Blue Peter is successful as a program because it has remained true to the basic format of its original creator, John Hunter Blair, but has accommodated itself to the social changes that have taken place over two generations of television viewing. Editorial continuity was achieved through the singular influence of long- standing editor Biddy Baxter, who worked on Blue Peter between 1962 and 1988. Baxter was a liberal, inventive, but demanding leader of the program team, with a very shrewd sense of how the developing medium could best be harnessed for a young audience. In the best tradition of British public service broadcasting, Blue Peter aims to inform, educate, and stimulate its target viewers with entertaining content, and it remains one TV program that parents encourage their children to watch.

In the 1960s many of the program’s innovations were quickly imitated by rivals or adapted in later programs, such as ITV’s Magpie, which aired from 1968 to 1980. In 1965, for instance, Blue Peter introduced a puppy to the program and then asked its viewers to send in suggestions for its name. Petra became the nation’s first TV pet. Phenomenally popular, other pets, including cats and tortoises, were added to the program so that respect for animals and pet care tips could be passed on. The program actively encouraged the participation of its viewers by instituting a Blue Peter badge scheme (awarded for appearances on the program or special achievements), regular competitions, and an annual Christmas appeal to raise money for charity.

The studio items very often involve presenters trying new hobbies, cooking, making homemade toys from household rubbish (washing-up liquid bottles, wire coat hangers, and “sticky-backed plastic” being favored materials), or bringing talented youngsters into the studio to make their achievements more widely known. The overall ethos of the program encourages children by the example of the adult presenters to “have a go,” to try something new and be inquisitive about the world around them. Blue Peter presenters with strong personalities involved in unforgettable exploits have impressed themselves on the popular memory of television viewers. The phrases of their scripted cookery demonstrations (“here’s one I made earlier”) and idiosyncratic expressions (“get down, Shep!”) have become clichés and are parodied in pop songs. The show remains “live,” which means that unplanned incidents occur, much to the delight of the viewers. One such moment has gone down in British television lore. It involved a baby elephant (“Lulu”) departing from the script by defecating in the studio and running amok with its elderly zookeeper as the transmission came to a close.

Today’s presenters follow in a long line of enthusiastic personalities who have played no small part in shaping the views of generations of viewers. Critics of the program suggest that Blue Peter’s format, content, and presentation epitomize a “safe” agenda of middle-class attitudes, that it is patronizing toward young people, replicating a dominant ideology. The program’s own audience research would suggest that on the whole its target audience do not feel patronized. Given the centrality of Blue Peter to its scheduling area, it is not surprising that it tends to reflect the values and aspirations of the institution from which it originates. It is more accurate to see Blue Peter as a barometer of social values and cultural change in Britain over the extended period of its existence. Like all successful programs, Blue Peter has had to deal with change and be flexible to a degree, but this has been uneven. Lewis Bronze, who succeeded Baxter in 1988, introduced Diane-Louisi Jordan, a Black presenter, in 1990. The editorial team was quietly accepting and supportive of the unmarried status of Janet Ellis, who became pregnant, but shaken to find out that one of its ex-presenters, Michael Sundin, turned out to be gay. The significance of Blue Peter within British television history resides in its longevity, continued popularity, and institutional centrality. Within Children’s BBC, Blue Peter is still, in the words of Anna Home, head of Children’s Television, “very deliberately chosen as one of the foundation stones upon which the rest of the schedule can be built.”