The following interview with Valerie Singleton was by Richard Webber and appeared on The Telegraph website - August 2012
The animals were an important element of Blue Peter. Many children weren’t allowed pets, so having them on the programme was the next best thing, especially as we would ask viewers to suggest names and we showed them how to look after and train animals.
Petra, who is next to me in this picture, was the first Blue Peter dog. When she had puppies with Moss, the collie on the left, Christopher Trace and I showed them on the programme at 12 days old. They were called Patch, Rover, Rex, Peter, Candy, Kim, Prince and Bruce. We couldn’t keep all eight so got viewers to choose which one should become the programme’s second dog – they chose Patch. My favourite was Bruce, a chubby little fellow.
It seemed as if every child in Britain wrote to us, wanting one of the puppies. As well as having to check that they would be going to good homes, it seemed unfair to select seven children from the thousands who wrote in. Mainly, we gave them to organisations where they could give pleasure to many people. Three joined children’s homes, one became the mascot for the Junior Leaders’ Regiment, the quietest went to an old people’s home while two, Rex and Bruce, became farm dogs.
All the Blue Peter animals were well behaved on the programme. Jason, the cat, was amazing; he’d sit quietly on the seat, but as soon as the closing music stopped, he’d climb down – it’s as if he knew the show had ended.
I don’t mean to shatter an illusion but I wasn’t mad about any of the animals on Blue Peter. Fortunately, I didn’t have to look after any, either. Chris, who died in 1992, and was lovely to work with, looked after Petra. When he left Blue Peter, Peter Purves joined and took on Petra, while John Noakes had Patch. Mind you, I had grown up with all sorts of animals: dogs, mice, hedgehogs, cats and even a squirrel. My mother found two squirrels abandoned after their mother was killed on the road. She brought them home in a basket; it was winter and they were frozen. We put a hot-water bottle next to them, and although one died, the other recovered. We named him Percy and he became our pet. He would ride along on the cat’s back and dash up my father’s trouser leg.
Blue Peter was fun and is the programme people remember me for, although I preferred it when I moved on to Nationwide. I joined Blue Peter when I was 25 and working at the BBC as a continuity announcer. The programme was very minor back then, only 15 minutes once a week. When it went twice-weekly, I had to give up my announcing job. My parents questioned my decision to give up a good presenting job for what appeared to be an unimportant children’s programme – the rest is history.
The animals were an important element of Blue Peter. Many children weren’t allowed pets, so having them on the programme was the next best thing, especially as we would ask viewers to suggest names and we showed them how to look after and train animals.
Petra, who is next to me in this picture, was the first Blue Peter dog. When she had puppies with Moss, the collie on the left, Christopher Trace and I showed them on the programme at 12 days old. They were called Patch, Rover, Rex, Peter, Candy, Kim, Prince and Bruce. We couldn’t keep all eight so got viewers to choose which one should become the programme’s second dog – they chose Patch. My favourite was Bruce, a chubby little fellow.
It seemed as if every child in Britain wrote to us, wanting one of the puppies. As well as having to check that they would be going to good homes, it seemed unfair to select seven children from the thousands who wrote in. Mainly, we gave them to organisations where they could give pleasure to many people. Three joined children’s homes, one became the mascot for the Junior Leaders’ Regiment, the quietest went to an old people’s home while two, Rex and Bruce, became farm dogs.
All the Blue Peter animals were well behaved on the programme. Jason, the cat, was amazing; he’d sit quietly on the seat, but as soon as the closing music stopped, he’d climb down – it’s as if he knew the show had ended.
I don’t mean to shatter an illusion but I wasn’t mad about any of the animals on Blue Peter. Fortunately, I didn’t have to look after any, either. Chris, who died in 1992, and was lovely to work with, looked after Petra. When he left Blue Peter, Peter Purves joined and took on Petra, while John Noakes had Patch. Mind you, I had grown up with all sorts of animals: dogs, mice, hedgehogs, cats and even a squirrel. My mother found two squirrels abandoned after their mother was killed on the road. She brought them home in a basket; it was winter and they were frozen. We put a hot-water bottle next to them, and although one died, the other recovered. We named him Percy and he became our pet. He would ride along on the cat’s back and dash up my father’s trouser leg.
Blue Peter was fun and is the programme people remember me for, although I preferred it when I moved on to Nationwide. I joined Blue Peter when I was 25 and working at the BBC as a continuity announcer. The programme was very minor back then, only 15 minutes once a week. When it went twice-weekly, I had to give up my announcing job. My parents questioned my decision to give up a good presenting job for what appeared to be an unimportant children’s programme – the rest is history.
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