Has Blue Peter been cancelled? 'Final live episode' of iconic long-running show has been filmed, says BBC
The BBC has confirmed that the final live episode of Blue Peter has been filmed.
The iconic children’s show, which launched in 1958, will be moving to a pre-recorded format.For the past almost-seven decades, live shows have been a part of the Blue Peter broadcast in some capacity.
The BBC said in a statement that the current iteration of the show features both pre-recorded and live elements, but that the switch to purely pre-recorded episodes has been introduced as viewing habits change”.
It has been confirmed that Blue Peter will continue to air weekly on Friday afternoons on CBBC, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer, but will no longer broadcast live.
The move has prompted ex-Blue Peter presenters to post their thoughts on the the decision. Simon Thomas, who presented on the show between 1999 and 2005, said that his era of the show was during “the last years of the golden age of children’s TV”.
The Sky Sports presenter said in a post on Instagram: “We probably didn’t realise it at the time, but we were working in the last years of the golden age of children’s TV, a time when children’s programmes filled the afternoons and Saturday mornings on BBC1 and ITV.
“An era when audiences were measured in the millions rather than the thousands. I don’t say golden in arrogant way; but everything has fragmented now and the way children consume entertainment has changed forever. There will never be another era like it again.”
Richard Bacon, who was famously fired from the show in 1998 following a drug scandal, took to X (formerly Twitter) to say: “I love and loved that show. Even if caused it some bother. Being live is what made it alive.
“The elephant, the studio catching fire. The mistakes, the movement, the energy. At 21, hosting live in TV Centre’s vast studios was wonderful. 1st day rehearsing, I remember walking from one side of the studio to the other - doing a piece to camera - and seeing the whole crew, five cameras, and another on a crane, track with me.
“I know that doesn’t sound like much - but the first time it happened it was mind blowing. It was just a big, well-made, lovingly made, really well resourced Live kids TV show. That had been live in that building for decades. It was a magical experience (for, you know, all of 20 months).”