John Noakes RIP

BBC Four should do something, they've aired BP before on a theme night.

Ahhh, my mistake, I thought it was Konnie Huq, but she was the longest serving female presenter

The excellent Ashmole/Day YouTube channel has stepped up, sharing this episode in tribute, in which the result of the poll to name a certain dog was revealled.



(From the days when UK Gold was good.)

Newsround reported on John's death this afternoon, second in the running order.

I remember he was on Pointless Celebrities a few years back with Peter Purves and you could tell he wasn't well. Seemed very confused and there was a lot of editing around his participation.

Again, I'm not old enough to have experienced him presenting Blue Peter but have very much enjoyed classic clips and his appearances on anniversary editions. A wonderful, natural children's presenter that radiated fun and did not talk down to children.

I echo Gethin Jones' comment, such a brutal disease. Bravo for Pointless for editing around him. Life doesn't end as soon as dementia kicks in.

In the days where people had to make an effort to write in and it was OK to show kids how to use an industrial nail gun - brilliant.

Before elf and safety went mad!

Hopefully, (and hopefully in a far shorter period than 40 years) we'll all wince and be horrified at the sight of people using mobile phones while driving ! (But yes, it has gone mad)

Also in the days before 'compliance' - note that the bundles of votes attributed to "Ben" have a clear "Rex" vote on the top!



But yes, Noakes was a real pioneer who is sadly missed.

I used to like the live aspects of Blue Peter, and when the technology failed, Noakes would always claim to be going to get his screwdriver and go and sort it out.
He was just what was needed to entertain a generation of us.

The bruises he showed us all after the Cresta Run crash was quite a moment too!

I did like the industrial nail gun demonstration. What childhood wouldn't have been complete without that essential toy?

Thursdays were the high spot of the week in the 70s. Blue Peter, Wacky Races, Tomorrow's World, and TOTP !

( and three out of the four live, you could always be assured of at least one entertaining cock up)