Today is the day after one of those sad moments that come and go on a very long running children's tv show I've watched since I was an infant with my older brother more or less continuously over five decades in 405 line black and white to high definition colour.
Every presenter inevitably leaves, some longer than others, some you feel more of a connection with to than others but it's just the same.
Leaving never feels nice however you wrap it up.
I don't know why but actually I feel I really get BP Presenter No. Thirty-six, Lindsey Russell in the way I felt about Lesley Judd, Simon Groom, Yvette Fielding, Konnie Haq, and Anthea Turner who of course was a local as much that for other reasons I still miss the late John Noakes.
In that time I saw her grow aided by the many challenges she took as that presenter on the show apart from what you learn by just doing it becoming confident, assured and having a natural bond with children to whom this show is aimed for.
In May 2018 she undertook a challenge flying with the RAF on a training exercise with the Red Arrows, taking control for herself and this is the one thing she says was her favourite, learning a lot about herself from it.
She manages to show maturity while keeping a sense of the innocent, fun and caring side of a younger person, sometimes coming over rather like Val Singleton did in my youngest days to the then new presenters.
She was a leading figure in October 2018's special 60th Birthday special that saw as many of previous presenters as possible get together to mark the shows birthday .
Yesterday was a bit sad, I feel tearful writing this as with the ideas of the viewers she left with a Big Bang on July 15ths show, but it and the shows presenters endure in a different age for meeting the needs of viewers six plus to fifteen who have a big say in what is featured who for all the technology of this changed world are still the same as I was back then.
There wasn't just a wall of post that included letters drawings, paintings and crafts connected to here but a great big wall too.
She had some challenges to do such as fastest getting changed into Cricket Whites which she set a new record of just over 38 seconds adjudicated by Guinness the records people and identifying by touch three objects in boxes.
She was presented with a Blue Peter Gold Badge by Richie Driss who was the presenter who joined just after her and to which I think there's an entry on here.
Tributes were paid by Radzi, Katy Hill and Konnie Huq amongst others including some children views from the Blue Peter Fan Club which is online and after a competition she went up as the credits rolled in a hot air balloon over the studio at Salford's Media City to a crowd of school children cheering and waving.
In some ways it feels a bit like it did in 1972 when Valerie Singleton left leaving us with the threesome of Judd, Noakes and Purves except now it's Driss, Beales and Mudenda.
That it continues to meet their needs is the important thing and I still love watching it deriving inspiration and ideas from it.
No comments:
Post a Comment