Blue Peter star Biddy Baxter has died aged 92, it has been announced.
Biddy worked on the children’s show for more than 25 years and become renowned for her charity appeals, gymnastic displays and foreign travel reports.
She introduced millions of children to sticky-backed plastic thanks to her much-copied home made toys and played a big part in introducing the iconic Blue Peter badge after commissioning and working closely with young artist Tony Hart to design the famous ship logo.
Biddy also earned a reputation as a formidable figure – who fell out with presenters in her desire to guard the Blue Peter brand.
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Getty Images)
The tragic news was confirmed on Facebook by Ten Acre Films who published her biography last year.
A statement read: “We are sad to report that longtime Blue Peter Editor Biddy Baxter has died at the age of 92. We salute a true pioneer, who navigated changing times in the television industry with instinct, tenacity and style,” they wrote. No cause of death has been given.
Born Joan Maureen Baxter in Leicester to Bryan Reginald Baxter and Dorothy Vera (nee Briers), she studied at St Mary’s College, Durham University, where she first encountered recruitment flyers for the BBC.
She joined the public broadcaster as a radio studio manager in 1955, and was promoted to producing Schools Junior English programmes and Listen With Mother, before making the transition to television.
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Daily Mirror)
Taking over as editor of Blue Peter in 1965, several years after the programme’s launch, she introduced viewer engagement segments including the national appeals, encouraging children to send letters, pictures and programme ideas.
She served as editor for more than two decades, winning two Bafta awards and receiving 12 nominations. Upon her departure from the show in 1988, she was awarded the programme’s highest honour, a gold Blue Peter Badge.
“I didn’t want to do anything other than Blue Peter,” she told The Guardian in 2013. “I certainly never wanted to be an administrator or in charge of anything. It was an absolute dream and I never wanted to do anything else. It was a terrific time to be in television.”
She continued to act as a consultant to BBC directors-general John Birt and Sir Michael Checkland after her departure, and received the special award at the Bafta Children’s Awards in 2013.
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Source: Mirror
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