Blue Peter pets facts for kids
The Blue Peter pets are special animals that have been a big part of the long-running BBC children's TV show Blue Peter. For many years, when they weren't on TV, these pets were often cared for by Edith Menezes, the show's pet keeper. Some dogs, like Petra, Shep, and Goldie, lived with their presenters, who helped look after them.
The first pet was a dog named Petra in 1962. Since then, Blue Peter has had many dogs, cats, tortoises, and even parrots and horses. Currently, the show features Shelley the tortoise and Henry the beagle. A pony named Rags was bought with money raised by viewers in the 1970s to help with Riding for the Disabled. The show also had parrots, Joey and Barney, in the 1960s, but they weren't replaced after Barney passed away.
The main idea behind having pets on the show was to teach viewers how to care for their own animals. For those who didn't have pets, the Blue Peter animals acted as "surrogate" pets. For example, the show often features tips on dog training, how tortoises hibernate, and cat care. Dogs that lived with presenters sometimes even joined them on filming trips!
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Dogs
Petra
Petra was a female mongrel dog who was on Blue Peter from 1962 to 1977. She was the very first Blue Peter pet and is still one of the most famous. Petra was the longest-serving Blue Peter pet for many years.
She weighed about 13 kilograms (28 pounds). Petra had several puppies, including Patch, who also became a Blue Peter pet. Petra lost her teeth early, which presenter Peter Purves joked meant she would "gum you to death" if she was grumpy!
When Peter Purves joined Blue Peter, Petra had already been on the show for about five years. She was a bit nervous on set, so the show's editor, Biddy Baxter, decided Purves should look after her at home too. He grew very fond of Petra and was sad when she died after he had cared for her for over nine years.
There's a statue of Petra in the Blue Peter garden. It was first outside BBC Television Centre and later moved to the garden at MediaCityUK.
It was later shared that the first puppy, shown in 1962, sadly died from distemper. To avoid upsetting children, the show's team bought a similar-looking puppy, which viewers then named Petra.
Patch
Patch (born 1965, died 1971) was looked after by presenter John Noakes starting in December 1965. Patch had a special marking around one of his eyes, which gave him his name. Patch passed away in May 1971.
Shep
Shep (born 1971, died 1987) was a border collie and is often remembered as the most famous Blue Peter pet. He joined the show to replace Patch and became the main Blue Peter dog after Petra died in 1977. Shep was known for being very close to presenter John Noakes. Shep was quite excitable, and Noakes would often say, "Get down Shep!" This became a famous catchphrase.
Shep also appeared with John Noakes in a show called Go with Noakes. When Noakes left Blue Peter in 1978, the BBC let him keep Shep, as the dog had lived with him. Shep later went to live with Edith Menzies, the show's pet keeper. Shep died on January 17, 1987.
Goldie
Goldie (born 1978, died 1992) was a female Golden Retriever who appeared on Blue Peter from 1978 to 1986. She was owned by presenter Simon Groom. Goldie first appeared as a puppy and was named by viewers. She was the first of many golden retrievers on the show. In 1986, Goldie had puppies, and one of them, Bonnie, became a Blue Peter dog after Goldie left. Goldie left the show with Simon Groom later that year and lived to be 14 years old. She is buried on Simon's farm.
Bonnie
Bonnie (born 1986, died 2001) was a female golden retriever who was on Blue Peter in the late 1980s and 1990s. She was the daughter of Goldie and took over from her mother as the Blue Peter dog. Bonnie appeared in over 1,150 episodes with 16 different presenters! She retired in 1999 to live with her owner, Leonie Pocock, and passed away in 2001 at age 15.
Mabel
Mabel (born around 1996, died 2011) was a Blue Merle Border Collie and the second longest-serving Blue Peter dog after Petra, being on the show for over 14 years. Mabel was rescued by the RSPCA when she was about six months old. Her name came from her kennel label, MAB1. Mabel was special because she had different coloured eyes (one blue, one brown). Her birthday was celebrated on February 3rd, the same day as former Blue Peter dog Bonnie. Mabel retired from the show in March 2010 and died in May 2011.
Lucy
Lucy (born 1998, died 2011) was a Blue Peter pet for 12 years. She was a Golden Retriever. Lucy once famously wandered into Paul O'Grady's dressing room and was scared by his dog! Lucy passed away in April 2011 at age 13 after battling cancer.
Meg
Meg (born around 2000, died 2011) was a Border Collie who belonged to presenter Matt Baker. Even though she wasn't an official Blue Peter pet because she lived with Matt's family and was a trained sheepdog, she often appeared on the show with him. She showed off her sheepdog skills and even had puppies on the programme. Meg left with Matt Baker in 2006 but appeared in other TV shows with him, like Countryfile. Meg died in June 2011 at age 11.
Barney
Barney is thought to be an Irish Setter/Dachshund mix and officially joined the Blue Peter team on September 22, 2009. He was the show's ninth dog. Barney was a stray dog given to presenter Helen Skelton by the Dogs Trust. Barney left the show with Helen on September 26, 2013.
Henry
Henry, a beagle/basset hound mix, first appeared on the show on April 4, 2019, and is the current Blue Peter dog. He was rescued from Dogs Trust when he was two years old and is owned by a member of the Blue Peter production team. Henry is very excitable and sometimes needs to leave the set because he wants to play!
Guide dogs: Honey, Cindy, Button, Prince, Magic and Iggy
Blue Peter has a long history of working with guide dogs, starting in 1964. This has helped many visually impaired people. The first Blue Peter guide dog puppy was Honey, whose training was shown on the programme in 1964. Other guide dog puppies featured include Cindy, Buttons, Prince (Goldie's son), another Honey, and Magic. Magic had epilepsy and couldn't finish her guide dog training, so she found a new home.
In June 2014, presenter Lindsey Russell started training a new guide dog named Iggy. Iggy successfully completed her training and left the show on May 12, 2016, to join her new owner, Callum.
Cats
Jason
Jason (born 1964, died 1976) was the first Blue Peter cat. He was a Seal Point Siamese who joined the show at just three weeks old. Viewers named him Jason.
Jason was famous for playing the Cheshire Cat in the show's Christmas play, "Alice in Blue Peter Land", in 1975. He even had a voice that sounded a lot like John Noakes! Jason lived until January 1976.
Jack
'Jack (born 1976, died 1986) was a silver striped tabby and the brother of Jill. He and Jill made their TV debut when they were just three weeks old. Jack and Jill were known as Blue Peters "disappearing cats" because they often jumped off presenters' laps. The show even made a funny clip of them doing this, set to the Top Cat theme song! Jack died suddenly in 1986 at 10 years old.
Jill
Jill (born 1976, died 1983) was a silver spotted tabby and the sister of Jack. She often appeared with her brother, famously leaping off presenters' laps. In May 1980, Jill gave birth to two kittens who also appeared on the show. Jill died of heart failure in 1983 at 7 years old.
Willow
Willow first appeared on Blue Peter in September 1986, replacing Jack. Viewers chose her name. It was decided that Willow would be the first pet to be spayed to help with the large number of unwanted pets. Willow retired from the programme in 1991 to live in Sussex.
Kari and Oke
Kari and Oke were rescued as kittens and cared for by Wood Green Animal Shelters. Oke was found abandoned, and the staff helped Kari's mother adopt him, making them like brother and sister. Six weeks after being rescued, they made their Blue Peter debut. They were named after John Leslie and Diane-Louise Jordan's trip to Japan in 1991, where they did karaoke. Kari and Oke retired from the show in 2004. Kari died in 2006, and Oke died in 2011 at age 20.
Smudge
Smudge was one of the shortest-serving Blue Peter pets. She first appeared in September 2004 and was named by viewers. Sadly, Smudge died in 2005 from injuries after being hit by a car.
Socks
Socks (born 2005) is a ragdoll cat who first appeared on the show in January 2006, replacing Smudge. Socks was part of a small issue when the show's producers changed the result of a viewer vote for the cat's name from "Cookie" to "Socks." Both Socks and Cookie stopped appearing regularly after the show moved to Salford in 2011 and left permanently in October 2013 because the journey from London was too far.
Cookie
Cookie was introduced to the show in September 2007 after the naming issue with Socks. Cookie left in October 2013 along with Socks.
Tortoises
Freda
Freda was the first Blue Peter tortoise. She first appeared in October 1963 and lived until April 1979. She was originally thought to be male and called Fred, but was renamed when they realized she was female. Freda is best remembered for her yearly appearances when she was put into a cardboard box to hibernate for the winter.
Maggie and Jim
Maggie and Jim (born 1974, died 1982) were brother and sister who joined the show regularly in 1979 after Freda died. They were named after Margaret Thatcher and James Callaghan, who were prime ministers at the time. Sadly, they did not survive the cold winter of January 1982.
George
George (born around 1920, died 2004) was a Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise who first appeared on the programme in 1982. He holds the record for the longest-serving Blue Peter pet. Viewers renamed him George from his original name, Pork Pie. In 1988, George went missing after a break-in at his home. The team thought he was gone and made a tribute film, but George was found days later by a neighbour!
George made his last appearance in April 2004, and his death was announced in May 2004.
Shelley
Shelley (hatched around 1985 in Morocco) is a female Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise. She first appeared on the programme in 2004 as a friend for George and became the only tortoise on the show after he passed away.
Parrots
Joey
Joey, an African Grey, was the first of two parrots on Blue Peter in the 1960s. Parrots can live for a very long time, but having a parrot as a pet on the show was stopped in the 1960s.
Barney
Barney was the second and final Blue Peter parrot. He joined the show in the 1960s after Joey died. When Barney passed away, he was not replaced.
