Peter Rhodes on “Wild West” tourism, how kids regard TV and the pure heroism of Blue Peter
So farewell, Blue Peter. Sort of. The world's longest-running kids' programme, will no longer be screened live, as it has usually been since 1958, but in a pre-recorded format.
Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
The BBC says this reflects viewers' changing viewing habits, which I suspect is Beeb-talk for: “Nobody's watching this turkey any more, so how do we kill it off?”
There is a natural assumption in TV circles that live material is superior to recorded. After all, it was a live Blue Peter broadcast that gave us the memorable sight of Lulu the baby elephant dumping pachyderm poo all over the studio in 1969.
Yet for sheer heart-in-mouth moments, nothing compares with BP presenter John Noakes heroically climbing Nelson's Column in 1977 with ropes, ladders and no safety helmet. This, for obvious reasons, was not broadcast live. Now, you can watch it all over again, in all its heart-stopping horror, on YouTube. Then again, maybe you can't. I know I can't.
