Blue Peter at 60: From Lulu the elephant to cat-naming shame, here are some of the iconic show's most memorable moments

The programme has had 37 presenters since its debut in 1958
Gold Badges: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were honoured by Blue Peter in 2017
BBC
Natasha Sporn16 October 2018

Blue Peter is celebrating its 60th birthday, having become a staple of children’s entertainment over the past few decades.

The iconic BBC show has seen 37 official presenters, often accompanied by canine helpers, during its illustrious career on screen.

And the live broadcast has seen many iconic moments over the years including a visit from Lulu the Elephant, who caused chaos as she stamped around, to causing controversy with kittens.

Here are some of the most memorable – and sometimes heartbreaking - moments…

Blue Peter through the years

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Lulu the Elephant – 1969

You’ve heard of Nelly joining the circus, right? Well Lulu created her own when she visited the Blue Peter studio in July 1969.

The baby elephant relieved herself on the floor, several times, before giving presenter John Noakes a parting gift by stomping on his foot as she left.

Scaling Nelson’s Column – 1977

Landmark: John Noakes scaled Nelson's Column
Frank Barratt/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Long-standing presenter Noakes wanted to display how important preserving landmarks is and took it upon himself to clean pigeon poo from the top of Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square.

Viewers help remake the Blue Peter garden – 1983

Fans of the show, by then over 20 years old, helped to create a memorable moment in the show’s history when they joined forces to restore the vandalised show garden.

The open space at BBC Television Centre in London had been the target of vandals who had trampled the grass and poured fuel in the fish pond.

Mark Curry decapitates a Lego figure - 1989

Curry, who presented the show for several years, was regularly making headlines for his role as frontman – often because things kept going wrong.

On one occasion, clumsy Curry knocked the head off of a lifesize Lego figure that has taken a month to build.

Cat-naming scandal – 2007

In 2007, the show welcomed some feline friends and asked viewers to name their new addition via an online poll.

The cat was named Socks but it was later revealed that the poll had been fixed and that Cookie was actually the winning moniker. A kitten followed shortly after…

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge receive gold badges – 2017

With just a year to go until its big birthday, Blue Peter welcomed royalty to its studios as Prince William and Kate Middleton were awarded gold badges for their outstanding work in mental health.

Harry Potter author J.K Rowling, Sir David Attenborough, David Beckham and Steven Spielberg have all be given the same honour previously.

Blue Peter's Big Birthday can be seen on CBBC today at 5pm, and again on BBC2 on Saturday October 20 at 4.30pm.

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