Latest news with #TopofThePops
Irish Examiner
06-05-2025
- Irish Examiner
Maybe Big Tech isn't the problem — maybe it's humanity
First thing this morning, a WhatsApp from Meta invited me to ask their AI to 'imagine" me in a pink ski suit, or 'imagine' a professional portrait of me, and it will create the image. Minutes later, I opened my emails to Audible offering "virtual voice" AI-narrated audiobooks — allowing me to create an audiobook from my e-books using computer-generated voices. All this occurred before I'd had my morning coffee, and just a few weeks after Meta's alleged use of pirated books from thousands of authors sparked a protest by the Society of Authors outside Meta's headquarters in London. I have a pink ski jacket and don't need to imagine what I look like in pink ski gear. I have a professional headshot — one that looks like me — so I don't need one that makes me look younger, thinner, and only serves to make people snigger when I appear before them in real life. The virtual voice audiobook is tempting, but since I work closely with a community theatre group, I'd never ask an AI to read my books when I could gainfully employ an actor. I can't afford to pay an actor, so the audiobooks go un-made and the actor is unpaid either way. I'm fascinated by the leaps technology has made during my lifetime, especially in communications. I remember our first telephone, a landline back in the late 1970s, attached to the wall with a wire. The only 'wireless' in those days was a battery-operated radio that sat on the kitchen windowsill so mum could hear it in the garden The phone was for dad's small business and no use to us kids since nobody else we knew had a phone. Dad's younger brother worked in Saudi Arabia as an engineer. When he came home after a year — no nipping home for long weekends in those days — he'd tell us about the marvellous inventions he'd seen. 'There's this machine,' he said with awe, 'that answers your telephone, even when you aren't home, and records the caller's message.' We were aware of a tape recorder. Who of a certain age doesn't remember sitting poised to press the red record button along with the play button at the right moment during Top of The Pops? Disaster could strike at any time and ruin the tape mix if someone in the room spoke. But a tape recorder that worked by itself? What voodoo was this? Another time, my uncle came home with news of a machine that recorded your TV shows when you weren't home. When we got our own video recorder, we'd turn on the telly, set the channel, and leave the whole thing on before leaving. It was a while before we realised not only did we not need to have the TV switched on, but that we could even watch something else on a different channel — get this — at the same time We weren't a high-tech family, though we did have an old record player whose speakers could be stored on top so that it looked like a suitcase, complete with a handle to pick the whole lot up. Dad made great technological strides in the development of a remote control when he bought a TV with touch-sensitive buttons. Armed with an extendable car radio aerial (something you never see any more), he could dispense with asking us to switch the channel and wobbled a fully extended aerial to touch the buttons. There were six buttons but only three channels — four if you counted RTÉ, which only worked in good weather. Virtual clothing In stark contrast was Dad's older brother who had emigrated to America and worked in Pan Am as a computer programmer. This uncle often talked about programming on cards, arranged in and carried about in boxes. He was at the forefront of programming the machines that airports used for tickets, and later boarding passes, until our home computers took over both jobs. Similar machines now churn out the labels we stick on our suitcases. Perhaps in the future, we'll all be wearing virtual clothes as 'imagined' by Meta AI, making suitcases and these machines obsolete. Dad joined the digital age in the mid-80s and bought a Commodore 64. More high tech than cards in boxes, this miracle of technology uploaded programmes from a tape cassette. Venturing where nobody in our household had gone before, I played The Quest — a text adventure game that came with the machine — only to be stymied by a dwarf who could not be bribed with magical swords, keys, or lamps. Perhaps if I'd outwitted the dwarf and gained access to the rest of the labyrinth, I'd be addicted to gaming or become the next tech wizard. Instead, I resorted to learning some basic and wrote a short programme that displayed my name in green letters repeatedly on a black screen. That Commodore 64 triggered my curiosity about computers As someone with terrible handwriting, I embraced word processing despite the laments that we'd all forget how to write. After completing a degree in environmental biology in 1990, I did a master's degree in computer science and learned to programme properly — laying the foundations for my life as a researcher, a teacher, a traveller, a writer, and a human being in a digital age. As the dial-up era migrated to broadband internet, we navigated the non-event that was the millennium bug and faced the crisis of putting our beloved postal workers out of work by switching to email. Humanity entered the digital age whether they wanted to or not, and, more alarmingly, even if they weren't able to cope with it In a world where global news is served up — true or false — where people commune on social media, and where we chat with loved ones on the other side of the globe in real-time using video conferencing (no more long-distance delays as voices travel on undersea cables) many resent technology. Tech is the scapegoat for the ills of society. We blame photoshopping and social sites for an increase in body dysmorphia, but I remember fad diets in the pre-internet 1980s. And what about those impossibly thin models in the 'Twiggy' era of the 1960s? Or Victorian times, when corseted women fainted because they hadn't room to breathe? Did they see that on Instagram? There is nothing new about bullying, cyber or otherwise. Technology simply makes that easier, like it makes most things easier, from grandparents long-distance video-conferencing their family to brain implants so the paralysed can walk. Meta isn't the first to allegedly "steal' artists's work. What would you call what we did with our tape recorders during Top of the Pops? Perhaps there is truth in the aphorism written in 1849 by Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr: 'The more things change, the more they remain the same" — a sentiment echoed almost verbatim by Bon Jovi's 2010 song, The More Things Change. Are we too willing to hold technology responsible? Is cruelty and laziness hardwired into the human psyche? In the midst of our blame culture, perhaps we need to take a good hard look at ourselves. Maybe technology is not actually the problem — maybe humanity is. Byddi Lee is an author living in Armagh. Read More Most financial compliance professionals still unaware of EU rules governing AI, warns study
Daily Record
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Blue Peter presenters' lives now - from sex tape and cocaine scandal to 'porn' role
While Blue Peter has launched the careers of many TV presenters, some stars have struggled to shake off their association with the iconic children's show after leaving. The wholesome reputation of Blue Peter - the longest-running children's TV programme globally - has occasionally been marred by the off-screen behaviour of its presenters. From Richard Bacon's cocaine scandal in the 1990s to Scots entertainer John Leslie's leaked sex tape and sexual assault allegations; Konnie Huq's phone-in controversies and TV executives failing to shield their youngest host, Yvette Fielding, from convicted paedophile Rolf Harris, the show has sometimes made headlines for all the wrong reasons since it started in 1958. But what became of these hosts after they bid farewell to the show? Here, The Record delves into the varied fortunes of some of Blue Peter's most cherished presenters. Richard Bacon Arguably one of the most notorious former hosts, Richard has carved out a successful career as a US TV producer based in LA, where he generates new concepts for game shows. But, even though it is nearly three decades later, the now 47-year-oldis perhaps best remembered for his dismissal from Blue Peter following a cocaine incident at a London nightclub. In October 1998, at just 22 years old, Bacon became the first presenter on the children's show to have his contract terminated mid-run after confessing to using the Class A drug when a Sunday tabloid exposed the story. Despite this setback, Bacon managed to salvage his television career, going on to host The Big Breakfast and Top of The Pops, as well as securing an afternoon slot on BBC Radio 5 Live. In 2014, Bacon ventured to the US to anchor a daytime television programme and he has also opened up about his historical battles with addiction, particularly regarding alcohol. He admitted to The Guardian: "My wife would like me to do AA all the time, and I just don't, but I have said I will spend more time with our therapist examining my relationship to drink." During a visit back home in 2018, Bacon became ill and took himself to A&E at Lewisham hospital, where it was found that he was critically sick with pneumonia. Doctors placed him in an induced coma. Reflecting on the traumatic episode, Richard shared what doctors had told him post-recovery: "You were lying on the hospital trolley, you were crashing. You turned blue. We thought you were going to go into cardiac arrest and die." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Upon waking up nine days later from his brush with death, Bacon learned that healthcare professionals in the London hospital's ICU had performed a tracheotomy to save his life. Bacon is now living in LA with his spouse Rebecca McFarlane and their two kids Arthur, 14, and Ivy, 11. He joked: "I could bring peace to the Middle East and still, when I die, the top line of the obituary will be 'fired from Blue Peter '." Before Bacon's appearance, Scots presenter John Leslie co-hosted Blue Peter alongside the departed Caron Keating and Anthea Turner between 1989 and 1994. Leslie went out with The Mask of Zorro star Catherine Zeta-Jones, but became more famous for dating nurse and model Abi Titmuss after a private tape of her having sex with another woman - filmed by Leslie - was leaked But Leslie's successful career as a co-host of This Morning with Fern Britton came to an abrupt halt in 2002 when Swedish TV presenter Ulrika Johnson alleged in her autobiography that she had been raped by "an acquaintance" when she was 19 and Matthew Wright mentioned Leslie's name by mistake on live television. Despite being cleared of all charges, he told the Scottish Mail: "I lost everything overnight. I'd gone from earning over £300,000 to not a single penny coming in. And I spent about £500,000 on legal costs." Forced to sell his £3.5m mansion and return to his hometown of Edinburgh, Leslie managed to get by on royalties and DJing gigs. Having battled his way back from being a "depressed and suicidal" recluse, the 60-year-old is currently a property developer and resides with his girlfriend Kate Moore. But Leslie has continued to be plagued by historical assault allegations. A woman claimed he groped her breasts at a celebrity party in 2008, and again in 2017, he was accused of sliding his hand down the back of a woman's trousers while dancing. Leslie has consistently denied both allegations and was acquitted in both cases. Yvette Fielding Convicted paedophile Rolf Harris was a frequent guest on numerous BBC shows. But Yvette Fielding, who joined as a co-presenter alongside Mark Curry and Caron Keating at the age of 18 in 1987, disclosed that she was molested by the disgraced entertainer after being left alone with him in a TV studio. Last year, she criticised the BBC for not fulfilling its duty of care towards her. Speaking to The Sun, she said: "It was bizarre to think Rolf Harris was squeezing and patting my bottom and I am standing there, thinking, 'I don't know what to do.' Other people in the industry must have known what he was like and (they) left me alone in the studio with him. That shouldn't have happened. I think a lot of them did know'." Now aged 56, Fielding is most recognised for hosting and co-creating the paranormal TV show Most Haunted with her cameraman and producer husband Karl Beattie. Konnie Huq Konnie Huq, who co- presented with Richard Bacon and held the record as the longest-serving female presenter on the show from 1997 to 2008, had to apologise live on air for a phone-in scandal that resulted in the BBC being fined an unprecedented £50,000 by Ofcom. The corporation confessed that the results of a Blue Peter competition to identify the celebrity owner of a pair of shoes were fabricated when the show allowed a child visiting the studio to pose as a caller due to technical issues preventing real calls from reaching the studio. Konnie was also implicated in the show's cat-naming scandal. She later said: "I was horrified. I couldn't believe it was allowed to happen. It was partly because of the scam I made the decision to leave." Married to the mastermind behind Black Mirror, Charlie Brooker, the 49 year old London-based mother of two has transitioned from her TV presenting and celebrity game show panelist days to penning books and scripts, carving out a niche as a successful children's author. Pet scandals Blue Peter without its controversies, particularly when it came to their furry co-stars. The first major incident occurred in 1962 when it was later revealed that Petra, the show's first pet, was hastily replaced by a lookalike after the original dog tragically died of distemper just two days before her scheduled debut. Biddy Baxter, the long-serving Blue Peter editor who stepped down in 1988, disclosed in her memoir, 'The Woman Who Made Blue Peter', "It was unthinkable to traumatise our youngest viewers, so we had to trawl London for the dead pup's lookalike." Another memorable moment involved a dispute over Shep, the programme's beloved border collie, following the departure of legendary presenter John Noakes after a 12-year stint during which he became synonymous with the show's golden era alongside Valerie Singleton and Peter Purves. Shep, who had lived with Noakes since his first appearance on screen in 1971, became the centre of a heated argument when Noakes left. He said at the time: "I thought Shep was mine – they told me I could keep him, but they went back on their word." Now aged 91, Biddy Baxter clarified in her book that Noakes did indeed take Shep with him until 1982, when he and his wife Vicky embarked on a global sailing adventure, after which Shep was taken in by the show's pet carer Edith Menezes. Noakes passed away in 2017. Peter Duncan In 1980, the audacious Noakes was succeeded by another man of action, actor Peter Duncan, who had previously appeared in a risqué film titled The Lifetaker. Despite the ensuing controversy, Duncan, who co- hosted alongside Simon Groom, Sarah Greene and Janet Ellis, wasn't dismissed. Reflecting on the incident, he said:"They called me a soft porn star and it was nonsense. Yes, there was a little soft-focus nudity, but it wasn't salacious." Duncan even made light of the situation in 2014 when he tweeted: "For your pleasure on my 60th trailer from my 1973 'porn' film that caused trauma and headlines." In the early 2000s, Duncan and his wife Annie produced a series of family holiday documentaries featuring their four children. Now aged 71, the former chief scout remains active every Christmas, staging his Jack and the Beanstalk panto production. Stars lost too soon When Duncan departed from the show for the first time in 1984, he was replaced by Michael Sundin, whose tenure was marred by controversy following rumours about his sexuality, leading to his dismissal. Tragically, Michael passed away at the age of 28 from an Aids-related illness in 1989, although it was reported as "liver cancer" at the time. The show also mourned the loss of another presenter taken too soon, Gloria Hunniford's daughter Caron Keating, who succumbed to breast cancer in April 2004 after a seven-year battle. She was only 41 and left behind two young sons. Peter Purves Blue Peter's longest-serving male presenter, Peter Purves, is still alive today at the age of 86. Working on Blue Peter between 1967 and 1978, Purves once took the headlines for a fleeting romantic encounter with fellow presenter Valerie Singleton during his marriage. He later said: "It was only one night. We remained great friends." Purves disclosed how his countless trips to sunny shores while on Blue Peter led to skin cancer. Speaking with The Mail on Sunday, he said: "I travelled to 27 countries with Blue Peter in the 1960s and early 70s." Successfully defying the so-called Blue Peter curse, Purves now enjoys a tranquil life tucked away in Suffolk with his wife Kathryn Evans and their cherished dogs. Singleton, who is 88, chose not to marry or have children. She pursued a radio career post-Blue Peter before calling it a day and settling down in Somerset.
Edinburgh Live
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Live
Where are Blue Peter stars now from 'phone scandal' to Edinburgh controversy
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 Here's a blunder from the past! The wholesome reputation of Blue Peter, the world's longest-running children's TV programme, has occasionally been marred by the behaviour of its presenters. From Richard Bacon's cocaine scandal in the '90s to Scottish entertainer John Leslie's leaked sex tape and sexual assault allegations; Konnie Huq's phone-in controversies and the failure of TV bosses to shield their youngest ever host Yvette Fielding from notorious paedophile Rolf Harris, the show has sometimes made headlines for all the wrong reasons since its 1958 debut. But what became of the hosts after they bid farewell to the show? Here, we delve into the varied fortunes of some of Blue Peter's most beloved presenters..., reports the Mirror. Richard Bacon. One of the show's most notorious former presenters, Richard is now a successful US TV producer based in LA, where he comes up with new concepts for game shows. However, nearly three decades on, Bacon, now 47, remains best known for his dismissal from Blue Peter for using cocaine in a London nightclub. Fired in October 1998, the then 22 year old became the first presenter on the children's show to have his contract terminated mid-run when he confessed to taking the Class A drug following a Sunday tabloid's exposé. Despite the scandal, Bacon's television career survived, and he went on to host The Big Breakfast and Top of The Pops, as well as having an afternoon slot on BBC Radio 5 Live. In 2014, Bacon relocated to the United States to host a daytime TV show and shared about his struggles with addiction, particularly with alcohol, during his past. He confided in The Guardian, stating, "My wife would like me to do AA all the time, and I just don't, but I have said I will spend more time with our therapist examining my relationship to drink." Four years later, Bacon's health took a drastic turn when he became severely unwell during a visit to the UK. He was rushed to Lewisham Hospital's A&E, where he was diagnosed with pneumonia and put into an induced coma. Richard later recounted that doctors told him, "You were lying on the hospital trolley, you were crashing. You turned blue. We thought you were going to go into cardiac arrest and die." Upon regaining consciousness nine days later, Bacon discovered that the London hospital's ICU team had performed a life-saving tracheotomy. Currently residing in Los Angeles with his wife, Rebecca McFarlane, and their two children, Arthur (14) and Ivy (11), Bacon quipped that despite his accomplishments, his obituary would inevitably highlight his dismissal from Blue Peter. John Leslie. (Image: Press Association) Preceding Bacon's tenure on Blue Peter, Scottish presenter John Leslie co-hosted the show from 1989 to 1994 alongside the late Caron Keating and Anthea Turner. Leslie was previously in a high-profile relationship with Hollywood actress Catherine Zeta-Jones but garnered more attention for his involvement with nurse and model Abi Titmuss, particularly when an explicit video he filmed of her was leaked. However, Leslie's successful career co-hosting This Morning with Fern Britton took a nosedive in 2002 when Swedish TV presenter Ulrika Johnson disclosed in her autobiography that she had been raped at 19 by "an acquaintance", and his name was accidentally and incorrectly said by Matthew Wright on live television. Despite being acquitted of all charges, he told the Scottish Mail, "I lost everything overnight. I'd gone from earning over £300,000 to not a single penny coming in. And I spent about £500,000 on legal to sell his £3.5m mansion and move back to his native Edinburgh, Leslie survived on royalties and DJing. Having fought his way back from being". Forced to sell his £3.5m mansion and return to his hometown of Edinburgh, Leslie managed to get by on royalties and DJing gigs. Having battled his way back from being a "depressed and suicidal" recluse, Leslie, now 60, is currently a property developer and resides with his girlfriend Kate Moore. However, Leslie has continued to be plagued by past assault allegations, including a woman claiming he groped her breasts at a celebrity party in 2008 and another accusation in 2017 where he was alleged to have put his hand down the back of a woman's trousers while dancing. Leslie has consistently vehemently denied both allegations and was acquitted in both cases. Yvette Fielding. Notorious paedophile Rolf Harris was a frequent guest on many BBC shows, but Yvette Fielding, who joined as a co-presenter alongside Mark Curry and Caron Keating at the age of 18 in 1987, disclosed that she was molested by the disgraced entertainer after being left alone with him in a TV studio. Last year, Fielding levelled accusations against the BBC, claiming it had failed in its duty of care towards her. In an interview with The Sun, she recounted a disturbing encounter with Rolf Harris, stating, "It was bizarre to think Rolf Harris was squeezing and patting my bottom and I am standing there, thinking, 'I don't know what to do.' Other people in the industry must have known what he was like and (they) left me alone in the studio with him. That shouldn't have happened. I think a lot of them did know'." Now 56, Fielding is renowned for co-creating and hosting the paranormal TV show Most Haunted alongside her husband, cameraman and producer Karl Beattie. Konnie Huq (Image: BBC) Konnie Huq, who co-presented with Richard Bacon and was the show's longest-serving female presenter from 1997 to 2008, was compelled to issue an on-air apology for a phone-in scandal that resulted in the BBC being fined a record £50,000 by Ofcom. The controversy centred on a Blue Peter competition to identify the celebrity owner of a pair of shoes, where the results were fabricated after technical issues prevented genuine calls from reaching the studio. Instead, a child visiting the studio was allowed to pose as a caller. Huq was also embroiled in the show's cat-naming controversy, later admitting, "I was horrified. I couldn't believe it was allowed to happen. It was partly because of the scam I made the decision to leave." At 49, the London-based mother of two and wife of Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker has transitioned from television presenting and appearing as a celebrity panelist on game shows to penning books and scripts. She's now garnered success as an author writing for children. Pet Scandals. Blue Peter wasn't adverse to pulling the wool over their young audience's eyes, experiencing its first animal-related scandal in 1962. It was later revealed that the initial pet Petra was not the original dog but an urgent stand-in after the first pooch sadly passed away from distemper just two days before her scheduled debut. Biddy Baxter, who presided over Blue Peter as editor until her retirement in 1988, confessed in her autobiography, "Married to Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker, the 49-year-old mum-of-two in London swapped TV presenting and celebrity game show panellist roles for writing books and scripts, and is now a successful children's scandalsIt wasn't unknown for the show to pull the wool over their young viewers' eyes, and had its first scandal involving an animal in 1962. It came out many years later that the first pet Petra was actually an emergency replacement for the original dog who had died of distemper two days before she first appeared on the Blue Peter editor Biddy Baxter, who retired in 1988, revealed in her book, The Woman Who Made Blue Peter, " that substituting the canine without alarming viewers was necessary: "It was unthinkable to traumatise our youngest viewers, so we had to trawl London for the dead pup's lookalike." The programme also witnessed a tug-of-war over Blue Peter's beloved collie Shep when iconic presenter John Noakes, part of the show during its halcyon days alongside Valerie Singleton and Peter Purves, decided to leave after a 12-year tenure. Noakes, who had become inseparable from the energetic Shep since the dog's television debut in 1971, expressed his frustration at the time, saying, "I thought Shep was mine – they told me I could keep him, but they went back on their word." In her memoirs, Leicester-native Biddy Baxter, presently aged 91, detailed that Noakes did indeed take Shep with him until his global sailing expedition in 1982 with his spouse Vicky, subsequent to which the show's pet carer Edith Menezes took in the dog. Sadly, Noakes passed away in 2017. Peter Duncan. In 1980, the daring Noakes was succeeded by another action-oriented figure, actor Peter Duncan, who had previously appeared nude in a risqué film titled The Lifetaker. Despite the ensuing controversy, Duncan, who co-hosted with Simon Groom, Sarah Greene and Janet Ellis, wasn't dismissed. Reflecting on the incident, he says, "They labelled me a soft porn star and it was nonsense. Yes, there was a bit of soft-focus nudity, but it wasn't salacious." Duncan even made light of the situation in 2014 when he tweeted, "For your pleasure on my 60th trailer from my 1973 'porn' film that caused trauma and headlines." In the early 2000s, Duncan and his wife Annie produced a series of family holiday documentaries featuring their four children. Now aged 71, the former chief scout Duncan remains active every Christmas for panto season with his Jack and the Beanstalk production. Stars lost too soon. When Duncan departed from the show in 1984, he was replaced by Michael Sundin, whose tenure was marred by controversy when rumours about his homosexuality led to his dismissal. Tragically, Michael passed away at the age of 28 from an Aids-related illness in 1989, although it was reported as "liver cancer" at the time. The show also mourned the loss of another presenter taken too soon, Gloria Hunniford's daughter Caron Keating, who succumbed to breast cancer in April 2004 after a seven-year battle. She was only 41 and left behind two young sons. Peter Purves. Blue Peter legend and its longest-serving male presenter, Peter Purves, is still going strong at the impressive age of 86. Having been a part of the iconic show from 1967 to 1978, he made headlines for a fleeting romantic encounter with fellow presenter Valerie Singleton during his marriage. Candid about the affair, Purves later revealed: "It was only one night. We remained great friends." Additionally, the seasoned broadcaster faced a health scare with skin cancer, which he attributes to his global adventures during filming. He recounted to The Mail on Sunday: "I travelled to 27 countries with Blue Peter in the 1960s and early 70s." Both having gracefully sidestepped the so-called Blue Peter curse, Purves now enjoys a tranquil life in rural Suffolk with his wife Kathryn Evans and their beloved dogs. Valerie Singleton, on the other hand, now 88, has chosen a life without marriage or children. Following a fruitful stint in radio post-Blue Peter, she now resides in serene retirement in Somerset.
Daily Mirror
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Blue Peter hosts now from sex tape and cocaine sting to 'porn' role
The dark past of some of the legendary BBC childrens' TV show hasn't stopped some them going on to have surprisingly successful careers. We look at the secrets and scandals of the show's hosts and reveal where they are now Here's a boo-boo I made earlier! The wholesome image of the world 's longest-running children's TV programme, Blue Peter, has often been tarnished by the antics of its presenters. From the cocaine shame of '90s presenter Richard Bacon to Scottish entertainer's John Leslie 's leaked sex tape and sexual assault allegations; Konnie Huq 's phone-in scandals and TV bosses' failure to protect their youngest ever host Yvette Fielding from depraved paedophile Rolf Harris, since its 1958 launch the show has sometimes made headlines for all the wrong reasons. But what happened to the hosts after they left the show for pastures new? Here, The Mirror takes a look at the mixed fortunes of Blue Peter's most loved presenters... Richard Bacon One of the show's most infamous former presenters, Richard is now a successful US TV producer in LA where he develops new ideas for game shows. But nearly three decades later, Bacon, now 47, is still best known for being fired from Blue Peter for taking cocaine in a London nightclub. Sacked in October 1998, the 22-year-old became the first presenter on the children's show to have his contract terminated mid-run when he admitted taking the Class A drug after a Sunday tabloid broke the story. However Bacon's telly career did survive the scandal and he went on to present The Big Breakfast and Top of The Pops and had an afternoon slot on BBC Radio 5 Live. In 2014, Bacon moved across the pond to present a daytime TV show, and also admitted to addictive behaviours in the past, especially around alcohol. He told The Guardian, "My wife would like me to do AA all the time, and I just don't, but I have said I will spend more time with our therapist examining my relationship to drink." On a trip back to the UK in 2018, Bacon fell sick and took himself to A&E at Lewisham hospital, where doctors discovered he was so desperately unwell with pneumonia, they had to put him in an induced coma. Later Richard says doctors told him, "You were lying on the hospital trolley, you were crashing. You turned blue. We thought you were going to go into cardiac arrest and die." Waking up nine days later after his near-death experience, Bacon discovered the London hospital ICU team had given him a tracheotomy to save his life. Now living in LA with his wife Rebecca McFarlane and their two children Arthur, 14, and Ivy, 11, Bacon joked, 'I could bring peace to the Middle East and still, when I die, the top line of the obituary will be 'fired from Blue Peter'.' John Leslie Prior to Bacon's stint on the show, Scottish presenter John Leslie hosted Blue Peter with the late Caron Keating and Anthea Turner from 1989 to 1994. Leslie dated Hollywood actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, but he became more even more famous for his relationship with nurse and model Abi Titmuss when a video Leslie filmed of her having sex with another woman was leaked. But Leslie's high-flying career co-hosting This Morning with Fern Britton came crashing down in 2002 when Swedish TV presenter Ulrika Johnson wrote in her autobiography that 'an acquaintance' had raped her at 19, and his name was mentioned by mistake by Matthew Wright on live TV. Later cleared of all charges, he told the Scottish Mail, 'I lost everything overnight. I'd gone from earning over £300,000 to not a single penny coming in. And I spent about £500,000 on legal costs. Forced to sell his £3.5m mansion and move back to his native Edinburgh, Leslie survived on royalties and DJing. Having fought his way back from being a 'depressed and suicidal' recluse, Leslie, now 60, is now a property developer and lives with his girlfriend Kate Moore. However Leslie has still been haunted by historic assault allegations when a woman claimed he groped her breasts at a celebrity party in 2008 and again in 2017, when he was accused of putting his hand down the back of a woman's trousers while dancing. Leslie has always strenuously denied both allegations and was found not guilty in both cases. Yvette Fielding Predatory paedophile Rolf Harris was a regular on many BBC programmes, but teenage Yvette Fielding, who co- presented with Mark Curry and Caron Keating when she joined aged 18 in 1987, revealed that she was molested by the disgraced entertainer after she was left alone in a TV studio with him. Last year she accused the BBC of failing in its duty of care to look after her, telling The Sun newspaper, 'It was bizarre to think Rolf Harris was squeezing and patting my bottom and I am standing there, thinking, 'I don't know what to do.' Other people in the industry must have known what he was like and (they) left me alone in the studio with him. That shouldn't have happened. I think a lot of them did know'.' Now 56, Fielding is best known for going on to host and co-create the paranormal TV show Most Haunted alongside her cameraman and producer husband Karl Beattie. Konnie Huq Richard Bacon's co-presenter Konnie Huq, who was the show's longest female presenter from 1997 to 2008, was forced to apologise on air for a phone-in scandal which saw the BBC fined an unprecedented £50,000 by Ofcom. Bosses admitted the results of a Blue Peter competition to identify the celebrity owner of a pair of shoes were faked when the show allowed a child visiting the studio to pose as a caller when technical problems stopped real calls getting through to the studio. Later Konnie was also involved in the show's cat-naming fix. She admitted later, 'I was horrified. I couldn't believe it was allowed to happen. It was partly because of the scam I made the decision to leave.' Married to Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker, the 49-year-old mum-of-two in London swapped TV presenting and celebrity game show panellist roles for writing books and scripts, and is now a successful children's author. Pet scandals It wasn't unknown for the show to pull the wool over their young viewers' eyes, and had its first scandal involving an animal in 1962. It came out many years later that the first pet Petra was actually an emergency replacement for the original dog who had died of distemper two days before she first appeared on the show. Veteran Blue Peter editor Biddy Baxter, who retired in 1988, revealed in her book, The Woman Who Made Blue Peter, 'It was unthinkable to traumatise our youngest viewers, so we had to trawl London for the dead pup's lookalike.' There was also a custody battle for Blue Peter's favourite dog Shep when legendary presenter John Noakes left after 12 years, having co-presented during the show's golden era with Valerie Singleton and Peter Purves. The lively border collie, who had lived with John since his TV debut in 1971, and when Noakes left, he said angrily at the time, 'I thought Shep was mine – they told me I could keep him, but they went back on their word.' Leicester-born Biddy Baxter, now 91, explained in her book that Noakes did keep Shep until he and his wife Vicky went sailing around the world in 1982, before he was adopted by show pet carer Edith Menezes. Noakes later died in 2017. Peter Duncan In 1980, daredevil Noakes was replaced by another action man, actor Peter Duncan, who it was revealed appeared nude in a racy film called The Lifetaker. Despite the furore, Duncan, who co-presented with Simon Groom, Sarah Greene and Janet Ellis, wasn't sacked. He says now, 'They called me a soft porn star and it was nonsense. Yes, there was a little soft-focus nudity, but it wasn't salacious.' Duncan even made a joke about it in 2014 when he tweeted, 'For your pleasure on my 60th trailer from my 1973 'porn' film that caused trauma and headlines.' In the early Noughties, Duncan and his wife Annie made a series of family holiday documentaries with their four children. Now 71, former chief scout Duncan is still busy every Christmas for panto season his Jack and the Beanstalk production. Stars lost too soon When Duncan left his first stint on the show in 1984, he was replaced by Michael Sundin, who was very controversially sacked when rumours of his homosexuality circulated in the press. Sadly Michael died aged 28 from an Aids-related illness in 1989, although it was reported as 'liver cancer' at the time. The show also lost another one of its presenters far too young, Gloria Hunniford's daughter Caron Keating, who died after being treated for breast cancer for seven years in April 2004, aged 41, leaving behind two young sons. Peter Purves However, Blue Peter's longest serving male presenter Peter Purves, is still going strong today at 86. Purves joined the show in 1967 until 1978, and famously had a brief fling with co-presenter Valerie Singleton while he was married. The veteran presenter later admitted, 'It was only one night. We remained great friends.' The presenter also developed skin cancer from all his exotic TV destinations, telling The Mail on Sunday: "I travelled to 27 countries with Blue Peter in the 1960s and early 70s.' Having both defied the curse of Blue Peter, Purves is now living peacefully in rural Suffolk with his wife Kathryn Evans and their dogs, while Valerie, now 88, has never married nor had children, and after a career in radio after the show, has retired to Somerset.
BBC News
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Colin Berry: Ex-Radio 2 newsreader and presenter dies at 79
Former BBC Radio 2 newsreader and presenter Colin Berry has died at the age of was a fixture on Radio 2 from the early 1970s to the early 90s, hosting the early slot and late-night shows including Night Ride and You and the Night and the stood in for daytime presenters including Sir Terry Wogan, and was a host on BBC Three Counties Radio from 2004 to was also familiar to Eurovision viewers, reading out the UK jury's results between 1978 and 2002. Paying tribute, Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, said: "All of us at Radio 2 were saddened to hear of the passing of Colin Berry, who was part of our on air family for many years. We send our condolences to his family and friends."Berry started his career on pirate station Radio Caroline in 1965, before moving to BBC Radio Medway (now Kent), HTV in Cardiff and Radio 1 before settling at Radio was the station's first overnight host when it started 24-hour broadcasts in 1979, with a programme that included a what's on guide and a cookery slot "for those of our listeners who get home late and feel like a snack".He also made appearances on TV shows including Top of The Pops, Blankety Blank and Going Live.
