Blue Peter, faking children's TV for 46 years

September 2, 2008 9:23 AM

The first Blue Peter pet, Petra the dog, was a fake, a former editor of the classic BBC programme has revealed.

Introduced on the show in 1962 the original Petra made just one appearance, dying two days later. A replacement dog was brought in and millions of children were non the wiser ... until now.

In a new book former BP editor Biddy Baxter reveals how staff trawled pet shops in London trying to find a lookalike for the dead pup - oddly the segment never made it to air.

If they hadn't been able to find one it is thought the TV cheats may have tried creating one with sticky back plastic.

In the book 'Dear Blue Peter' Baxter says: "It was unthinkable to traumatise our youngest viewers by giving them the sad news, so the producer Edward Barnes and I set off in his Mini to trawl London for the dead pup's loookalike.

"It wasn't until we reached Lewisham that we struck lucky. In a dingy shop window there was one small brownie-black puppy, shivering in the corner of a pen. Not a single viewer spotted the swap."

For the next 15 years the dog appeared on the show and her puppies even became Blue Peter pets.

LINKS

Dear Blue Peter @ Amazon

Blue Peter

BBC