Top 10 Blue Peter Moments That Broke the Cast

#10: Blue Screen

In this classic clip, John Noakes was explaining to the viewers at home how blue screens work. Blue and green screens were only just becoming widespread and regularly seen in television broadcasts when this was aired, all the way back in 1970, so a lot of people at home would have been totally unfamiliar with how they worked. Noakes slowly puts on a blue jumpsuit until he’s totally hidden by the background, and when Peter Purves arrives to do some televisual tricks, they both lose it laughing. It’s just the kind of thing you WOULD do if you were given a blue screen to mess around with for the first time.

#9: Rugby Shirts

In this sporty segment, they were talking about the at-the-time brand new England rugby kits, just when rugby shirts were starting to get tight. To demonstrate this new-fangled tightness, Matt Baker and Simon Thomas played a quick skirmish and then began to undress each other – yes, really. It wasn’t easy, with Simon dragging Matt around on the grass and mud while trying to free him from his own clothes. Liz Barker, meanwhile, could be heard laughing off camera, as could Matt when he finally got himself free. You can’t say they don’t have fun on “Blue Peter”.

#8: Lemurs

Liz, Zoe Salmon, and Konnie Huq had lemurs to grapple with – literally – in this segment, where they’re just trying to teach children about wildlife. One of the producers clearly had the bright idea to make all three of them hold a lemur, which is a recipe for disaster; giving them each a cat or dog in the studio would be bad enough, let alone a gang of lemurs. They couldn’t control their laughter, particularly when a fourth lemur started climbing up Zoe while another wrestled with Konnie over the food she had in her hand to lure it there.

#7: American Football

More sports, this time, Matt Baker was teaching viewers about American football, something very few British kids will have seen played on TV at the time. Matt’s also not used to it, struggling to get the kit on even more than he struggled to get that rugby kit OFF. He’s reduced to tears as he fights with all the padding, with seemingly nobody coming to help. Eventually, he gets dressed, only to struggle with the mouth guard. The crew are caught on camera collapsed on the floor with laughter over Baker’s antics.

#6: The Campfire

If you were wondering why they didn’t build a campfire in the Blue Peter Garden rather than their indoor television studio, the answer is because this edition is actually three years older than the Blue Peter Garden itself. With seemingly no choice, a legion of Girl Guides and Brownies came on to have a sing-song around a log fire. Of course, the fire soon spiralled out of control, but the presenters didn’t intervene until the song was done. However, you can see the nearby Brownies beginning to get concerned, and once the firemen come on their professionalism begins to fade. The danger is averted and they just about manage to wrap up the show.

#5: Lindsey’s Apron

The perilous nature of live TV means that sometimes you have to just get on with things instead of faffing around untangling an apron from your earrings, for example. That’s what happened to Lindsey Russell during this edition, when she was joined in the studio by guest presenter Emily Atack. Unable to get the apron loose, Lindsey had to leave Emily to take the reins while she tried and, again, failed to come undone. You can hear the crew laughing off-camera as Lindsey tries to wrap up the show and get herself free with Emily’s help.

#4: Roy Castle & Shep

Beloved entertainer Roy Castle was teaching children all about playing the spoons when he was joined by Shep as an unlikely dance partner. Castle didn’t break, he remained professional throughout even with Shep jumping all over him to get at the spoons, but there was chaos just off-camera. At one point you do see John Noakes burst back onto the set to wrangle Shep away, but sometimes it’s extremely difficult to keep the “Blue Peter” dogs under control – as we’ll see soon. Shep’s composure was certainly broken, and we got one of the all-time best animal moments from a show packed full of them.

#3: Afternoon Tea

Konnie and Zoe were in eighteenth-century costume in this segment about baking and afternoon tea, but then begin trying to make each other laugh by breaking character and referencing various contemporary chefs. Zoe can’t keep it together when Konnie brings up Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsey. But Zoe Salmon was maybe one of the worst presenters for breaking – which only makes her more beloved, of course. In other sketches they filmed she kept making HERSELF break with her line delivery, even as everyone around her remained mostly professional.

#2: Henry Destroys the Sofa

He’s quite possibly the worst behaved dog “Blue Peter” has ever had, almost impossible to control in the studio. Among his memorable scenes was this moment where Lindsey Russell was trying to interview Alex Scott for her insights into who was going to win the Premier League, but Henry – clearly not a football fan – was more interested in ripping up the sofa. Lindsey was obviously used to having to work around Henry, but Alex was understandably distracted by his usual mischief. Why did he have a bone to pick with the sofa that day specifically? Who knows, but he was eventually coaxed off set so that he could calm down.

#1: Lulu the Elephant

You knew it was coming. The most absurd thing to ever happen on “Blue Peter” was undoubtedly when Lulu the Indian elephant arrived on set, all to promote the show’s upcoming tour of Ceylon – which is Sri Lanka today. Elephants are even harder to keep under control than dogs, though, and especially if they’re babies, which Lulu was. She headbutted Valerie, stood on John Noakes, and then defecated all over the studio. They did lose composure in the end, though, fighting against Lulu and trying to play it off while she peed everywhere. Thank god it was the end of the programme.

Let us know what “Blue Peter” video we should do next in the comments.