Programme Information

Feature

Blue Peter 50th Birthday Programme / Blue Peter At 50
Thursday 16 October on BBC ONE / Day and time to be confirmed BBC TWO
www.bbc.co.uk/bluepeter
Programme copy (Blue Peter 50th Birthday Programme)
Programme copy (Blue Peter At 50)

Powerboat racing, tea with Her Majesty The Queen, gold badges and a live firework display – it's all in a day's work for Blue Peter presenters Andy Akinwolere and newcomer Joel Defries. But Thursday 16 October is no ordinary day for them. They will be taking part in the Blue Peter 50th Birthday Programme, a special live, extended show marking a momentous landmark in the show's history.

Andy and Joel talk to Programme Information about the anniversary, their trip to Alaska and their worries that presenter Helen Skelton might beat them in the powerboat race.

Andy Akinwolere

Andy Akinwolere

How have the last two years been for you?

It's been two-and-a-bit years – and it's been fantastic. It's literally been a life-changing experience. Considering I started off as a runner and then, all of a sudden, I got this really superb job. It took me probably about a year and a half before I actually figured out what I was doing with myself and what on Earth I'd landed on. Now I'm just trying to figure it out and enjoy it as much as I can.

Are you looking forward to working with Joel and Helen?

I formed close bonds with the other three [Konnie Huq, Zöe Salmon and Gethin Jones] but I think our personalities are a lot more suited to each other this time round. It's fantastic and it's a much younger crew as well, so it makes me feel much more at ease.

How do you feel about being involved in Blue Peter's 50th anniversary?

It makes me realise how iconic this programme is. When we go out filming it's not just children that come up to me, it's also adults. Sometimes the adults are even wrestling the kids for a badge! It's just a fact that they all watched the programme as kids and they never got the opportunity to have a badge. So to be presenting the 50th, for me, it's a great honour. There's not many shows that stay on air for 50 years.

What can you tell us about the anniversary show?

It's really been kept hush-hush at the moment! I think there might be some surprises for us though. I'm told there's a lot for both adults and children. Without a shadow of doubt, there's going to be some stuff with old presenters and present presenters. I think they're trying to make it so that it fits the bill for a lot of the older generation and the younger generation as well.

Tell us about the powerboat race.

I'm just off to the Isle Of Man with Helen and Joel to do some powerboat racing. It's the Honda 150CC race and we're taking part in a Blue Peter race between the three of us. They're cordoning off a section of the course for us to do, so it's going to pretty phenomenal, there's going to be a crowd watching as well. I'd like to think I'll win it but Helen has actually come off better in practice. All the instructors are saying Helen might win it because she's got better turning skills. No one actually mentioned me in the race ...

Are you all really competitive?

The thing is we're all really non-competitive people but, when there's a race that means there's some sort of 50th anniversary glory involved, it's a different matter. We're working separately so, inevitably, we have to be competitive both for the sake of the film and, for Blue Peter pride!

What's been the most fantastic assignment you've done so far?

Well, there's been a couple. One of my most memorable was bungee jumping from a helicopter – it was the first real task I was given, bungee jumping out of a helicopter at 1,500ft in Santa Monica in America. It was beautiful – and lovely to be in LA to do it.

Secondly, in March of this year, I went back to Nigeria after 17 years and the whole experience was pretty fantastic for me and very emotional at some points. Pretty much all my family is out there still, including nearly all my cousins from both sides of the family, so it was great to go back and also to see where I grew up as well. It was a really emotional trip. I've got all these fond memories of Nigeria and, amazingly, I remembered a lot more than I thought I would. It wasn't until I got there that I looked around and thought, 'Oh my gosh'. We went back to my old primary school, too, and the reception they gave me was just astounding.

You and the team have just come back from Alaska. How was that?

It was superb. Although it was no different weather-wise to here – it rained! We got about three days of sunshine. It was spectacular though. The first couple of days I spent with a wildlife photographer and we went down to bear country and were taking action shots of bears eating salmon and things like that. The week after that we camped out on a moving glacier – it's pretty phenomenal – a once-in-a-lifetime event. And then, towards the end of the trip, we went sea-kayaking and we were literally five to six metres away from humpback whales. It was phenomenal.

The thing that astounds me, even with the length of time the show's been on, is the access we still get to things, whether it be in America or on home turf. Being under the backing of the BBC really opens so many doors world-wide. I'm still pinching myself each day I'm doing it.

What story would you love to cover in the future?

There are many, but I would generally like to go back and do a tour of Africa. My knowledge of Africa is actually quite limited. I know the basics but I'd love to see the difference from the south to the north and the changing vegetation and all that kind of stuff, and the culture as well. In the north, you've got Algeria to consider, and Egypt and Morocco. And then you've got the Sahara Desert and then you move west and you've got Ghana and Nigeria, which are very much countries joined together on their own, with very similar cultures, but they are distinctive. Then, in the east, there's Kenya and Uganda and the politics of South Africa, too.

That could even be a trip beyond Blue Peter because there's so much to cover. But I still think there's so much coverage we can give to Africa, showing it in such a positive light because all you hear about is Aids and poverty. The beauty of Africa still lies within the people for me and that's definitely something I'd love to cover.

I'd also love to go to Brazil. A lot of West Africans, due to the slave trade, went over to Salvador in Brazil. There's a colony in Salvador which speaks Yoruba, which is the language I was brought up with in Nigeria, and it would be a home away from home.

Finally, is there any daredevil stunt you'd love to do for the show?

Well ... I still haven't skydived. Skydiving is something that I think needs to be ticked off in a lot of people's boxes!

Joel Defries

Joel Defries

How have things been for you since you were announced as one of the new presenters?

I got the job just two weeks before I went to Alaska. I was unemployed, just chilling out and thinking about whether I wanted to continue with TV and then Blue Peter popped up and I got the job. A week and a half later, I was in Alaska and then all sorts of things have happened, it's been a whirlwind. I love it though, it's amazing.

How was Alaska?

Alaska was rainy! But it was stunningly beautiful. It's an odd place, it's really weird, and I missed out on a lot of sun. I'm all about the tan! I went to Croatia afterwards, so that was alright.

How do you feel about being involved in Blue Peter's 50th anniversary?

The thing about Blue Peter is that it's a massive show, it's a massive deal. People care. My parents' generation thinks it's the most amazing thing ever. I want to get the kids as excited as the parents – I think it's really important that they realise what an important show it is. I suppose it's been through so many changes so I want Blue Peter to come back to what it was – a big, fun learning curve for kids.

Fifty years is archaic in television terms! I think it's going to be really exciting this year.

How do you think presenting styles and Blue Peter have changed over the years?

I think Blue Peter has developed because there's a lot more freedom. I think, as kids change, presenting styles change because kids' interests develop.They wouldn't be interested in the show 50 years ago. It would be a different language to them. It would seem very formal and regimented. I think now, today, it's just more free. Hopefully, we speak their language.

What can you tell us about the anniversary show?

I don't know anything! I believe it sounds great!

Tell us about the powerboat race for the 50th anniversary programme.

I'm currently at the beautiful Gatwick Airport, on the way to the Isle of Man to go power-boating. It's going to be amazing, I'm really excited. I want to win! I'm not usually competitive but I am now. It's the thought of a trophy and a cold medal in my warm, clammy hands! They're all saying Helen's going to win – all the boaty people were saying she was great on her turns.

What assignments are you looking forward to covering for Blue Peter?

I'm going to be tour managing a pop group which will be quite amusing. They're a girl band called The Saturdays. I'm the most disorganised man alive so it's going to be hugely intriguing. I'm organising their lives for a day – I'll be appalling, I'll be incredibly bad – I'll panic, I'll start sweating. I'm getting nervous already!

Is there any daredevil stunt you'd love to do for the show?

I'd like to do absolutely everything. It's quite hard to have an idea of what you want to do because my life is not like that. But I'm pretty much up for everything, literally anything. I haven't been scared so far.

I've done bungee jumping and I've jumped out of planes before but that's nothing in a day in the life of Defries! Bungee jumping's weird, it's an unnatural thing.