BBC Genome Blog Feed

Stars of Genome: Margot Hayhoe

2016-11-11T07:00:00+00:00

Margot Hayhoe in studio TC6

Margot Hayhoe joined the BBC in 1964 as secretary in BBC Enterprises – she then progressed to the Drama Serials Department where she worked up the ladder from Assistant Floor Manager to Associate Producer. She worked in Doctor Who, EastEnders, Silent Witness, Man in the Iron Mask, War and Peace and many other BBC productions. She left the staff in 1994 and worked as a freelancer until 2005 when she retired for production work – she occasionally works as a background artist.

What was your first job in the BBC? My first job was acting in the children’s drama African Holiday which was transmitted live from Lime Grove. It was telerecorded then transmitted again in April. I also appeared in Jack in the Box, The Thompson Family, Women of Troy, The Common Room, The Lady from the Sea and Champion Road for the BBC plus Cool for Cats, Emergency Ward 10 and The Lonely World of Harry Braintree for ITV amongst others. These were whilst I was still at my school,The Arts Educational.

Were you ever mentioned on the Radio Times magazine? Or is there any particular magazine you have kept as souvenir? I have never been interviewed for the Radio Times, only had my name listed in the casts of the above productions. I have kept the front covers of the Radio Times for the programmes I worked on as part of the production team, such as Christ Recrucified, Prince Regent, War and Peace, The Old Men at the Zoo plus many others. I also kept the supplement that came for War and Peace.

How do you use BBC Genome? And have you found any particular programme episode you are fond of? I sometimes look to Genome to jog my memory of which actors were in certain series. I was particularly fond of any of the Francis Durbridge serials which always had wonderful cliff-hanger end of episodes!

"When finding locations, the variety of places I have been to has added to my education: inside prisons, mortuaries, council flats then stately homes, hospitals, court rooms, the working end of crematoriums, factories, dock yards and airports."

Can you share any special memories you have of the programmes and features you worked in? It is very difficult to pick out any special memories from Doctor Who and many of the other productions I worked on, as they mostly have all been memorable. However a Dr Who I did with Patrick Troughton called Fury from the Deep gave me the chance to fly in a helicopter for the first time. As we took off from a cliff edge to go down to the beach, I screamed as I watched the earth disappear from beneath my feet which encouraged the pilot to swerve around, very exciting.

Another memorable moment was on Les Miserables, a serial with Frank Finlay, when we were filming a scene on the Isle of Wight that involved convicts in chains. These 20 or so actors were costumed and made-up in Portsmouth and I had to get the ferry tickets and march the men on board with their chains clanking away to get them to the location.

Trudging 14 times up and down St, Michael's Mount in a day on Man in the Iron Mask is seared into my brain as is hiding in cars to cue the drivers on Z Cars before the days of walkie-talkies.

A scene from War and Peace

On War and Peace we had a thousand Yugoslav soldiers for several days and the organisation involved in getting them ready and into position was impressive.

Filming in the centre of Bern for A Perfect Spy which involved closing the streets for a night shoot; Filming on Tender is the Night in Switzerland and France was a challenge, especially the beach scenes with strong winds blowing away the parasols and having to reschedule due to the rain.

Shooting Old Men at the Zoo with wild animals was interesting, plus having to find enough male extras prepared to have their bottoms exposed for injections as part of one scene shot in a disused biscuit factory near Hereford.

Trying to shoot London street scenes for Day of the Triffids was problematical as it was supposed to be deserted of any moving traffic. I enjoyed filming in Bath on Persuasion, as to see the actors in period costumes in the actual places in the book was a delight.

When finding locations, the variety of places I have been to has added to my education: inside prisons, mortuaries, council flats then stately homes, hospitals, court rooms, the working end of crematoriums, factories, dock yards and airports.

Working with the Visual Effects on Silent Witness makes one a bit blasé about body parts and post mortems!

How important do you think it is to preserve the history of TV and radio listings? I think it is very important to preserve the history of TV and Radio listings to show future generations the breadth and level of productions of the past. Looking at the pages in the 1950s and comparing them with the present day listings, shows how trivial much of today's output has become. It is also a great reference source.

Stars of Genome: the cameraman on our front page

2016-10-16T07:00:00+00:00

Michael Du Boulay sporting the striped jersey he was wearing when the picture was taken. He brought it all the way from Canada...

Two years ago BBC Genome, the huge project that digitised BBC Radio Times listings from 1923 to 2009, went online.

We have a lot to celebrate – to this date, we’ve accepted more than 170,000 edits from volunteers and we’ve linked more than 10,000 listings to programmes that are available to hear or watch online.

But on these two years you've also shared your stories about memories juggled by Genome listings. One of the first emails we received when first went live came from Kitchener, Canada. "I would like to point out that your opening page includes a picture of ME. I’m flattered. Nice to be able to show my family that I did actually work for the BBC", said Michael Du Boulay.

So, to mark our second year online, we’ve interviewed Michael Du Boulay, a true Star of Genome:

_____________________________________________________________________________

The photo that stirred Michael Du Boulay's memory. Can you spot him?

How did you feel when you saw yourself?

I was impressed that you should choose me to represent a BBC cameraman. I laughed because certainly my “jersey,” was not typical working dress of the day. Jacket and tie would be more truthful. I suspect whoever chose my picture wanted to change the image of the BBC. It was early on in my career there so much of my wardrobe originated in Canada! I think I was shooting Juke Box Jury.

How did you start working for the BBC?

My grandmother, who lived in England, sent me a BBC handbook of 1957 that outlined all things BBC. This was the spark that ignited my interest in working for such a prestigious corporation. I had toured England in 1959 then returned to Canada where I worked as an operator in Kitchener’s TV station. All along I was attracted to working in a larger more experienced service. I was in possession of an ITV glossy booklet showing off their studios in Elstree. This was the kind of facilities I hankered for.

My buddy and I sailed for Southampton in October 1962 with an introduction to Roy Thomson, who later became Lord Thomson of Fleet. He owned Scottish Television in Glasgow. We did not meet Roy but a director who gave us rail tickets to Glasgow to check out Thompson Television International. This was his company selling used TV equipment to offshore locations. We were involved in electronic conversions of cameras from 405 to 625 line standard. Scottish Television had purchased a mansion (Kirkhill House) outside of Newton Mearns to set up as a training college for staff from the recipient countries. All the while I was writing letters to BBC London in hopes of gaining an interview to no avail. I left Scotland early in December moving to London and finally got an interview in February 1963. BBC 2 needed more crews to produce programmes through existing studios.

The Television Training Studio at the Engineering Training centre, Wood Norton, Evesham

What was your job at the BBC?

I was hired come March 1963. I started in crew 2 where Frank Wilkins was the senior cameraman with the famous Jim Atkinson as number two. Another crew member, Peter Hider, was assigned to me with the task of making me familiar with all the technical facilities in a larger studio. I began on cameras but moved to inlay/overlay then vision control. I thoroughly enjoyed the high standards of all skills serving BBC’s productions.

Could you share some of your memories?

My time at Evesham in Tech Ops course No. 16 was a great experience along with learning where in the country to place some of the accents I heard in class.

On April 20th, 1964, BBC 2's inaugural transmission was marred by a massive power failure. I was working on Panorama at Lime Grove and waited around hoping we would get power back and go to air. That didn't happen so off I went home and Panorama transmitted from Alexander Palace.

On the Friday that President Kennedy was assassinated, I was off at home. Heard the news on radio and the "bottom" of my stomach fell out! I had a date that evening to see The Balcony. Within the story there was a discussion about the merits of driving through the town in an open car. That was very hard to take. The next day I worked the Billy Cotton show at the theatre and all eyes were on network transmissions when possible to see the aftermath of that horrible event.

Studio 4, General Election, 1964

On October 15th, 1964 Britain had their general election. The BBC used two studios (TC1 and TC2) to facilitate 14 cameras covering election night and following returns. Richard Dimbleby did a fantastic job. This was the only time I was required to sleep over at the Centre. They put us up in East Tower so we could meet the 07:30 hr crew call to cover the results. I was camera control of the five studio cameras in studio 2 while other operators controlled the nine other cameras looking at caption boards updated with county results in studio 1. I worked on and off all day finishing at 21:20 hrs.

During a recording of the Beatles on Top Of The Pops, Paul McCartney came up to control room to sit in gallery and watch proceedings. I was doing vision control that day. I was tempted to go and talk but BBC culture frowned on operators mixing with show-business types.

If the bands had a number on the charts for more than a couple of weeks the practice was to bring them in to record their number for next airing of Top Of The Pops. I worked on two Rolling Stones numbers. Hey You Get Off Of My Cloud and Nineteenth Nervous Breakdown. Cilla Black also was recorded. This was early beginnings of "music videos!"

Michael Du Boulay joined the BBC Camera Club and took this photograph of a BBC studio.

The BBC had been around for many years so staff benefits were established such as providing lunch vouchers and a soft-shoe allowance for crews working on studio floors. The latter ensured quiet crew movements while mics were open.

Having a "pub" in the Television Centre was a novel feature for me coming from Canada where no such facility existed in the work place. Much drama was produced in those years and I was very impressed with the high standard of performance from all the actors. We rehearsed everything and each rehearsal was the same. While working on Dr. Finlay’s Casebook you couldn’t help but notice the attention to details in the set dressing with all items accurate to the period... a 1928 Scottish practice at "Arden Hoose!"

I think that everybody was very proud of working for the BBC in those days. I was very impressed with the work day in the studio. When a "tea break" was called everybody vanished. Actors and crew were always on time. The crew calls were well attended with all arriving a good twenty minutes before starting the day’s work on studio floor. The planning of all the elements involved filled the time allotted with no overtime.

How important is it to preserve the history of TV and Radio listings ?

Your new site is a huge resource nailing down historic transmissions. I looked up the details regarding Dr. Who's first transmission which was on the Friday night after President Kennedy’s assassination on November 22nd 1963. This meant viewers were drawn elsewhere. They re-transmitted that first episode the following week.

Have you spotted yourself in any of the listings? Have we stirred any particular memories that you would like to share? On our 2nd birthday we would also like to thank all of the volunteers who have helped make BBC Genome better by editing the listings, and those who have taken the time to write to us with their stories.

Sunday Post: The Radiophonic Workshop

2016-03-06T10:00:00+00:00

Radiophonic Workshop composers used various instruments and objects to create sounds

The BBC Radiophonic Workshop created music and sound effects for radio and television programmes for 40 years from 1958-98, including the iconic Doctor Who theme. Composer and Radiophonic Workshop archivist Mark Ayres tells us about its history and how it operated - and why it is still significant today.

When and why was the Radiophonic Workshop set up?

The BBC Radiophonic Workshop was formally opened on 1st April 1958. At least, that’s the legend! It grew out of a desire by the Third Programme (now Radio 3) to use the new electronic music techniques coming out of mainland Europe to enhance - in the main - its drama output. Producers Douglas Cleverdon and Donald McWhinnie were taking radio drama into more adventurous areas with works written specifically for the medium by playwrights such as Samuel Beckett, Giles Cooper and Frederick Bradnum.

This was a different emphasis than on the continent: the French and German studios, where the likes of Pierre Henry and Karlheinz Stockhausen were building facilities to produce ‘art music’ exclusively. The Radiophonic Workshop specialised in what one might call ‘applied sound’, rather than electronic music. It’s this different approach that makes the Workshop unique and so fascinating.

Who were the prominent early figures?

It was founded by two studio managers from Broadcasting House, Daphne Oram and Desmond Briscoe, who had worked on early pre-Radiophonic. Daphne was immediately frustrated, as she wanted a European-style studio, so she left the BBC soon afterwards to set up on her own in an oast house in Kent. Desmond was joined by engineers Dick Mills and Richard 'Dickie' Bird. Within a few short years the staff included a roster of legendary names such as Brian Hodgson, Delia Derbyshire, John Baker and David Cain.

RW made incidental music for many Doctor Who outings, including The Keeper of Traken

What were the musical influences?

The European Avante Garde and impressionists. In John Baker’s case, the Jazz Greats. For David Cain, medieval and renaissance music. For Delia - well, she was more influenced by sound and texture. She was very young in Coventry during the early days of the war and well-remembered the sounds of German bombing runs on the city. She spent much of her life creating beautiful sounds as an antidote to the horrific ones.

What sort of programmes used the Workshop? Were there advantages to an in-house service?

In the early days, experimental drama. Then freelance composers began to realise that the Workshop offered something original that they could add to their work, so the rhythmic editing of steam train sounds provided the percussion track to Ron Grainer’s theme for documentary film Giants of Steam (predating Doctor Who).

Later, science fiction such as Out of the Unknown and even thrillers like Vendetta. But their largest clients, by far, were the educational departments for both radio and television. Radiophonic abstraction was just the thing for firing children’s imagination and illustrating mathematical games. Look and Read on television harnessed both Radiophonic sound design, and the composing and songwriting talents of Paddy Kingsland and Roger Limb. Certainly, producers were encouraged to use the Workshop - it was in-house and therefore, in effect free.

How did things develop during the 60s with advances in technology?

Slowly! Synthesisers didn’t begin to arrive until the very end of the decade. The Workshop relied on various electronic organs, the ubiquitous test oscillators, and ingenious filters and switchers plus the ever-clever use of ‘found sounds’.

Elizabeth Parker, shown in 1985, was the last remaining composer before the Workshop's demise

Radiophonic Workshop is often associated in people’s minds with Dr Who – to what extent did it dominate and even overshadow other work?

Doctor Who was a fraction of their overall output, but their biggest single client other than (as a whole) education. There are a few hundred Doctor Who tapes in the archive including 243 reels of sound effects! It certainly overshadows their other work, but in a good way. It became their calling card. Ironically, Doctor Who started soon after Desmond Briscoe had declined to take on any more work for The Goon Show, fearing that Spike Milligan’s anarchic comedic demands would take over.

There were big changes in personnel and leadership in the early 70s – what form did they take and what was their effect?

Brian Hodgson left, along with Delia Derbyshire, John Baker and David Cain. The old tape techniques were being superseded by the coming of the synthesiser and the department was becoming more of a music studio and less of a sound factory. More commercially-minded composers such as Paddy Kingsland, Roger Limb and Peter Howell joined. Brian returned a few years later as Desmond took a back seat and eventually retired.

How did the RW co-operate with outside composers?

One of the earliest collaborations was with Ron Grainer on Giants of Steam and Doctor Who. Later Doctor Who composers including Dudley Simpson and Geoffrey Burgon realised that taking their recordings to the Workshop for treatment added something that could not be obtained elsewhere - and cheaply, too. Even Richard Rodney Bennett mixed his Doctor Who music (The Aztecs) at the Workshop, following a successful 1962 collaboration on radio play The Long Distance Piano Player.

What technological changes affected the Workshop from the 70s into the 80s?

The coming of the synthesiser in the early 1970s - initially in the forms of EMS devices the VCS3 and the enormous Synthi 100 - killed the old techniques stone dead. Tape manipulation was no longer cost effective when there was now a machine that promised to be able to create any sound at the turn of a knob.

But the new ‘voltage control’ devices were inherently unstable and rather difficult to use. Digital control, which started to appear at the end of the 1970s and into the 1980s, was far more convenient and easier to use. Sounds could now be saved and accurately recalled. The new ‘sampling’ machines (spearheaded by the expensive Fairlight CMI) soon provided a digital way to replicate the early tape experiments far more quickly, so once again ‘real’ sounds started to find a home amongst the synthetic.

With electronic music in the charts so much in the 80s, was there a feeling the RW was now more mainstream or was it being left behind?

Electronic music took off massively as the synthesiser became cheaper. But the Workshop did not rest on its laurels. Brian Hodgson won considerable investment to modernise the studios in the mid-1980s with the latest equipment. It grew to become home to six full-time composers each with their own room and, according to Yamaha UK's Marketing Director at one point, was “the most up-to-date MIDI studio in the world”. It was some time later that the wide availability of the technology finally contributed to the Workshop’s downfall.

The Workshop shown during its formative days in 1958

Who were the prominent figures in the second half of the Workshop’s existence, in the 70s onwards?

Paddy, Roger, Peter, Elizabeth Parker and Jonathan Gibbs. In the last few years, Richard Attree was the final composer to join, but Elizabeth was the last to leave, with the remains of the department being dismantled around her.

How did the closure of the Workshop come about?

John Birt introduced a scheme called Producer Choice which was supposed to make the BBC more accountable and more cost-effective. It meant that every department had to put a price on its services and, if a producer could find a service cheaper outside the BBC, they were encouraged to use it. But it was a false economy. If a producer used an in-house department, the money stayed within the BBC. If they went outside, the money did too. And the Radiophonic Workshop, having to factor in the canteen, the commissionaires and the pension schemes, could never compete on cost terms with freelance composers with similar equipment in their spare bedrooms - and that included me. Eventually, the Workshop had to close.

What is the role of the RW archivist now?

It’s a hobby role. Other than a relatively small payment at the very start, I’m not paid to do it, but I’ve labelled all the tapes and built a database, and stood in front of the bulldozers a few times! I’ve released a few CDs of Radiophonic Workshop music, enabled others, and mastered many audiobooks and DVDs that have used the contents of the library for surround sound remixes and so on.

I’ve started a digitisation programme but it needs a lot of investment to do it properly. It’s nearly 4,000 analogue tapes and they won’t last for ever. The national sound archive reckon we have about 10 years to save all this material - either it will have disintegrated beyond saving, or the equipment to reliably play it will no longer exist. I have a lovely old ex-BBC Studer A80 which is built like a tank, but even that gets harder to maintain. It does worry me.

How do you see the place of the Workshop in the history of music, broadcasting and as a cultural influence?

It’s enormously influential in all these respects. Certainly, people of my generation and younger grew up listening to this work in our playgrounds and classrooms. It’s part of our DNA. It encouraged and inspired musicians from The Beatles and Pink Floyd through to Orbital, Aphex Twin and Labrinth. Delia Derbyshire has become a feminist icon and has given her name to a charity that encourages the involvement of young women in music. It’s massively important. And there is so much more in the archive that I’d love you all to hear one day.

Were you enthralled by the work of the Radiophonic Workshop? Do you think it should be saved for the nation? Let us know your thoughts in the space below.

Behind the camera: John Hunter Blair

2015-12-06T10:00:00+00:00

John Hunter Blair arrived late at the BBC after a life of travel and teaching

Blue Peter is the BBC’s flagship children’s programme which has formed an important part of its output since its launch in 1958.

As a favourite with succeeding generations, it has received a great deal of attention. Perhaps the greatest amount has been reserved for the ‘dream team’ era from the late 1960s to early 70s, when Valerie Singleton, John Noakes and Peter Purves were at the helm. Successive replacements have in many ways tried to emulate that formula, although in the changed environment of the 21stcentury the programme is a very different animal from 45 years ago.

The prominent figure behind the scenes from 1962 to 1988 was formidable editor Biddy Baxter, and her long service and strong personality have shaped the programme in no uncertain terms.

Yet one figure who preceded her is the programme’s founder and first producer, John Hunter Blair, about whom little is known.

John Wauchope Hunter Blair was a slightly eccentric and obscure figure. Born in 1903 to Major-General W. Hunter Blair and his wife Ethel, he went to school at the Royal Naval College in Osbourne and Dartmouth. After studying at Edinburgh University, he did an MA in Modern History at Oriel College, Oxford, before becoming a schoolmaster.

In 1933 he took the unusual step of going to work in Latvia, at the University of Riga. He stayed there until 1940, when the independent republic was swallowed up by the Soviet Union. In the course of his time there he became fluent in Latvian, began working in radio for the Latvian State Broadcasting Service, and married a local woman.

Even less is known about Hunter Blair’s wife than about him: she was called Helene Ezergailis, but by the time he was established in the UK as a television producer they had separated. He obviously didn’t talk about her as it was only vaguely apparent to BBC officials and colleagues that he had been married. He lived alone, and some even referred to him as a bachelor.

When he left Latvia he moved to Australia, where he worked for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, initially as an announcer based in Brisbane. In 1943 he became a script writer for ABC, and then in 1944 a Presentation Officer, which also involved writing. He continued in this job until 1947, when for some reason he decided to return to Britain.

He got leave of absence from ABC, and applied to join the BBC. One of the great loves of his life was music, and he at first tried to enter the music department. But he was turned down, and gained a sick relief post in Far Eastern department of the Empire Service. Following this he moved to Schools Broadcasting, where he obviously made a good enough impression. He is credited as script writer for the series Senior English in 1949, and for the Geography series, contributing a talk about Latvia, as a ‘former British resident'. In 1951 he was able to gain promotion to Producer in Children’s Television.

It’s not clear why Hunter Blair made the move to television, but by 1951 it was starting to expand around the country, with the opening of the BBC’s third transmitter, Holme Moss, bringing the medium to the North of England. It had also been decided to start a regular children’s television service in 1950, to replace the patchy, occasional programmes shown before. Although characters like Muffin the Mule were already popular, the BBC decided to dedicate a slot to children’s programming, which came from the new Lime Grove studios.

Leila Williams was Blue Peter's first female presenter under Hunter Blair

The expansion of television meant new people were taken on, though Hunter Blair seems to have replaced a producer called Alan Bromly whose contract had ended. Bromly nonetheless went on to have a successful TV career, producing thriller serials including those of Frances Durbridge.

At this point Hunter Blair did not even have a television set, unable to obtain one of the few domestic sets owned by the BBC for staff use, although he was able to hire one from Radio Rentals and claim back the cost.

Hunter Blair began work at Lime Grove on 1 November 1951. Although working as a producer his name did not necessarily appear in Radio Times, and when it did it was sometimes in another capacity. He is credited for musical direction on children’s drama series The Silver Swan.

After a year or two his credits start to appear as a producer, for Jack-in-the-Box, The Runaway Band and The House that Jack Built. In 1954 he continued with Jack-in-the-Box but was also producer, writer and music composer for a play with music called The Smith Family which received several showings, latterly billed as a children’s opera. It’s not always clear from listings what children’s output Hunter Blair was producing, but among the material shown were items on model railways, and appearances by young artist Tony Hart, both of which would figure in Hunter Blair’s later career.

By 1955 he was dividing his time between drama serial Bobby in France, which combined elements of language teaching with storytelling, and allowed Hunter Blair to exercise his good command of French and passion for travel. His flair for music was reflected in Television Puppet Theatre and two programmes with Eric Robinson and his Orchestra. He was also still in charge of Jack-in-the-Box, which featured Nat Temple and his Orchestra.

Birth of Blue Peter

His credits mounted up in 1956, producing drama including more Bobby in France, Lucky Silver and The Adventures of Pierre. His musical output also increased, with Anniversary marking 200 years since Mozart’s birth and The Fisk Jubilee Singers, a programme of Negro spirituals.

By 1957 Hunter Blair was a safe pair of hands, and was commended – and given a bonus – for his innovative work in music for children’s TV. Annual reports paint a picture of a man who was very happy in his work, though he could be uncommunicative in formal situations. His appearance, as described by acquaintances and confirmed by the few photographs of him, was reminiscent of Billy Bunter, with his round face and spectacles. There seems to have been something of the schoolboy about him too in his enthusiasm for model railways. He was said to possess a first class mind, though happy in his lot as a children’s TV producer.

His 1957 productions seem to have been mostly musical, until he was appointed editor and producer of the series Studio E. Starting in January, Hunter Blair took over with what was described as a ‘scratch team of assistants’. This magazine programme included comedy with the likes of Clive Dunn as well as a range of factual and music items. George Cansdale talked about animals, Percy Thrower about gardening, Shirley Abicair told stories and played her zither, Johnny Morris appeared as the Hot Chestnut Man. It was presented by the redoubtable Vera McKechnie, later Elizabeth Lanchbury.

Hunter Blair left “Studio E” in 1958 to be replaced by Ursula Eason, but continued to produce Jack-in-the-Box, until it finished in September. He also co-wrote another musical drama, Castle Dangerous, for which he also composed and conducted the music. He had the odd other credit, but something new was in the air.

Owen Reed, head of Children’s Television, saw there was a gap in the provision for children too old for Watch with Mother but too young for the sophistications of Studio E. Sensing that Hunter Blair knew what appealed to children - despite having none of his own - Reed gave him the task of producing a weekly 15-minute magazine programme for primary-age children.

Biddy Baxter took charge of Blue Peter for more than 20 years

Hunter Blair found a solid male presenter in actor Christopher Trace, and to partner him the 1957 winner of Miss Great Britain, Leila Williams. Needing a title for the show, Hunter Blair chose the name of the flag flown by ships preparing to set sail: Blue Peter.

The first episode went out live on October 16 1958. Originally the series’ title sequence used film of a sailing ship at sea, and colleagues recalled Hunter Blair’s gleeful instruction in the gallery to add the sound of sea wash to the footage. The show quickly caught the imagination of children with its fresh and enthusiastic presentation.

Christopher Trace was an avuncular figure, a former army officer with an undistinguished acting career, but he took to presenting at once. He is cited as coming up with two of the best-known phrases associated with Blue Peter – “And now for something completely different” and “Here’s one I made earlier”. Arriving for interview with Hunter Blair, staff remembered that he immediately bonded with the producer over a shared love of model trains, which soon became a regular feature of the series, even featuring in a regular story series. Storytelling was also a feature, predating Jackanory.

Although Blue Peter aired every week, Hunter Blair continued to contribute to other shows, including Young Musicians (a one-off that included Jacqueline du Pré) and a series with Shirley Abicair. But Blue Peter was his main job, and one which he was commended on numerous times. He even went as far as taking trips abroad to try to source idea for items and unusual toys to feature in the series.

Ill health

However, all was not well. It’s unlikely that Hunter Blair took much exercise, and the stresses of live television production were starting to tell. He began to suffer from heart problems, and was admitted to hospital in December 1960. He returned to work the following January but had a heart attack in June.

His last day on duty with the BBC was the 12 June 1961 – a Blue Peter transmission day. Hunter Blair apparently collapsed in the production gallery, although not during transmission as far as records show.

He was signed off from work, and various others took charge temporarily, with greater or lesser degrees of success. At first, this was thought to be until Hunter Blair would recover sufficiently to return to work, but eventually it was realised he would never be fit enough again. He had angina, and struggled to climb stairs at times and was also suffering from Parkinson’s disease. He had spells in hospital and nursing homes, and gave up his flat in Maida Vale to go and live in his sister’s house in Norfolk. At last, the BBC agreed that he would have to retire prematurely on health grounds.

A late starter with the Corporation, he was 43 when he joined and 57 when he made his last programme. It was agreed his last day on the staff roll would be his 59th birthday, October 4 1962. Hunter Blair’s health never improved, and he died just over two years later, on December 31 1964.

By that time, Blue Peter had celebrated over six years on air, and was now running twice a week, presented by Trace and Valerie Singleton. Although the Children’s Television department no longer really existed, with most output farmed to other areas, Blue Peter survived, and under its eventual permanent replacement producer/editor Biddy Baxter, it would go on to fulfil and exceed all of John Hunter Blair’s hopes in the succeeding decades.