn and winter exist hence why we all watched a lot of antique roadshow in our childhoods 😭😭 (still better than Blue Peter though)

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Frostly4242@reddit

The stuff that gets removed is mad. Plenty of people commenting, nobody seems to have an issue, better get rid of it based on fuck all.

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katherinemma987@reddit

I loved it but then definitely grew out of it but still watched because of my parents. I loved the crafts and the lengths the went to avoid brand names

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LordTubz@reddit

I watched How and Magpie instead.

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Grouchy_Finger1389@reddit

Blue Peter was awful. I'd stick in a tape like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Bravestarr every time lol

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inacrashx@reddit

STRENGTH OF A BEAR!!

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bananabastard@reddit

I liked when they made stuff, like they showed you how to make something out of bits of cardboard and stuff.

Aside from that, it was boring, I thought it was for goody-two-shoes types.

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AndromedaDependency@reddit

It always felt like it was made for someone else. When I was a younger child it felt like it was for older kids but when I was an older kid it felt like it was for younger kids.

It has a weird way of just not fitting with me.

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bananabastard@reddit

I thought it was made for goody-two-shoes kids.

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HomeworkInevitable99@reddit

Me too. I never made any of the crafts they demonstrated, because I always thought that was for other children!

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SomeWomanFromEngland@reddit

I never made any of them because my mum refused to buy all of the stuff that you needed.

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manual_typewriter@reddit

For us it was a case of not having any of the supplies available beforehand (like how would we know?) such as an empty washing up bottle while there’s one at the sink half full.

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ScottyDug@reddit

That full one at the sink was only 5 minutes and a thick ear away from being empty you know

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FleanNCresh@reddit

That's exactly how I felt!

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Fudubaders@reddit

I always felt it was for middle class kids whose parents could afford an abundance of UHU and went boating and fell walking. So not for me.

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WhiteDiamondK@reddit

I think it depends when you watched.

It’s like with the hosts, when I was a kid the were always the older teacher-type figures… now, they’re much younger-presenting and are trying to be the kid’s friends rather that her educators.

So if you watched over that transition, it makes sense.

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ICantBelieveItsNotEC@reddit

To me, it always felt like it was made for the children from an Enid Blyton novel. They'd come home to their cottage from a picnic and a cycle ride, pour themselves a glass of homemade lemonade, and settle down to watch Blue Peter.

Maybe that life exists somewhere in the home counties, but it certainly didn't resonate with anyone I know.

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AndromedaDependency@reddit

Yes! And lashings of ginger beer!

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daksh798@reddit

hahahhahaha

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itskobold@reddit

I felt like it was for kids who went on jamborees and rafting and helped old ladies across roads. And there's nothing wrong with that but it's not bamzooki is it

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AndromedaDependency@reddit

On the council estate the old ladies would have clobbered us on the head if we tried helping them cross the street haha!

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itskobold@reddit

Yeah the biddies in my town were harder than me they can fend for themselves 😭

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

100% !

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AndromedaDependency@reddit

Oh and the gentle introduction to classism! Like knowing that out there must be some kids who have access to a whole store of craft materials and space in their house to follow along and I'm just not one of them

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swissty123@reddit

100% agree. Being a kid on a council estate I didn't fit in.

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c-e-r-y-s@reddit

Oh this was one of the main reasons I hated it. I knew that we absolutely couldn't afford crafts and I always saw the rich kids come in with the badges. I wouldn't give two shits now, but as a stupidly poor, council estate kid, it was probably all I wanted.

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Bustakrimes91@reddit

Yes! I was always so upset because I wanted to take part in the competitions but we didn’t have internet or a telephone and absolutely could not afford stamps either.

I remember crying and begging the post office to give me one and I promised I would work for them and clean the floors and shelves for the money and the exasperated employee telling me to leave over and over again.

Every time I walk past that post office it reminds me of that situation and always makes me sad for little me. It stings a bit more because my dad had a well paying job but he was an alcoholic who spent all his money on booze and my mum was a gambling addict. We rarely had food at home and I survived on free school meals and a very generous old lady called Betty who lived next door and took pity on us.

I couldn’t comprehend that there were kids who could do all of those things and always thought they must be incredibly rich.

Reading your comment just made all of the flood back because I genuinely never realised the classism aspect of it fully until now.

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swissty123@reddit

Always felt like it was for other kids, I didn't feel like I fitted what I could do or my parents had time for. I now realise what and why that was.

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franki-pinks@reddit

That’s a perfect way of describing it.

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Cavernwight@reddit

Completely my thoughts

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BeigeBourbon@reddit

Never enjoyed it myself, but I was forced to watch it because my grandma was a major Hyacinth Bucket type who believed that good children watch Blue Peter. It was a treat when she was out the room and I could just switch it off.

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Handsom_modest_Dan@reddit

Never watched it but had a friend that was on the show 17 times

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CarGullible5691@reddit

I watched it when the program first started with Christopher Trace and Valerie Singleton and Petra the dog. Closely followed by the magic roundabout

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Wormwolf-Prime@reddit

I'll like the history behind it, and I would always love it to continue but as a kid it was a poor man's Why Don't You?

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Sin_nombre__@reddit

I remember being annoyed when they changed it from twice a week to three times.

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oldfartpen@reddit

As a kid yes I thought it was awesome.

But I don’t have a choice..there were not exactly a dozen other channels to choose from.. I predate even ch4

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TalynRahl@reddit

Only when Konnie Huq was hosting 😈

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Toffee963@reddit

Yes! I had a huge phase of it and got 4 Blue Peter Badges.

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itsfeckingfreezing@reddit

I hated it

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SwordTaster@reddit

Fuck no. Never watched it. Art attack and Zap were more my thing

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ScientistJo@reddit

I don't actually remember anything about it. I know the presenters and recognise the title sequence, so I assume I watched it, but I don't remember anything specific that they did expect collecting milk bottle tops. Perhaps I didn't watch it and I just know the presenters from seeing clips as an adult.

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LuKat92@reddit

I definitely enjoyed it in the 1990s and 2000s. I still remember making a Beyblade stadium out of cereal boxes and a paper plate

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CollectionStraight2@reddit

The crafts were definitely the best part, though I was always confused at why they called sellotape 'sticky back plastic'

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LuKat92@reddit

Two reasons: Sellotape is a brand name, which is pretty much banned on the BBC, and also sellotape is more adhesive tape than it is sticky back plastic

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someguyhaunter@reddit

Watching TV in the late 90s and early 2000s after school and it was always boring.

There was only one kid who liked it and they had a blue peter badge and stuff and strutted around with it, they weren't very popular and they were notably middle class compared to the rest of us povos.

I can look back now and appreciate what it was trying but I still feel it was aimed at adults as a safe kids show.

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VickiActually@reddit

I quite enjoyed it up to a point. The episodes where they went up mountains or treked across deserts were pretty good.

I think there's a certain age of kid who's interested in the arts and crafts. And having people from Dr who and other shows I liked was fun as well.

I did stop watching it as a teenager tho

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TheSmokeyGiant031@reddit

Sometimes, I got a free Tracy island built by my mates grandad cause of blue Peter though 😂🔥

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FleanNCresh@reddit

Not really. I felt too young for it and then suddenly I felt top old for it. It never appealed.

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Spiritual_Tie3348@reddit

I was always gutted when it was Blue Peter nights.

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swissty123@reddit

I read that as "Blue Peter Nights" like a slightly after hours more Blue version of Peter.

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ClickerKnocker@reddit

Bluer Peter

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mhoulden@reddit

Electric Blue Peter.

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takesthebiscuit@reddit

Grange Hill nights were the best!

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ButteredReality@reddit

This one I never got. Why did kids get home from a full day at school then want to watch a TV show about school?

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Weewoes@reddit

I assume because it was the fun parts of school, friends, gossip, drama?

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Moppo_@reddit

That's why I didn't like it. It was a drama. When I was a child, I was of the opinion that dramas were boring programmes for adults. Most of them are still boring as an adult.

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Gullible-Hose4180@reddit

Beats Blue Bonnie night

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Eddie_F_17@reddit

The presenters reading this thread:

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TheMarkMatthews@reddit

It was sad when blue Peter was on - I wanted Grange Hill or even Record breakers instead

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Ok_Mathematician4038@reddit

Tory kids probs

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Critical_Pin@reddit

I was pretty obsessed with it in the 60s, always making things and John Noakes was there for the escapism.

Granted there were only 2 TV channels and they didn't start up until about 4:30pm and then there were children's programmes until the news at 6

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Dependent_Tailor1843@reddit

The only one I watched was when the tortoise died during hibernating and the awkwardness was hilarious

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wailingghost@reddit

Chuck Norris and Blue Peters John Noakes, same energy.

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ice-lollies@reddit

No it’s was boring . The only bit I liked was the animals.

I always wanted a tortoise but I was always worried when they put them into hibernation that they might die.

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Sea_Translator5300@reddit

Depends on if you were brought up a BBC kid or an ITV kid. Our family were always BBC so watched Blue Peter, though this was in the John Noakes era and a few years after. It produced some truly great TV. Never did make anything they showed on the programme though as my dad had already let us loose on the tools in his garage by then so they were all a bit tame. The few times I watched it, Magpie just seemed a bit odd to me.

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R33Gtst@reddit

I used to love watching it after dinner until one day.

I had entered one of the competitions and had my name on screen as one of the winners, never received my prize or my badge.

Didn’t watch it after that 🤣

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WanderWomble@reddit

I'm sure I watched it but I genuinely have no memory of it. Can't have made much an impression on me good or bad if I can't remember it!

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Aggravating_Lab209@reddit

It were a bad influence on kids! Making yer poor Dad stay up til 3am making that bloody Tracy Island (which ended up being smashed to bits about 2 hours after completion), going to school and shouting Joey at yer mates, and finally who remembers the rat baskets who trashed the BP garden?

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Swoopsling@reddit

As a kid all I cared about was cartoons. Even the crappy British and Canadian junk cartoons we were given were preferable to Blue Peter

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QuailTechnical5143@reddit

Didn’t really go for it in the late 80’s. I remember feeling that it didn’t know if it was for kids or young adults so it never really appealed to me in the middle.

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Tightropewalker0404@reddit

I loved it but it’s possible I was a giant nerd

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No-Reward8036@reddit

Loved Blue Peter. I was watching during the 70s, with really good presenters. We learned loads of things. I remember seeing Anne Frank's father being interviewed, and being in awe of the fact he was still alive, as the war had seemed to be so far in the distant past that he should have been long dead.

The only kid's programme that came on after Blue Peter was the Magic Roundabout. Then it was into the boring news and Nationwide.

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EmptyStock9676@reddit

My kids used to call it “Poo Peter”

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Ok_Chipmunk_7066@reddit

I grew up in the 90s, and Blue Peter was the punishment/endurance task when there wasn't a good pre-neighbours show.

Byker Grove, Demon Headmaster to all my knowledge were the same slot

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Mountain-Sir-282@reddit

I think by the 90’s Blue Peter had already had its day. I didn’t want to watch it, it felt more like one of those institutions that was just kept going because your parents loved it when they were kids. They’re not watching anymore but they don’t want it to end either.

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Visible_Pipe4716@reddit

Yes, Katy Hill was my first crush.

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Aggressive_Gear_7425@reddit

Konnie huq team here

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peterbparker86@reddit

Same, I was team Konnie. Angelica Bell too

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Alba_goth_mommy@reddit

Angelica is married to the dude that presented jungle run now

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mankytoes@reddit

My crush on Angelica never ended. Was gutted she got replaced on the Martin Lewis show.

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Academic-Block3384@reddit

Angelica's tits were something celestial

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KFlaps@reddit

Omg Konnie Huq... I'd forgotten... I had such a crush on her as a teenager. Just looked her up and aside from somehow barely aging, she's still got that vibrant personality and spark in her eyes that allured me as a teen!

Also didn't know she had married Charlie Brooker!

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Macrihanishautomatic@reddit

Charlie Brooker is a lucky man

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StasiaGreyErotica@reddit

Konnie made me realise that I weren't exclusively into boys

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itskobold@reddit

Same but from the perspective of a lil gay boy

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itskobold@reddit

Okay she did keep me watching

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SomeWomanFromEngland@reddit

I aged of out Blue Peter in mid 90s and she’s the only presenter I can name from after I stopped watching.

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brewer01902@reddit

I still would.

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Whole-Strawberry3281@reddit

In 2000-2010 sort of era when I was a kid I hated it.

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Emergency_nap_needed@reddit

Hated Blue Peter as a kid. It was aimed at middle class kids and I really wasn't one of them. It was very "Everything is good and clean and wholesome"

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ClericalRogue@reddit

My dad enjoyed watching it more than I ever did... i always found it boring. I'd escape outside if the weather allowed it, or find something else to do rather than just sit and watch it.

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dontjustexists@reddit

I enjoyed it. At times it was meh but overall it was fun. Vaguely watched the 2010s of iy

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Ill-Sandwich-7703@reddit

No it was the Grange Hill and Byker grove days that were the best, and you just had to tolerate BP on the other days to set you up for Neighbours.

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mankytoes@reddit

Me and my sister used to laugh endlessly at the Byker Grove accents, which probably shows we were typical southern dickheads.

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Moppo_@reddit

Eh, I'm from the region and I used to jokingly imitate the voice from the theme song. Didn't even watch it. Just sometimes caught the end and would copy "Byka! Byka! Byka Grouuuve!"

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Sofiorie@reddit

I was more of a CiTV kid. Blue Peter couldn't compare to Pokémon, Digimon, Zzzap and Art Attack as a kid. I even watched HOW2 more which was ITV's sort of version of Blue Peter. Only thing I really remember watching on CBBC was the Chuckle Brothers.

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Zounds90@reddit

I liked the arts and crafts bits and whenever the animals were there.

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Standard-Train-7310@reddit

I was lucky enough to live through the golden age of John Noakes, Valerie Singleton, Peter Purves and, latterly, Lesley Judd.

I used to look forward to getting a Blue Peter annual at Christmas. I have two badges somewhere too.

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LitmusVest@reddit

Yeah I always found adult kids ' TV presenters inauthentic at best - fucking weird at worst. Let's Pretend, Playschool, less said about Jim'll Fix It the better, with that rattley thing in a tracksuit who turned out to be ... urgh.

Why Don't You? was a bit more relatable, and with the added bonus of indecipherable regional accents that I don't think I'd heard before (except Scouse as I grew up not far from Scouseland).

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Brian_from_accounts@reddit

In the 90s I was brought in as a subcontractor for one episode of Blue Peter, working behind the scenes in a technical role, and just before the programme went live I was hurriedly handed a Blue Peter badge, normally reserved for people who had actually appeared on the show, to keep silent about something I had seen in rehearsal: a small piece of “television magic” that would probably have horrified the children watching at home.

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ADPriceless@reddit

No always thought it was really naff

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HerpaDerpaDumDum@reddit

I didn't watch it often because it was generally meh, but it was still leagues better than that Xchange show.

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Qu1ck5and@reddit

Just felt like an extension of a school day. Didn’t want more!!

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Affectionate-Boot-12@reddit

You what?! You know we all wanted to build Tracy Island but never did.

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medgar20@reddit

Hah yep, my brother and I made it as far as making the paper mache shell then we got bored before painting it and making all the fiddly bits

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

True. I think an unresolved part of my inner child would finally be complete if I just went out to buy the right things and finally make Tracy Island

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spikewilliams2@reddit

A lot of kids seemed to have watched it when joey deacon was on. I was surprised to find out a few years ago this was a national thing, not just our school.

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Stefgrep66@reddit

John Noakes was entertaining with Shep but it was for nerds generally!

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presterjohn7171@reddit

I watched during the 70s actively and the early 80s because of the lack of other options. The younger me loved it. John Noakes was a legend.

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DiscountElectrical28@reddit

Watched every episode. It was a staple of my childhood in the early 80s. Was never interested in Grange Hill and rubbish like that. Blue Peter and Take Heart were my kind of shows alongside cartoons like He-Man etc.

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Ok_Lecture_8886@reddit

When I was little, it was all there was to watch. Watched it initially in black and white. People forget that there were only two channels till BBC 2 came along.

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twitasz@reddit

FWIW, I didn’t grow up here, but my kids genuinely enjoy it and want me to put it on!

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Agitated_Nature_5977@reddit

I never liked it. I live in Scotland and it felt disconnected from my experience. Too London centric and the kids/presenters etc didn't reflect me or my life. Too curated, middle class and generally found it irritating.

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Uhura-hoop@reddit

Yes I think that was my impression tbh. ‘Too middle class’ to resonate with me and my life on a council estate in the midlands. Plus, where I’m from we call it sellotape, not sticky backed plastic 😒

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snapper1971@reddit

Nobody, not even Blue Peter, called sellotape 'sticky backed plastic'. They called sellotape 'sticky tape' because they couldn't use the brand name 'Sellotape'. It's the same reason for all the brand names being covered by marker pen or electrical tape.

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katieonthebus@reddit

I was in my twenties before I realised that sticky back plastic was sellotape.I thought that sticky back plastic was something that posh kids had access 🤣 🤣

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confused_ape@reddit

It's not though.

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PullUpAPew@reddit

I never knew what they were talking about when they said 'sticky backed plastic'. Assumed it was a big sheet of plastic with glue on one side that they were going to introduce later on

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confused_ape@reddit

That's why Uhura-hoop's experience with Blue Peter crafts was so crap.

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Ambivalent-Axolotl@reddit

Yes! I felt the same about the Enid Blyton books everyone kept trying to make me read.

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Cool_Professional@reddit

Yeah it had that "English middle class sneer" that a lot of bbc programs seemed to have and still have towards the "regions"

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herbdogu@reddit

As a fellow Scot who grew up in the 80’s, this is a pretty good summing up.

The nautical theme was off-putting from the get go, very Anglo-centric, the gardening stuff was not interesting for me, living in a tenement, the craft supplies were unattainable and it just had an air of hoity-toity midddle-class stuffiness that was so far removed from our day to day.

The biggest bugbear was when you’d get an annual shaped parcel at Christmas and instead of the expected Oor Wullie or The Broons, it was The Blue Peter Annual 1986.

How many

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CellistLow8857@reddit

Yes!! This!! It was just a bunch of English folk and English kids, never felt relevant to me!

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Boofagoofdoof@reddit

The only time I remember them doing anything in another part of the UK was talking about Up Helly Aa, which they seemed to do every year Unless that was Why Don't You and I've got them mixed up in my memory

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deevo82@reddit

Same situation as me and I totally agree.

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MrsTheBo@reddit

I grew up poor in a rural area of South England, and I felt really it wasn’t for me too. They were always doing crafts with things they said would just be around the house, but whenever I asked my mum, she said we couldn’t afford whatever it was. I also felt the overall tone was very patronising.

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OwnTwo8606@reddit

I didn’t particularly enjoy watching it as a kid. It was just something that was on before parents took over the tele for the rest of the evening. Now as an adult I think it was the sense that it was too well behaved and middle class

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Academic-Block3384@reddit

It was for squares once John Noakes and Peter Duncan has gone.

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TrustVisual1394@reddit

Yes, I watched it and enjoyed it. Matt Baker was the best 👌

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IAmPurpleMikey@reddit

Up to 8 million children watched in the 1970s. I was one of them and enjoyed it. Today it’s fashionable to say otherwise, and the show was not for everyone. But plenty of children enjoyed it. But there wasn’t much choice in those days. A mindless cartoon with primary colours and lots of moving images would probably have had more viewers because people are drawn to flashing lights and baubles.

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solidpro99@reddit

I thought it was boring_as_shit. And I hated Yvette Fielding’s shit eating grin. I could tell she was thick. All that gardening and learning about ‘good earnest’ professionals was all a bit forced. Maybe I did want to be a vet or a fireman but they way they were selling it made me want to burn it all down.

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AcePlanespotting@reddit

Rarely watched it, but I've been on blue peter twice and have the badge.

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Rig-check@reddit

Sticky backed plastic

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astrot2645@reddit

I only watched it to get to bear behaving badly or if something else interesting was on afterwards, can't remember the names now. I hated blue peter, and hated hacker time even more

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Ashamed_Housing7489@reddit

Preferred cartoons like Tom and Jerry

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mankytoes@reddit

Have you watched classic Tom and Jerry as an adult? It holds up really well, clearly a lot of influence from the likes of Chaplin/Keaton, physical comedy is probably the most timeless.

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magicpjj@reddit

No it always felt a bit off to me,. I watched home and away instead

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trialbybees@reddit

I fucking loved it! I used to make the art projects and join in with the collections of stuff like milk bottle tops.

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snapper1971@reddit

I loved it. It was a great magazine programme. As I got older I liked the female presenters more... Lesley Judd was one of my first TV crushes.

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skratakh@reddit

I used to love it, I'd watch the repeat the next morning as well. I thought everyone liked it

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BioelectricBeing@reddit

It was very boring and was mostly part of the social ritual of pretending "institutions" were good, and making you feel like you were somehow missing something for not getting it or actively hating it. See also: Jimmy Saville.

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mankytoes@reddit

Whatever you might say about Blue Peter, it gave very different vibes to Jimmy Saville.

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Uhura-hoop@reddit

Agreed. JS was always unsettling and creepy. I can’t imagine he was a fan favourite. Just a (old white man) established ‘talent’ for the (old white men) head honchos at the BBC, a ‘safe bet’ they must’ve thought, rather than do anything reckless and nurture new talent or something crazy like that. Young people can be subversive and unpredictable 😱 they couldn’t take the risk 😆

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_a_m_s_m@reddit

Never really watched it, but I did send something in just before I was too old to get a blue Peter Badge!

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katefromqueens@reddit

Spot on about it feeling like it was made for someone else. I remember the craft segments always assuming you had a fully stocked craft cupboard - meanwhile my parents thought sellotape was a luxury. Running a business in London now, it's kind of funny how Blue Peter was basically the original content marketing - all those make-and-dos were teaching us to consume before we could even read. Not complaining though, it taught me resourcefulness. Still remember trying to make a terrarium out of a washing-up liquid bottle. Ended up flooding the kitchen.

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Icy_Mixture1482@reddit

I think I always just watched it to get to Neighbours.

I never particularly enjoyed it, I think.

It was just a bridge between more entertaining stuff and then Neighbours and The Simpsons.

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PreparationWorking90@reddit

ITV used to show Home and Away from 5-5.30pm so you didn't have to sit through Blue Peter, but then they moved it to 6pm (this may have been a regional thing).

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

Same - in a way though I think it’s important to have had BP and Newsround to endure because you inevitably pick things up from it, albeit reluctantly, that might otherwise leave children a bit less aware of the wider world.

But absolutely, they felt like the shows you’d sit through til the good ones came on.

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HalfAgony-HalfHope@reddit

I never minded BP but newsround was my cue to go the loo and get a drink before Neighbours and Home and Away 🤣

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Ok_Internet_8376@reddit

This is spot on. Get Matty b and konnie huq out the way to get to Harold bishop and the gang

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International-Pass22@reddit

That's pretty much it for me. If there had been a better option, I wouldn't have watched it.

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AdventurousTeach994@reddit

Blue Peter was class- one of the best programmes for kids ever to be made in the UK. Some of my friends even appeared on it in the early 70s when the record breaking US Olympic Gold medal winner Mark Spitz was on. He won 7 gold medals at the Munich Olympics in 1972.

Lulu the Elephant, The lovely pair of knockers on the cathedral door, John Noakes climbing Nelson's Column and doing the toboggan run and of course the electric camp fire that went on fire and the old guy putting it out with the fire extinguisher.

Petra, Shep, The Tortoise, The sticky back plastic, Percy Thrower and the Blue Peter Garden, The Time Capsule buried in the Blue Peter Garden to be opened in the year 2000. The annual coat hanger and tinsel advent thingy and of course the Blue Peter Appeal- collecting milk bottle tops etc.

It was classic UK TV.

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rawcane@reddit

Nope. Was always just waiting for whatever came after.

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WhiteDiamondK@reddit

I was before you - an 80s kid - but BP was must-watch TV For me.

It fed into my curiosity. Showed me the world was bigger than the estate I grew up on, introduced me to different types of people and showed me that being good was good.

I loved the hosts and as a kid I want to grow up to be a BP presenter.

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

That’s great and that’s exactly what it was for I suppose.

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sonictuesday@reddit

At my school some of us started a (jokey) petition to ban Blue Peter

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

That’s the sort of plucky initiative that could’ve earned you a Blue Peter badge

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mankytoes@reddit

I did want one of those little buggers, but not enough to actually do something to earn one.

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sonictuesday@reddit

Oh the cruel irony! 😂

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SunJay333@reddit

I liked the badges and I did stuff for the badges (I have a sports one and a diamond blue Peter badge, i wanted more but my carers were too busy to help me with the forms and post) but the tv show, I found most the episodes rather boring

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ancientestKnollys@reddit

These answers all seem to reflect the 80s and 90s, I'd be curious to know what people thought who watched it in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

Yes I imagine potentially quite different. Maybe as there weren’t other ‘edgier’ alternatives for children back then?

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Boofagoofdoof@reddit

There was Magpie, which was kind of seen as cooler

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hocfutuis@reddit

I remember we had a Magpie craft book mum picked up somewhere, and it was way more fun than anything I'd seen on Blue Peter. The show was before my time though, so I can't compare in that regard

I did watch it as an 80s kid, but I don't remember truly enjoying it. It always came across a bit too eager and jolly hockey sticks for my liking.

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Illustrious-Air-7777@reddit

I watched in the 60s and 70s, at least when we had a rental tv, it got sent back when my mum couldn’t afford it. There wasn’t a lot of alternative and in any case I enjoyed the energy of the then presenters Peter Purviss, Valerie Singleton and John Noakes.

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No_Initiative5355@reddit

My era too. As kids, we all watched it, but I suppose we did only have three tv channels and not a lot to choose from. I always got excited to copy some of the things they made, but we never had sticky-back plastic.

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CrustyHumdinger@reddit

Seey reply, above

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smoulderstoat@reddit

I watched it in the late 70s / early 80s. I always enjoyed it.

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Expensive-Estate-851@reddit

Yeah 70s here too but I also watched Magpie. Still remember the long charity line around the studio when they raised money collecting random shit

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Demongeeks8@reddit

Magpie was much better.

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Helicreature@reddit

That’s me. I absolutely loved it. ‘Get down Shep!’. Entered all the competitions; sent in milk bottle tops; made Christmas wreaths from coat hangers and tinsel. I’ve even got a much treasured Blue Peter badge.

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antlered-god@reddit

60's & 70's, it was loved by everyone.

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Creepy_Client952@reddit

I watched in the 70s. Didn't love it but there wasn't much choice then. As others have said, it always felt like it was aimed at someone else. I did like Magpie, though, which was a similar thing but seemed way more cool and relevant.

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max1304@reddit

Late 70s. It was better than nothing, which was the alternative. Unless the snooker was on.
Even then, it wasn’t something I looked forward to, or was disappointed if I missed it. Grange Hill was terrifying

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murdermeinostia@reddit

Child of the 80s - found it a patronising chore but did really really fancy Konnie Huq

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Ready_Structure8115@reddit

Had to just get through it until the Simpsons or fresh prince of something came on

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WoodenEggplant4624@reddit

I liked Crackerjack a lot more!

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truman_chu@reddit

I thought it was incredibly boring. The 17:00 onwards slot for kids TV in the ‘80s was dirge educational stuff, once the cartoons finished.

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Luna259@reddit

Didn’t watch it

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Sad-Peace@reddit

Unfortunately I loved Blue Peter and it was my dream to be a Blue Peter presenter 🙈

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

It’s a very wholesome aspiration so I don’t think you should be embarrassed!

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Sad-Peace@reddit

It was, I was a bit of a goody two shoes child so it was perfect for me! It seemed like the dream job - you get to be on TV, meet famous people, do arts and crafts, go on trips abroad, have lots of fun. Unfortunately by the time I reached the age that I could feasibly be a presenter, the status of Blue Peter had fallen somewhat so the appeal had gone. But in the late 90s/early 00s, the presenters were quite well recognised, at least B-list celeb status.

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Snoo93102@reddit

Yeh. I didn't really get it. Its like early social engineering. You had to sit through it to get to the cartoons.

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MJ-Franklin@reddit

How 2 was better!

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CollectionStraight2@reddit

I didn' hate it, but I didn't watch it much. I remember the teachers at school trying to make us watch it for some reason. My parents didn't care, they preferred cartoons too 😆

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WoodenEggplant4624@reddit

Watched it in the 60s and 70s. Mum approved of BP because it was BBC, she did not approve of Magpie, on ITV. Valerie Singleton, Peter Purves and John Noakes were the presenters I remember best. Also Petra the dog, there was another dog and a cat.

It was a bit 'worthy'. Craft projects involved a lot of sticky backed plastic. We learnt how to make an advent candlelabra every December from wire coat hangers and tinsel.

They ran appeals and we saved and sent in milk bottles foil caps or stamps or whatever to raise money for good causes.

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WoollyMamatth@reddit

I preferred Magpie

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asoifjaoifjasd@reddit

I always liked the idea of getting a blue peter badge, but the show was so boring that I could never sit through a whole episode to find out how

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Oodlydang@reddit

I was a fan of Magpie on ITV. Much hipper

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Voidhunger@reddit

I was obsessed with Konnie Huq so yes, I loved Blue Peter and considered it top-tier programming with an unmissable message whatever it was.

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doepfersdungeon@reddit

Pretty ambivalent. Even as a young kid it felt false a bit odd. I never ran home to watch it that's for sure. Was more into Trans World Sport tbf.

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pebblesandweeds@reddit

It was never cool. Always felt like a throwback to the 50s or early 60s. Watched it quite a bit in the 80s, but don’t remember watching it at all in the 90s. In 1988 it was on just before Neighbours, and that was considered essential viewing for a while, so it would be endured until 5:35 came around, ha ha.

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Thestickleman@reddit

I used to watch it and really enjoy it.

Even sent a few things in that got on TV which was nice and I got the edge and all that

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EmployeeCautious6314@reddit

I always felt it creepy for some reason

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Skanedog@reddit

It always felt like it was made for middle class England, watching it from lower class Scotland everything on it seemed so out of reach.

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Lessarocks@reddit

I’m from a working class council house background in SW Scotland and o never felt that way at all.

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Warm-Reference-4965@reddit

Ah I loved it back in the day. I was of the John Noakes era and went into the Simon Groom era. If he wasn't talking about his parent's farm in Dethick then it wasn't a proper episode. I remember my school doing Blue Peter bring and buy sales and I used to enter Blue Peter competitions. I'm still sad that I never won the design a Christmas stamp competition with my hand drawn Christmas pudding! On the subject of Christmas you'd combust with excitement when the first candle of the advent crown was lit right? Coat hangers and tinsel, simpler times.

I hope whoever trashed Percy Throwers's sunken garden went on to have a miserable life!

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Avox0976@reddit

Never watched it it always looked rubbish and boring as a child. I didn’t even give it a chance

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Lessarocks@reddit

I did but that was back in the sixties and seventies. There was far less choice for kids back then because we only had two and then later three channels. Ther was no streaming so you had to watch when it was broadcast. So yeah, TV that was made for us was a must watch.

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Automatic_Acadia_766@reddit

I always found it a bit boring.

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CaptainMikul@reddit

I only ever tried to make one thing from Blue Peter, and that was their Beyblade arena.

That then made me realise the problem with Blue Peter in the no-rewatch era; they can tell you what to do, but unless you have a perfect memory, you're not gonna know what to do by the time you've gathered all the stuff.

What I did make fell apart instantly.

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fmeupdad@reddit

Yes, Battersea Power Station still reminds me of the time one of the hosts tightroped across it

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LagerBoi@reddit

No it was just something we legally had to do.

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flummuxedsloth@reddit

I sometimes enjoyed it. Anthea Turner's Tracy Island was a highlight.

I grew very bitter over time about never winning a Blue Peter badge though.

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

I did tune in for Tracy Island and I think they made a ninja turtles sewer lair too.

But that’s because it was connected to other popular culture I was actually interested in

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flummuxedsloth@reddit

The popular culture aspect of it made me enjoy it more, but I enjoyed the makes in general. Not sure how many of them I actually attempted though.

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Nettoghetto82@reddit

Anthea Turner not nice in person

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Ooh_La_La_Vernette@reddit

When something occurs on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule i still refer to it as Blue Peter nights 🤣

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

😂 What was on instead on Tuesday and Thursdays?

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Ooh_La_La_Vernette@reddit

I wanna say Byker Grover or Demon Head Master. Well for us 90's babies anyway.

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revrobuk1957@reddit

I enjoyed it. Mind you, I had a thing for Lesley Judd…

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insane_worrier@reddit

Magpie was much better.

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lucylucylane@reddit

It always felt like it was for posh kids and didn't really seem to have the same interests as me on the estate

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StrollingByTheStream@reddit

It was a decent show tbh. The whole Richard Bacon situation was hilarious looking back - I remember at the time how seriously it was being taken though. If I remember correctly before they aired the first show after the news hit the press they had some really senior bbc woman addressing the situation - all he done was a bit of coke ffs lmao. They were probably all at it anyway he was just dumb enough to get caught.

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

They did - it’s on YouTube.

I guess it had to be seen to be treated seriously but hilarious looking back

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Buh_Snarf@reddit

I enjoyed it, always wanted a Blue Peter badge.

I feel like it was for us nerdy kids.

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LowM93@reddit

I had Sky, I'd never even heard of it until I went to high school. Why would you want to watch someone do arts and crafts when Fox Kids is playing an all day X-Men omnibus?

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space_coyote_86@reddit

Yeah, I always watched it when I was about 8-10 in the early 2000s.

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2Fast2Mildly_Peeved@reddit

Yes, but partially because Katy Hill and then Konnie Huq were two of my first celebrity crushes.

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pintofendlesssummer@reddit

Always thought is was for rich kids .

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dr_dolitttle@reddit

I probably watched it because with only the channels there were free other options. I don't remember particularly enjoying it, it was just there.

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Ok-Future9384@reddit

Hated it

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Boating_taxonomist@reddit

I quite liked it, liked the crafty stuff. I had a blue Peter badge for being a runner up to design a museum poster, I was so chuffed to get that, and really quite upset when I later lost it. I’m still a bit miffed years later tbh (I’m 38…).

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TyburnLil@reddit

Yup.

I liked Blue Peter a heck of a lot more than all the 'fun house' / cover them with slime programs that they put on, still can't work out WHY they keep making them. And don't get me started on 'chuckle brothers'...

Guess it's 'cause folks like different stuff.

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SterlingVoid@reddit

Wasnt a massive fan of kids TV in general, but didn't mind stuff like Byker Grove, nightmare, Simpsons and the Fresh Prince I tended to watch things like snooker and darts on BBC2 or the Tour de France on channel 4 when they were on as an alternative.

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ukAdamR@reddit

No. I was much more of a Knightmare boy, and Art Attack.

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StormofSteelWargames@reddit

I only watched it to wait for whatever was on afterwards.

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PresentReindeer9011@reddit

Not really but sometimes there wasn’t much on so that was the next best thing

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MCL-Jonathan@reddit

Me! Anyone actually took part and receive a blue Peter badge?

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brushfuse@reddit

Never really liked it. I enjoyed the art shows on BBC and ITV and of course the DEF TWO strand. The Invisible Man, Buck Rogers. Star Trek etc. Good memories of that.

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Marshwiggletreacle@reddit

I loved it. I suppose it depends when you watched it.

I made some of the crafts, was interested in the blue Peter garden, and the segments where they went out and did things.

Peter Duncan, Yvette thingybob, the mother of the singer who has a diamond shaped face . I forget the names, the one who had the golden retriever I think.. Simon??

As you can see, it's hard to remember that long ago but I do remember looking forward to it.

Nowadays, there are alot of shows on so many channels so people are spoilt for choice

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fortyfivepointseven@reddit

I wasn't bored by it, but I was a nerd. That said, I definitely had the perception that Blue Peter was a kinda cringe and old-fashioned show for nerd kids. ]

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kevio17@reddit

Watched it quite a bit, around the Katie Hill era. We usually had it on over breakfast, to the point where I thought its full title was "Yesterday's Blue Peter"

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TW1103@reddit

I have always absolutely fucking detested Blue Peter, and when I was a kid I'd rather have done homework or stared at a brick wall. As an adult, I also absolutely fucking detest The One Show, which is just Blue Peter for adults. Absolute shite.

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GrumpyOldFart74@reddit

I started with John Noakes and Peter Purvis era, then through the Simon Groom, Peter Duncan and up to Janet Ellis.

I definitely liked it when I was younger - particularly the John Noakes and Peter Duncan stunt bits.

By the time I was maybe 11 or 12 I was definitely finding it pretty boring and stopped watching it - whether that’s because I was older or it just wasn’t as good, I don’t know

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stowgood@reddit

I always preferred cartoons. There wasn't much choice so I watched it occasionally. Felt like a kids TV show for adults somehow.

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stowgood@reddit

Also felt a bit like being at school.

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lubbockin@reddit

I watched it for Sarah greene..

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ljr69@reddit

Grew up in the 70’s and 80’s. Never liked it

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ExcitementKooky418@reddit

I get what you're saying. I think I did actively watch it and don't remember disliking it, but I was definitely more interested in escapism - cartoons like ghost usters and ninja turtles were much more appealing.

I also get creepy vibes off that forces super clean super nice and friendly patronising/condescending style of presenting, and as I've grown up I've realised it is NOT just in kids programming, BBC radio presenters are like that too, especially local stations, and shows like the One Show. It's like they're aimed primarily at people that aren't all there in one way or another - old and senile or just uneducated people

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toentropyandbeyond@reddit

Honestly - I hated it.

I was born in England and spent the first 7 years of my life there before moving to Australia so I think I was maybe too young to appreciate it or be interested in it?

And then largely forgot about it when I moved to Australia.

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Swamp_Donkey82@reddit

I always felt it was the type of programme that adults thought kids should like but a lot didn’t?

Unlike Maid Marion and her Merry Men which was brilliant!

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karlware@reddit

Mine was the Simon Groom years so I quite enjoyed it.

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Necessary-Chest-4721@reddit

Mid to late 80s was my BP viewing years. Peter Duncan, Mark Curry, Caron Keating, Yvette Fielding, John Leslie presenting era. Generally quite enjoyed it, but definitely felt educational, rather than entertainment. Like school's TV kinda stuff. Me & my sister organised one of the Bring & Buy sales for the Romanian orphans, which I genuinely loved doing. Remember they had a map of the UK which they put pins in to show locations of official Bring & Buy sales. We lived in a rural & very remote area of Scotland & ours was the only pin in that area for the duration of the appeal. I loved that we had this low-key recognition.

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Comfortable-Pear-973@reddit

I thought it was boring as fooook

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Belle_TainSummer@reddit

Simon Groom era child, loved it. It was the highlight of the evening.

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_Planemad_@reddit

I really enjoyed Blue Peter as a child, Matt and Simon were a great duo!

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darkdetective@reddit

I remember it was normally a watch before something better started. But I used to love seeing the pets they had. The cats were super cute and Matt Bakers dog Meg.

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DIPPYD0R1S@reddit

Absolutely loved it, and finding out hardly anyone else did but still they kept it on air, I assume just for me, is a comfort.

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franki-pinks@reddit

Born in 84. I never liked it

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Affectionate_Crow327@reddit

It was fun to watch for Konnie Huq, and to a lesser extent Zoe Salmon

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smeghead9916@reddit

Blue Peter was when I stepped away to do my homework and I'd return in time for The Simpsons.

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ElenaElena85@reddit

Only reluctantly, it was always on

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Careful-Coffee280@reddit

The only bit I enjoyed was the craft bit. I found Blue Peter really boring - even though I enjoyed learning at school and was academic, like you I wanted fun escapism and stories after school. I wasn't interested in the brilliant things other kids did, or when these adults were exploring boring cathedrals or fancy ships, it was more school and I'd had a whole day of school.

My brother enjoyed it though, and my mum approved, so I did half heartedly watch it. I definitely learned some things from it - recycling, lifeboats, all about Westminster Abbey, taking care of pets (we had none), that used stamps had value, how Janet Ellis faced her fear and went skydiving. But it wasn't enjoyable for me either. I was annoyed that it took up so much after school TV watching time before you had to do homework. The real fun TV started after Blue Peter.

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Haunting_Cress_7348@reddit

it was made for your parents really so their kids could watch something wholesome. yeh I found it very boring as a kid in the 80s and 90s!

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CrustyHumdinger@reddit

I grew up in the '70s. Decent home, decent upbringing.

I hated Blue Peter. Self-righteous, sanctimonious pricks. The only good thing was the cats, and Janet Ellis' peanuts when I got older.

I recall I laughed my ass off when that shitty garden got vandalised.

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CrustyHumdinger@reddit

And don't get me started onWhy Don't You. More like Why Don't You go and fk yourself?

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SpikeSpeegle@reddit

Wasn't my thing. Battle of the Planets on the other hand...

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Anubis1958@reddit

I loved it. Get down shep

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meestah_meelah@reddit

Every now and again they would have an educational episode that was actually interesting about WW1 or James Bond. Other than that no, it bored the arse off me.

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Sleepyllama23@reddit

I was never that bothered about it (1980s kid) but my daughter loved it and would write in to get blue peter badges (I think she had four). She also phoned in to be on air one time to tell them about what she was doing in the school holidays. My mum was babysitting at the time while I was in work and she got a shock when a BBC producer phoned up to ask her permission to allow my daughter to go on air after she’d just phoned in herself!

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Imaginary_Finger7844@reddit

Blue Peter was one of my staples alongside Jim'll fix it, Grange Hill and Rentaghost.

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IcyPuffin@reddit

I enjoyed it. I was a kid in the 70's, so i remember John Noakes and Peter Purves and Lesley Judd. There was Shep the dog as well.

I watched it off and on right through to mid 90s, even though i was an adult by then.

I never really thought it was boring - that honour fell to Jackanory. For some reason i gound that pretty boring.

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Bubble-Master96@reddit

I loved it, I remember even sending a paint of the queen I did into it as a child. Disgusted with myself frankly, as anti-monarchist

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Affectionate-Post289@reddit

No I preferred Magpie. Less stuffy and more relatable.

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Remote_Development13@reddit

Seemed outdated already in the late 90s/early 2000s

Wasnt a fan. For want of a better word, it just wasnt 'cool'

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fuggerdug@reddit

It was The One Show for kids, that turned into The One Show for adults after it stopped.

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

I actually had the same thought! Spot on I reckon

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ARealTim@reddit

I watched it from the mid-60's to the mid-70's. Even then it seemed a bit boring and 'worthy' but there wasn't much else to watch at that time. The appearance of Leslie Judd in 1972 had a bit of an effect on a hormonal 13 year old boy so that may have kept me watching a bit longer... (I just checked and she is now 79 years old!)

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EllieW47@reddit

I loved it as a kid and carried on watching it as a teen (late 80s- early 90s). There weren't a lot of options at that time of day!

My mum taught secondary school for years and would occasionally mention something that had been on Blue Peter recently.

She always said the year 7s and sixth form would be happy to discuss it, the middle year groups would never admit that they had seen whatever it was but it was obvious that a good number knew exactly what she was on about!

She let them look oblivious but kept using it as a reference as it obviously helped.

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antlered-god@reddit

I watched it regularly in the 60's &70's. It was awesome back then

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SinfulSoftiez@reddit

Yeah it felt educational but dull as a kid more something like parents approve of than genuinely fun or exciting.

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Additional-Nobody352@reddit

It always felt like more school tbh.

On a side note 10 year old me quite liked Katy Hill.

A few years later i did dip in and Zoe Salmon was quite nice.

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catmatix@reddit

More of a 'hate watch' for me in the late 70s. So technically I guess I enjoyed it.

I think it was the Christmas candelabra that set me off. What an absolute bag of nuts.

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Hcmp1980@reddit

I hated it, so boring. Loved richard bacon.

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Flaky_Self_8124@reddit

i only liked the badges lol.

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new_moon_on_monday@reddit

No, I used to watch Home and Away instead!

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ExcitingBox5throw@reddit

Don't know if it was different in the 2000s and early 10s but I really enjoyed it. I did feel it kinda fell off when Helen and Andy left

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finH1@reddit

The one show is blue Peter for adults too

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T_raltixx@reddit

I was never a fan. How 2 on the other hand.

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yearsofpractice@reddit

I’m 50. Blue Peter was tolerable, but I preferred chaotic noisy, funny stuff. Still do, frankly.

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Rich_27-@reddit

No, always found it boring and rather preachy

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daddy-dj@reddit

Exactly. I never spent any time as a kid cutting washing-up liquid bottles to make a space rocket. All the kids they showed weren't the sort who I'd hang out with.

The only thing I remember about it are the theme tune, the garden getting vandalised and a female presenter accidentally having her hair set on fire.

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LionLucy@reddit

I really liked it, but I wasn’t allowed to watch much, so I don’t have a lot to compare it to!

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Craicriture@reddit

I saw it on BBC 1, which is officially carried on cable and Sky Ireland over here, but it was never something I would have actively intended to watch. Even as a a young kid it struck me as rather prim, proper and having that over earnest in presentation style, with a vibe of 50s-60s format even in the 90s when I saw it. Just looked like something that’s a relic of a bygone era of TV.

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

Good description

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heyitsed2@reddit

In don't remember disliking it? I preferred that thing with, I think his name was Otis, and it was about consumer rights and where you could buy the cheapest creme egg.

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OwineeniwO@reddit

I think the kids who did enjoy aren't the type to spend time online.

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Kyle_2099@reddit

I thought it was boring and old fashioned, like someone put another hour of school on TV somehow. The only time I ever watched it was if CITV was running something really really shit.

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williamsdb@reddit

Depends when you watched it. I was watching in the 70’s and I don’t think it was old fashioned then. Also the John Noakes bits were great.

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

Yeah I wonder what the difference was from 70s to 90s and beyond that made kids engage back then but feel patronised later on

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williamsdb@reddit

Only three tv channels and no games machines and phones made it a simpler time so maybe that contributed to it?

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pelvviber@reddit

I really enjoyed blue peter.

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LieutBromhead@reddit

I always loathed it as it felt like school. I just wanted to watch Byker Grove /Grange Hill/Neighbours and it was always in the way.

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Bksudbjdua@reddit

Was it not blue Peter that had the reference to sticky back plastic and "here's one I done earlier" on the art section? I enjoyed that. I also feel like I was taught things, like how to take care of wild life.

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

I think it absolutely had valuable content and I’m sure I learned things. But watching it never felt a pleasure like other shows

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Bksudbjdua@reddit

Ye I get that, I just feel like, it was an educational show and we were all fed up with being taught things all day, it wasn't really a "fun" thing to watch unless you were specifically interested in the subject

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Wooden-Bookkeeper473@reddit

Fuck yeah. Got my first boner watching Anthea Turner.

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Wonderful-Bonus5439@reddit

I hated it and I remember my mum saying she hated it as a child as well, so boring.

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Aware-Rub2791@reddit

I never enjoyed it. Coming from b working class background, the world of Blue Peter seemed a world away. I got short shrift from my parents when I asked for the items needed to make whatever craft they were making.

I didn’t have the vocabulary for it, but I knew I loved a very different existence from what I saw on screen

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quite_acceptable_man@reddit

Yeah, as if we all had rolls of different coloured sticky backed plastic lying around at home

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TrousersTrousers@reddit

Nope, hated it. Felt like another school lesson.

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Living-Bat7647@reddit

Sometimes there were animals on it and I would watch literally anything that seemed even vaguely like an animal documentary as a child.

Honestly, didn't have much of an opinion either way. It was fine. Except the animal bits, which were life.

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starsandbribes@reddit

It was okay but not exactly the kind of thing you’d start a conversation about on the playground or you’d be called a dweeb. An 8 year old boy is going to have fun talking about something a bit edgier like Stone Cold Steve Austin giving middle fingers and drinking beer. Blue Peter was this more safe sanitised thing that even children see through.

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andycwb1@reddit

I loved it.

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yesbutnobutokay@reddit

Watched it in the 1960s and thought the presentation was very dry and patronising, and the experience was too similar to being at school. Magpie on ITV was a little better but I was getting too old for kids TV by the time that came out.

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Frostly4242@reddit

I watched it because there was nothing else, but it was pretty boring. It was definitely viewed as the lamest of the kids TV. I guess it survived so long because it's wholesome and educational, so a big part of the BBC remit and the sort of thing that grown ups thinks kids should be watching.

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Particular-Swim-9293@reddit

At the time of John Noakes I actively liked it because he and his dog Shep were genuinely brave, cool and funny. (Yes, both of them.) And the other two were like well-liked teachers. Then with various lineup changes it became less fun but it was still okay right through until a couple of male presenters arrived who were not likeable at all and it lost me. But as a parent viewer later I thought it regained its mojo with Matt Baker who had a real John Noakes vibe, and Konnie Huq who also seemed just right.

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Itsabulleye50@reddit

I used to like Shep the dog and later there was a risk taker Duncan whats his name presenter who did things like hang of the Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) on a rope with a plank of wood. No hi viz and helmets back in those days.

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eralcilrahc@reddit

I hated it, I’m 30. I know it was a long running show that was on when my dad was young and he liked it. That led me to think that maybe it was a better show back when it first started than it was close to the end.

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AdvanceAlive2103@reddit

Preferred Dramarama

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09philj@reddit

When I was young enough for it, it was on after the hour of after school television I was allowed. It was mildly diverting on the occasions when I did get to see it.

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Claire4Win@reddit

Has someone who worked on blue peter.... I enjoyed bits of it when I was a child.

I liked the Christmas appeal and when bacon got caught doing stuff outside of blue peter

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Left_Mushroom7592@reddit

It was dull as fuck

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lucyuktv@reddit

I always thought the whole thing was virtue signalling. At that age I didn’t know the name for it, but it was certainly that. Later, in the workplace it’s obvious who had/wanted a badge!

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ThrustersToFull@reddit

It was really just background noise until Neighbours I seem to remember. I don't really remember any specific thing from Blue Peter now I come to think about it - except for when Konnie Huq started presenting and I briefly paid a bit more attention, but it was just for her lol

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Dumbusernamesuggest@reddit

Yes. And I just saw a kid with a blue badge on in a cafe near us and had a pang of jealousy. I’m 37.

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Aggravating-Sea4016@reddit

I watched it in the early 70’s and loved it. Val Singleton, Peter Purves and John Noakes.

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CMDoet@reddit

I enjoyed it. I liked watching the crafts and the animals. I liked how it felt like we could get involved in the show. I remember bring-and-buy sales at primary school supporting their charities, and entering their writing competitions. Never got a badge though.

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Daisy-Fluffington@reddit

I enjoyed watching Konnie Huq.

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EmergencyAthlete9687@reddit

I started watching it in the early 1960s and loved it. I remember John noakes' first programme and got a blue Peter badge for writing a poem about Petra. I preferred it to magpie. Maybe in retrospect it was very middle class, preachy and straight but there wasn't a lot else on and I carried on watching it long after I was meant to be too old for it.

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AdvanceAlive2103@reddit

Magpie always had a kind of eerie atmosphere to me

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Busy-Doughnut6180@reddit

It bored me to tears. I did like educational shows, but not when I felt patronised lol. So I'd have rather watched either a documentary or something like Art Attack, or just the usual cartoons.

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Icy_Mixture1482@reddit

It always seemed to love patting itself on the back too. They always used to show that clip of an elephant pooping on the studio floor from the 60s to highlight how funny they thought they were.

Also the self important way they also announced the new presenters “we’re ready to reveal the 43rd Blue Peter presenter” just like Americans obsessing about who the 18th president is or whatever.

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Davidp243@reddit

Clearly in the minority, but I liked it. There were definitely some presenters I liked more than others though, Matt baker and konnie Huq were great, but I remember having an irrationally large hatred towards Gethin Jones!

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BenchClamp@reddit

God no

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Overthinker-dreamer@reddit

I didn't liked it when I was around 6 but enjoy it more around 10/11

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JarJarBinksSucks@reddit

Only if Katie was wearing one of her short skirts

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InsertObligatoryPun@reddit

I enjoyed it through the 90s. Always wanted a Blue Peter badge.

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CTLeafez@reddit

Born in 1996. Always felt Blue Peter was a bit boring so never watched it much.

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Horror-Kumquat@reddit

I enjoyed it in the 70s, especially the bits where John Noakes risked life and limb doing dangerous things. Apart from him, it was very much grown-ups talking down to you, but ALL children’s TV in the 70s was grown-ups talking down to you. And as others have said, there wasn’t any other choice.

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turbo_dude@reddit

Wasn’t the dude who was the small robot in “return to oz” caught in a porno?

He had blond frizzy hair.

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macman501@reddit

I watched it in the 70s, with presenters John Noakes, Lesley Judd, and Peter Purvia. I loved it.

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Gherkiin13@reddit

I loved Blue Peter, I watched every episode I could and the only reason I stopped watching it was because I didn't have a TV when I started uni. They were usually doing something interesting or exciting and if they weren't the segments were quite short.

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Wise-Independence487@reddit

They filmed it from the imax once and I went to watch. I can’t say it was my fav show but we were limited with what was on. Much preferred byker grove nights

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Fun_Yogurtcloset1012@reddit

it was a meh for me but I do enjoy the Blue Peter's pets

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Pretend-Ad-55@reddit

I didn’t hate it. It wasn’t obnoxious like some other kids tv at the time but yeah, I don’t really look back on it fondly either

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ThePineappleSeahorse@reddit

I enjoyed

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Chiccheshirechick@reddit

Yes I loved it.

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Ovalman@reddit

Yep, sent off many a stamp addressed envelope for their paper-mache builds.

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Empty_Change7506@reddit

Nah not really although blue peter did sponsor a wagon where I used to work, absolute shitbox it was

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Embarrassed_Belt9379@reddit

It was better than newsround I suppose.

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MattDubh@reddit

Anthea was worth a few monkey spanks, wasn't she??

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

Is that you, Alan?

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Spicymargx@reddit

This comment knocked me sick

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Hot_Growth_9643@reddit

The Ford escort cabriolet of middle aged women

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ch536@reddit

I had a tv in my bedroom as a child. I vividly remember going straight upstairs after school to watch the cartoons that were on before Blue Peter and I would then usually have a quick nap whilst Blue Peter was on and wake up feeling refreshed enough to watch Neighbours, The Simpsons and Malcolm in the Middle afterwards!

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