If you are British, and of a ‘certain age’, this interview with Peter Purves is a must-read.

There are very few television shows that have the staying power to be a universal part of childhood, not just for years, or decades, but to generations of kids. Blue Peter was a staple of many British childhoods, the flagship magazine show of Children’s BBC, for many years.

With a unique blend of presenters being sent on adventures, discovering new hobbies, looking after animals, and offering many things to make and do, in the garden, or in the studio, the show was famous for its charity appeals, constant curiosity, and of course, for the Blue Peter badges (mine was a green one, by the way, won for one of my first attempts, during primary school, at this writing lark) that offered the lucky recipients access to museums and attractions nationwide.

It was the only show on television where one presenter might be discovering why Jon Pertwee’s new car looks like a road legal UFO, and their colleague might be scaling Nelson’s Column to clean away the bird muck.

For ten years, working with John Noakes, Valerie Singleton, Leslie Judd, and Petra, the German Shepherd Cross, Peter Purves had the job of being the person school kids wanted to be when they grew up.

Read the full interview in our magazine