Blue Peter - the original upcyclers

Long before terms like 'upcycling' or 'scratchbuilding' were in common parlance (or had even been coined), Blue Peter was already teaching us how to do it.

If you're not familiar with the name, Blue Peter is a weekly children's magazine-style TV show that has been running for over 60 years. In fact, it is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having begun in 1958 and is still showing on the CBBC channel. The show traditionally went out live - which led to some famous incidents such as when Lulu the baby elephant visited the studio in 1969 and caused chaos by using it as a toilet. But there have been many others as this short video shows.

The show also includes pre-recorded segments. These are often educational and feature historical people, places and/or events. Other segments show the presenters taking part in various activities that have included cleaning the statue atop Nelson's Column or swimming with whale sharks, or rather more mundane but interesting things like driving traction engines or taking part in British folk festivals.

But perhaps the show is best known for its 'makes'. Having begun during the post-war 'make do and mend' era when many families were short of money, the show championed using ingenuity and inexpensive household items or waste to make things that were too pricey to buy. The makes section was always hugely popular and even spawned several well-used phrases and clichés that have entered the language, such as 'Here's one I made earlier', and 'And now for something completely different' (which was later adopted by Monty Python's Flying Circus). Over the years the presenters showed us how to make everything from Christmas decorations to desk tidies to pies and cakes. The makes became so popular that the BBC released compilations on VHS videos, such as this one:

But their most famous make was undoubtedly Tracy Island from the 1960s puppet series, Thunderbirds.

In the early 1990s, Gerry Anderson's iconic TV series enjoyed a huge revival in popularity and the toy companies responded by bringing out a range of die-cast vehicles and a model of International Rescue's island HQ. They became the must-have Christmas toys of 1993 but demand far outstripped supply and you couldn’t get a Tracy Island for love nor money. 

So Blue Peter came to the (international) rescue and showed you how to make your own version. This proved so popular that the BBC re-broadcast the show and released an extended video of instructions (see below). 

The same thing happened again in 2000 with another resurgence of interest in the show. So Blue Peter did another demonstration. The fact sheet from that make is still downloadable here.

I grew up with Blue Peter (and even earned myself a coveted Blue Peter gold badge during their 50th anniversary year for running community art projects) and it's undeniable that the show had some influence in inspiring my love of making things. I quite enjoyed things like Airfix model kits and Lego but, for me, the real challenge was always building from scratch. It's problem-solving and inventiveness and artistry all rolled into one. 

So thanks Blue Peter. 

I'm one you made earlier.