I pray that my beloved Blue Peter gets a reprieve. Our children need it more than ever in today's confusing and troubled world, pleads former presenter VALERIE SINGLETON as the BBC show is forced off live TV By VALERIE SINGLETON FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY Published: 23:49 GMT, 29 March 2025 | Updated: 23:57 GMT, 29 March 2025 e-mail 1 View comments Handing over my change, the shop assistant on the other side of the till smiled and said: 'Thank you for my childhood.' The moment caught me, but it's not the first time it's happened, which is remarkable given it is well over half a century since I was a Blue Peter presenter.
I'm 87, and Britons who were children in the Sixties and early Seventies (when I was on the show) are themselves of bus-pass age – making it all the more heart-warming they still have such fond memories of me and the rest. Sadly, I fear today's generation of Blue Peter presenters are unlikely to have the same experience in a few decades. A damning combination of streaming, changing tastes and social mores have meant Blue Peter has long since ceased to be regular viewing for the majority of UK youngsters .
As The Mail on Sunday revealed last week, the final death knell has now been sounded by one of its long-serving directors, Martin Williams-Neale, who confirmed that it would no longer be a live show, but pre-recorded. While its main home will remain CBBC, plans have previously been announced for the children's channel to become an online-only enterprise. Yet, .
