Latest news with #BiddyBaxter
Scotsman
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
How Biddy Baxter built a national institution, the BBC's much-loved Blue Peter
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Biddy Baxter had a real effect on the lives of countless people, but few would be able to put a face to her name. Baxter, who has died at the age of 92, edited the BBC's Blue Peter – at 67 years and counting, the world's longest-running children's television show – from 1965 to 1988, helping to turn the programme into essential viewing for children. She introduced the Blue Peter badge, encouraged children to send in programme ideas, and began national charitable appeals. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Biddy Baxter, editor of BBC show Blue Peter, with a group of schoolchildren and the show's cat Jason in 1966 (Picture: Len Trievnor/Express/Hulton Archive) | Getty Images Former presenter Peter Duncan described her as 'a true force of nature... a wonderful, inspiring person'. And while another ex-presenter, Yvette Fielding, previously accused Baxter of bullying, she added she was 'so grateful to Biddy. She gave me balls of steel'.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tributes pour in for Blue Peter legend and 'pioneering' TV producer
Biddy Baxter, the pioneering television producer who transformed Blue Peter into a national institution, has died aged 92, the BBC said. Born Joan Maureen Baxter in Leicester to Bryan Reginald Baxter and Dorothy Vera (nee Briers), she studied at St Mary's College, Durham University, where she first encountered recruitment flyers for the BBC. She joined the public broadcaster as a radio studio manager in 1955, and was promoted to producing Schools Junior English programmes and Listen With Mother, before making the transition to television. Baxter took over as editor of Blue Peter in 1965, several years after the programme's launch. She introduced viewer engagement segments including the national appeals and the famous Blue Peter badge, encouraging children to send letters, pictures and programme ideas. READ MORE: Edinburgh tourist goes viral with reaction to hearing bagpipes for first time READ MORE: Channel 4 Escape to the Chateau Strawbridges' rare update has fans emotional Baxter served as editor for more than two decades, winning two Bafta awards and receiving 12 nominations. Upon her departure from the show in 1988, she was awarded the programme's highest honour, a gold Blue Peter Badge. Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox "I didn't want to do anything other than Blue Peter," she told The Guardian in 2013. "I certainly never wanted to be an administrator or in charge of anything. It was an absolute dream and I never wanted to do anything else. Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages "It was a terrific time to be in television." She continued to act as a consultant to BBC directors-general John Birt and Sir Michael Checkland after her departure, and received the special award at the Bafta Children's Awards in 2013.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
My mum worked with Biddy Baxter. Both women were formidable – and absolutely terrifying
David Attenborough's description of Biddy Baxter, when he presented her in 2013 with a special Bafta for her 25 years' work on Blue Peter, was easily the best: dedicated, passionate and pioneering. But since the producer has died, at 92, and other reminiscences have poured in, you can't help but notice how many of them are synonyms for 'scary'. 'Producer' and 'creator' describe Baxter's work on Blue Peter, but don't convey how totally and utterly everything was her idea: from Tony Hart to the Blue Peter badges, from the golden retrievers to the Blue Peter garden, from 'here's one we made earlier' to the charity appeals, she conjured it all, to make a cultural artefact that left no child untouched. If you ever received a Blue Peter badge, it's odds on you still have it – and, if it's a gold one, that you still talk about it. My mum worked on Blue Peter as a set designer, on and off, over the same period and was always using words such as 'formidable', 'uncompromising' and 'takes no prisoners' about Baxter. It made no sense to me as a kid, because my mum was terrifying at work. She revelled in how scary she was, how she could make fully grown carpenters quake with one eyebrow. How could there be two of them? Surely that would cause some kind of chemical reaction? Also, my mum didn't prize the 'feminine' traits of amiability and compliance, so why did she sound faintly critical when they were void in other women? They were different brands of scary: Baxter was stilettos-on-the-studio-floor scary; my mum was dungarees-and-cigs scary. Baxter kept presenters in their place by insisting the real stars were the Blue Peter pets, while the entire design department (if memory serves) acted like neither pets nor people held any meaning at all, compared with a scale model of an aquarium made of balsa wood and sticky-back plastic. But still, you would have expected maybe a trace of solidarity, a collective 'in fact, neither of us is frightening in any true sense, we're just professionals with strong views who happen to be women'. I didn't see any of that, which speaks to Attenborough's point about pioneers: if you're ever wearing stilettos at work and telling people what to do without striking terror into anyone, it's because Baxter and her ilk, from the 60s through the 80s, were the ones they made earlier. Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Spectator
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Spectator
Biddy Baxter's Blue Peter and the end of a common culture
I haven't written a poem in memory of Biddy Baxter, stern matriarch of Blue Peter, who died yesterday but here is one I made earlier. First, a brief thought on the programme that she edited from 1962-1988. On one level, it was just a magazine show for children – a bit of chat, a few guests, a craft section (famous for its use of 'sticky-back plastic', as they weren't allowed to say Sellotape, and the phrase 'here's one I made earlier'). But on another level it was our virtual community, our virtual school, our first taste of national culture. It is hard to express this thought, because it sounds like nostalgia for something fairly mundane, but the BBC used to create common culture in Britain. Or so it seemed. And in a way, children were more receptive to this than adults. For we believed in what we were shown. Our parents understood that British culture had all sorts of divisions that the BBC papered over, and that the entertainment industry was all a bit dubious to some extent. We didn't. We trusted it all. And so the BBC seemed like a big official family, full of friendly interesting uncles and aunts. Blue Peter embodied this: it spoke to us in family tones – encouraging, consoling, warning, even chiding. Its presenters resembled the nice but slightly stern adults we encountered at school or elsewhere. There was unashamed idealism, moralism. This morally confident tone disappeared from children's television in the 1990s: Blue Peter dropped the urge to educate and enrich, which now seemed bossy, and became dominated by a pop-music ethos, a chasing of celebrity guests. In Baxter's day, pop music was only sparingly aired. She decided against having Paul McCartney on the show. What a huge and victorious decision. So here is my little poem. It concerns an incident that will be very familiar, in a semi-ironic traumatic way, to people of my generation. In 1983 the Blue Peter Garden, tended by a nice old codger called Percy Thrower, was vandalised. I wrote it nine years later, at university, when I was rather weighed down by big thoughts about the demise of common culture and shared meaning. It was published in a slightly pretentious campus literary magazine – which is so far the only publisher of my poetry.
Time of India
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
'Blue Peter' icon Biddy Baxter passes away at 92
Biddy Baxter, iconic Blue Peter editor, passed away at 92. She shaped the show for over 25 years, introducing the Blue Peter badge and charity drives. Praised as a trailblazer in children's TV, she earned an MBE, BAFTA Children's Special Award, and the Royal Television Society's Baird Medal. Biddy Baxter, the iconic figure behind Blue Peter, has passed away at 92. According to Variety, which referenced BBC sources, she contributed to the beloved children's show for over 25 years. Biddy gained fame for her impactful charity campaigns, impressive gymnastics segments, and engaging international travel features. Transforming 'Blue Peter' as editor From 1965 to 1988, Baxter led 'Blue Peter' as its editor, shaping the show into a beloved program known for hands-on projects, active viewer involvement, and an adventurous spirit. Her leadership saw the introduction of the iconic Blue Peter badge and the launch of charity drives that empowered young audiences to make a meaningful impact, according to Variety. Creative visionary behind the scenes She became a part of "Blue Peter" in 1962 and quickly established herself as the creative driving force behind the show. Setting high editorial standards, she designed challenges that motivated both presenters and viewers to reach new heights. After news of her passing spread, many took to social media to express their heartfelt tributes. Praise from colleagues and presenters Peter Purves, a former presenter, hailed her as "the most remarkable television producer of her generation," emphasizing her "total commitment to the programme and its audience." Meanwhile, Konnie Huq, who joined the show in the late 1990s, called Baxter "a trailblazer who made a huge impact on children's TV" and acknowledged that she "created something timeless that touched millions of lives." Honors and awards recognizing excellence In recognition of her remarkable contributions to television, she was appointed MBE in 1981. Later, in 2013, she earned the BAFTA Children's Special Award. Additionally, the Royal Television Society honored her with the prestigious Baird Medal, celebrating her outstanding achievements in the industry.
