Comments on: Blue Peter at 50

By: Matthew Kilburn

Matthew Kilburn — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:41:20 +0000

Thanks to my cousin Rebecca being a member of it, I know that there’s a Facebook group for people from East Durham (like Matt Baker) referring to them as ‘Pit-Yackers’, to be distinguished from the Pitmatic speakers of Northumberland, presumably.

By: Chris Orton

Chris Orton — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:09:48 +0000

I’m from Durham myself and I have no idea what the term is! Matt’s accent could probably be described as a softened form of Pitmatic though, as that accent is very common around these parts.

By: Rob Williams

Rob Williams — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 22:02:46 +0000

Er, a Durhamite?! I say try the new presenters without autocue, though it might be a case of as Des Lynam once said “See Naples and dry…” Though its like wallpaper, just there and you don’t really notice it. Sadly, that can be said of a lot of Children’s television nowadays, but thank goodness for gems like The Sarah Jane Adventures…

By: Steve Williams

Steve Williams — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:57:14 +0000

Oh God, Matt isn’t a Geordie, is he? And I should be more careful, given the number of times I watched my old Mackem flatmate grimace when people asked him what part of Newcastle he was from.

What’s the correct way to describe someone from Durham, then?

By: Simon Tyers

Simon Tyers — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:50:33 +0000

That’s the other thing I meant to mention – were those Ross clips from a previous Friday Night With… or shot specifically for the documentary? It seems odd to have filmed him on the set with the studio audience present.

By: Ian Jones

Ian Jones — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 13:39:41 +0000

Not sure if Ross was there three times in the version I saw (the curse of the preview DVD) but yup, there were celebrities present, and I’ve now corrected my review. Thanks for the feedback!

By: MartS

MartS — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:59:59 +0000

The erstwhile reviews Mr Jones wrote.. “And, mercifully, no contributions from celebrity viewers..”

Sorry Ian, watch again.
Jonathan Ross and Lewis Hamilton were featured on the show talking about Blue Peter. Ross in particular was featured three times, and to lift a quote from The Day Today, he “added little of interest”.

Another otherwise dull point, in an enjoyable romp through the programmes history, and reminded me why my first tv crush was on Tina Heath!

By: Chris Orton

Chris Orton — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:18:55 +0000

Matt’s not a Geordie!!

By: Chris Hughes

Chris Hughes — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 09:23:03 +0000

On the subject of impressions, I liked Sarah doing Janet Street-Porter during that witch costume make. I thought the Simon, Pete and Sarah stuff was hugely enjoyable, especially Sarah’s mock umbrage at Pete getting a gold badge, and Pete taking fright at the bathroom-parping transsexual.

The programme was a bit scattergun, but the absence of a chronological framework was probably for the best. For instance, I really enjoyed the sequence of Noakes (I still love him bellowing “I’m at 20,000 feet and I’m upside down!”), Janet and Simon T doing the parachuting, and their different reactions to it. The nod to Alex Leger was also nice.

I also loved Edward Barnes’ unalloyed glee at the death of the parrots.

By: Simon Tyers

Simon Tyers — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 20:19:47 +0000

Surely the better moment was Simon Thomas’ impression of Matt Baker? A brief impression, admittedly, but “dear me!”, which is all you want.

Interesting that despite seemingly being in half the clips Liz didn’t contribute, or Yvette or Zoe. And that bit at the end where they embarked on a “where are they now?” (covering Chris Wenner!) and then stopped after four could have been better used.