Blue Peter book number 10

The tenth Blue Peter book was published in 1973 with this rather fantastic cover featuring a never ending image of the full complement of four Blue Peter presenters - John, Valerie, Peter and Lesley.

The Blue Peter book shelf had expanded that year, not just with this tenth Annual, but a book of Limericks had also been published and a set of books covering Valerie's Special Assignments. 1973 was also the year that readers of both TV Critic's Circle and The Sun newspaper no less had voted Blue Peter the Top Children's Programme. 1973 also saw the one thousandth programme on February 15th.

But 1973 was also the beginning of the end for Valerie Singleton's tenure as a presenter because she had now gone part time, taking on a roving reporter role which she would continue to have until her final departure in 1975.     


Proof that the decadence started under Biddy's rule

Valerie does however feature in a number of these 'special assignment' features throughout the 10th annual, visiting Paris, Rome, Vienna and Amsterdam in one article, Hadrian's Wall in another and the Cornish tin mines in a third (granted the last two weren't quite as exciting as the other four). Though Biddy and Edward seemed to draw the line at letting her join the others on the annual Blue Peter expedition which saw John, Peter and Leslie chilling out in Tonga. The Blue Peter budget clearly didn't stretch that far. 

With Valerie's new role taking her away from the studio and the bread-and-butter girl-power features, recipes and makes she had pioneered since 1962, Lesley Judd was coming into her own and attempting to win over both the 1960s audience who had come to think that the Val, Pete and John line-up (just like in the picture on the front cover of the 10th annual) would simply last forever, but also the new seventies generation of junior glam rockers. 

Lesley's makes included a glamorous looking swing-hammock for Cindy doll and she did not miss an opportunity to boogie-on-down with the young people whenever the opportunity arose, whether it was keeping up with the fast and complicated movements of Korea's Little Angels or stomping bare foot with the Tongans. Even in her stint training to be a nurse at St Bartholomew's Hospital she remarked how the comradeship of the nurses' rest room reminded her of the big dancers' dressing-room when she was with the Young Generation (don't you just hate a name-dropper?)
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But Lesley was definitely bringing a new dynamic into Blue Peter as well as a spot of rhythm and not to be outdone, ITV rivals Magpie would be forced to respond by introducing Jenny Hanley the following year.

Phraw! Jenny Hanley!

Oh yes and a bloke who looked like Brian May.

The tenth Blue Peter was filled with all the usual favourites, Michael Bond's Paddington Bear was still confounding Mrs Bird the housekeeper, Bleep and Booster were still outsmarting unfriendly aliens and Tim's Bengo continued to annoy the local bulldog. Just like Eddystone Lighthouse (originally built by Henry Winstanley who was washed into the sea along with the first lighthouse and his workmen whilst supervising repairs according to Val) the good ship Blue Peter was a beacon of bright light in the otherwise dark and stormy ocean of the early 1970s.