The brainchild of John Hunter Blair, Blue Peter was first transmitted on 16 October 1958. Introduced by Christopher Trace (a 25-year-old former army officer, turned actor) and Leila Williams (a 21-year-old former Miss Great Britain 1957), the show is still running today and has become a major anchor in BBC One's children's programming. Blue Peter has had more than 30 presenters, including the classic late 1960s team of Valerie Singleton, John Noakes and Peter Purves.
When Blue Peter began, the programme was very different from the one you see now. It was shorter, shown only once a week and consisted mainly of Chris showing model railway layouts and Leila showing dolls. There were no pets, no badges and no ship, but there was the familiar theme tune, called Barnacle Bill. Tony Hart appeared, telling and drawing stories about Packi the baby elephant. Gradually the show expanded into today's wide-ranging magazine programme.
