For 50 years, Blue Peter has been introducing children to the wonders of sticky-back plastic and toilet-roll inserts
IF THE PHRASE "Here's one I made earlier" means anything to you, or if you've ever asked your ma for double-sided sticky tape, chances are you spent some of your formative years watching Blue Peter, the long-running BBC television series that celebrates 50 years on the air this week.
Granted, many Irish children growing up in the Blue Peter golden years of the 1970s and 1980s never got to see the show, forced to make do with Bosco and Anything Goes and gaze in envy at the sophisticated Christmas decorations fashioned from Fairy Liquid bottles and pipe-cleaners by their multi-channelled peers.
These were the Blue Peter children, ahead of the Irish game though occasionally frustrated by the glimpse of a paradise of make-and-do and jolly japes around the English countryside. "It was the only time in your life you wanted to be English," admits long-time fan Lorna Greene, who consistently tuned in despite occasional cultural dissonance. "They kept saying things like 'Pop down to your local haberdashery and stationery store' and I was like, 'Er, what?'" Blue Peter was always at the vanguard - before Telifís Éireann went on air in 1961, the show was already going strong, the first Blue Peter airing for all of 15 minutes on October 16th, 1958.
Named after the blue and white flag that ships raise to indicate they're about to set sail, it was all about taking children on a "voyage of discovery".
Yet what started out as a short magazine programme was transformed when editor Biddy Baxter took over the show in 1962, and began inviting contributions from the heretofore not-seen-and-not-heard audience of children. Eschewing the dictum "never work with children or animals", Blue Peter began incorporating both. Add animals to a live format, and you get results like the visit of Lulu the elephant in 1969, who promptly pooped on the studio floor. Dogs often buried themselves in crotches and dragged presenters across the floor, with John Noakes's long-standing sidekick Shep's excitability as a puppy giving rise to what became his catchphrase: "Get down Shep!"
Children caused their own problems, with one particularly valiant group of girl scouts singing on as the studio went on fire in front of them. Even the adult presenters had their moments, though Simon Groom's famous innuendos, such as his tribute to "a lovely pair of knockers" during a piece on door knockers, went largely over the heads of his underage audience.
Such occurrences were all incidentals on a show where the legion of little fans were glued to the make-and-do. This was where presenters made all manner of goodies from matchboxes and sticky tape, so called because the show refuses to use commercial names, finding creative substitutes for brand names such as Sellotape and Velcro. If crafts weren't your bag, there was the baking section and the gardening spot, as well as dare-devil stunts by presenters, which included a record-breaking free fall by Noakes.
Blue Peter raised oodles of cash for worthy causes over the years, encouraging children to collect items or organise bring-and-buy sales, with donations totted up on the mind-boggling Totaliser.
The show also incentivised children through the much-coveted Blue Peter badge, bestowed on those who achieved something wondrous or appeared on the show. Though the Queen, Madonna and Brad Pitt all got their mitts on one, it wasn't until several Blue Peter badges were discovered for sale on eBay that the BBC was forced to amend its policy, and these days it issues a photo ID card with every badge.
The great eBay badge debacle was not the only scandal to hit the show. In 1998 presenter Richard Bacon was sacked from the show after he admitted to having used cocaine, while more recently the BBC had to shell out £50,000 (€64,000) when it was revealed that a child on a studio visit had been asked to pose as a caller for a competition. Later last year, it emerged that an online poll to name the Blue Peter cat had also been faked.
The storms have all been weathered, however, with the Blue Peter flag still flying high 50 years since its first show aired. And according to Greene, now a primary-school teacher who watches the show for ideas for her pupils, the fundamentals remain unchanged: "The set is a bit cooler and the presenters aren't dressed in dungarees, but it's still the exact same."
For one-time presenter Janet Ellis, familiar to the audiences who came of age in the 1980s, the Blue Peter appeal lies in its relationship with its core audience: children. "The criticisms have been that it's too middle class, that it appeals to a particular child," she says. "But none of that comes from children. It never talked down, which was brilliant." It also clearly transcended cultures, with several Irish adults still thrown into childhood reveries at the mere mention of the words Blue Peter, though its quintessential Britishness remains indisputable. "It's such a huge part of British culture," admits Ellis. "It's like Ovaltine and The Archers. Even if you didn't watch it you knew about it. It's a privilege to have been a part of that."