The Edinburgh Fringe drag act 'unrecognisable' from days as Blue Peter star

Edinburgh Live

5 days ago

Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info
Former Blue Peter presenter, Stuart Miles, is barely recognisable two decades after leaving the popular children's show.
Stuart famously departed from Blue Peter, criticising the programme for being "out of touch" with its young BBC viewers.
His exit came just three months after his friend and co-host Richard Bacon was sacked due to cocaine use, with Stuart arguing that youngsters had lost interest in the arts and crafts and pet segments of the show.
"With the year 2000 nearly here we've got to make Blue Peter more relevant to modern-thinking children," he declared, "less twee, more hard-hitting. I know it's like a comfort blanket for a lot of people, a programme that will never shock or offend you, but we err on the side of caution."
At the age of 27, Stuart was, at the time, the longest-serving presenter on Blue Peter. His departure was a significant setback for the corporation, already dealing with the repercussions of Richard Bacon's drug scandal and his subsequent replacement on the show.
(Image: PA)
However, 26 years after Blue Peter, Stuart's career continues to thrive. He has since hosted a variety of major shows both behind and in front of the camera, reports the Daily Star.
He has guest-presented programmes such as This Morning and Holiday, and became a regular on Sky Vegas, an interactive TV gambling channel. He later hosted a breakfast show for Heart alongside his former co-star, Katy Hill, according to the Mirror.
In 2008, he presented a drag act at the Edinburgh Fringe dubbed The Adventures of Pink Peter, wherein he appeared as Vera Singleton, purported to be the sister of Valerie Singleton, one of Blue Peter's early hosts.
Looking back on his tenure with Blue Peter ten years on, Stuart shared that he regrets not being open about his sexuality during those years. Speaking to Metro, he revealed: "I only have one regret and that is I spent a lot of my time on the show feeling conflicted about my sexuality.
"I was frightened of the reaction I may get both in the press and from the parents of children who watched the show if I came out as a gay man."
Further elaborating, he stated: "This may seem daft to someone growing up gay in 2018 but it's easy to forget how, as little as 20 years ago, we were in a very different place."
Now at 56, Stuart is barely recognisable from his days on Blue Peter and has carved out a new niche for himself as a professional speaker with Great British Speakers.
Recent times have seen Blue Peter, which is now in its 66th year, undergo a considerable transformation, moving away from live episodes to pre-recorded content. Just last year, ex-hosts Anthea Turner and Janet Ellis led a campaign to save the programme when it faced the threat of being outsourced.