Blue Peter, the world's longest-running children's TV programme, has often been marred by the antics of its presenters. From Richard Bacon's cocaine scandal in the '90s to John Leslie's leaked sex tape and sexual assault allegations, there's been issues across the iconic show's history.
Phone-in scandals and the failure of TV bosses to protect its youngest ever host have also ensured the show has occasionally made headlines for all the wrong reasons since its 1958 launch, reports the Mirror.
But what became of the hosts after they left the show? LeicestershireLive takes a look at the varied fortunes of Blue Peter's most beloved presenters....
READ MORE: Leicestershire's Richard Armitage reveals he was told his accent was 'ugly'
Richard Bacon
One of the show's most notorious former presenters, Richard is now a successful US TV producer in LA where he develops new ideas for game shows. However, nearly three decades later, Bacon, now 47, is still best known for being sacked from Blue Peter for taking cocaine in a London nightclub
Dismissed in October 1998, the then 22-year-old became the first presenter on the children's show to have his contract terminated mid-run when he admitted taking the Class A drug after a Sunday tabloid broke the story. Despite this, Bacon's television career survived the scandal and he went on to present The Big Breakfast and Top of The Pops and had an afternoon slot on BBC Radio 5 Live.
In 2014, Richard Bacon made the move to the US to host a daytime TV show and has been upfront about his past battles with addiction, particularly regarding alcohol. Discussing his personal struggles with The Guardian, he revealed, "My wife would like me to do AA all the time, and I just don't, but I have said I will spend more time with our therapist examining my relationship to drink."
Bacon endured a serious health scare while visiting the UK in 2018. Self-admitting to A&E at Lewisham hospital, he was quickly found to be critically ill with pneumonia.
The severity of his condition led doctors to place him in an induced coma. Recounting the frightening ordeal, Richard shared doctors' harrowing words: "You were lying on the hospital trolley, you were crashing. You turned blue. We thought you were going to go into cardiac arrest and die."
After regaining consciousness nine days later, he learned that the ICU team at the London hospital performed a tracheotomy to save his life.
Currently residing in Los Angeles with his wife Rebecca McFarlane and children, Arthur, aged 14, and Ivy, aged 11, Bacon maintains a sense of humour about his public image. He quipped, "I could bring peace to the Middle East and still, when I die, the top line of the obituary will be 'fired from Blue Peter'."
John Leslie
Before Bacon's time on the beloved children's programme, Scottish broadcaster John Leslie hosted Blue Peter alongside Caron Keating and Anthea Turner, from 1989 until 1994. Although he once dated Catherine Zeta-Jones, Leslie's notoriety peaked during his relationship with nurse and model Abi Titmuss, after a private video involving her was leaked.
However, Leslie's successful career as a co-host of This Morning with Fern Britton came to an abrupt halt in 2002 when Swedish TV presenter Ulrika Johnson disclosed in her autobiography that she had been raped at the age of 19 by "an acquaintance", and his name was accidentally revealed by Matthew Wright on live television.
Later acquitted of all charges, he confessed to the Scottish Mail: "I lost everything overnight. I'd gone from earning over £300,000 to not a single penny coming in. And I spent about £500,000 on legal costs.Forced to sell his £3.5m mansion and return to his hometown of Edinburgh, Leslie managed to get by on royalties and DJing.
Having battled his way back from being a "depressed and suicidal" recluse, Leslie, now 60, is currently a property developer and resides with his girlfriend Kate Moore. However, Leslie continues to be plagued by historical assault allegations, including a claim by a woman that he groped her breasts at a celebrity party in 2008, and another accusation in 2017 where he was alleged to have put his hand down the back of a woman's trousers while dancing.Leslie has consistently vehemently denied both allegations and was found not guilty in both instances.
Yvette Fielding
Notorious paedophile Rolf Harris was a frequent guest on many BBC programmes, but Yvette Fielding, who joined as a co-presenter with Mark Curry and Caron Keating at the age of 18 in 1987, disclosed that she was molested by the disgraced entertainer after being left alone with him in a TV studio. Last year, she made serious allegations against the BBC, asserting to The Sun, "It was bizarre to think Rolf Harris was squeezing and patting my bottom and I am standing there, thinking, 'I don't know what to do'. Other people in the industry must have known what he was like and (they) left me alone in the studio with him.
"That shouldn't have happened. I think a lot of them did know."
Now aged 56, Fielding is widely recognised for her work on the ghost-hunting programme Most Haunted, which she presented and co-developed with her husband Karl Beattie, who also served as the cameraman and producer for the show.
Konnie Huq
Konnie Huq faced her own challenges during her tenure as Blue Peter presenter - a role she held longer than any other female presenter from 1997 to 2008. She had to issue an on-air apology following a scandal that resulted in the BBC being fined £50,000 by Ofcom.
It emerged that a child had been allowed to impersonate a viewer on air due to technical difficulties, and this subterfuge was used to fake the results of a competition to guess the owner of a pair of celebrity shoes. Konnie later remarked with clear dismay, "I was horrified. I couldn't believe it was allowed to happen. It was partly because of the scam I made the decision to leave."
Married to the acclaimed Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker, the 49-year-old London-based mother of two has transitioned from her TV presenting and celebrity game show panelist roles to become a successful children's author, penning books and scripts.
Pet scandals
The iconic children's programme Blue Peter wasn't without its controversies, including a pet scandal in 1962. It was later revealed that the first pet Petra was a last-minute substitute for the original dog who tragically died of distemper just two days before her scheduled debut on the show
Biddy Baxter, the Leicester-born veteran Blue Peter editor who stepped down in 1988, disclosed in her memoir "The Woman Who Made Blue Peter" the necessity of finding a lookalike for the deceased pup to avoid upsetting the show's young audience: "It was unthinkable to traumatise our youngest viewers, so we had to trawl London for the dead pup's lookalike.
Another memorable incident involved a custody dispute over Shep, the programme's beloved border collie, when legendary presenter John Noakes departed after a 12-year stint. Despite having lived with Noakes since his television introduction in 1971, there was a contentious moment when he left the show, as he expressed frustration at the time: "I thought Shep was mine – they told me I could keep him, but they went back on their word.
Leicester-born Biddy, now aged 91, clarified in her book that Noakes did indeed care for Shep until he and his wife Vicky embarked on a sailing adventure around the world in 1982. Subsequently, Shep was taken in by the show's pet carer Edith Menezes. Noakes passed away in 2017.
Peter Duncan
In 1980, the audacious Noakes was succeeded by another man of action, actor Peter Duncan, who had previously appeared in a risqué film titled The Lifetaker. Despite the ensuing controversy, Duncan, who co-hosted with Simon Groom, Sarah Greene and Janet Ellis, wasn't dismissed.
He now reflects: "They labelled me a soft porn star and it was utter nonsense. Yes, there was a bit of soft-focus nudity, but it wasn't lascivious. '.
In 2014, Duncan even made light of the situation when he tweeted, "For your amusement on my 60th trailer from my 1973 'porn' film that caused shock and headlines."
In the early 2000s, Duncan and his wife Annie produced a series of family holiday documentaries featuring their four children. Now aged 71, the former chief scout Duncan remains active every Christmas for panto season with his Jack and the Beanstalk production.
Stars lost too soon
When Duncan departed from the show for the first time in 1984, he was replaced by Michael Sundin, whose dismissal sparked controversy when rumours about his homosexuality began to circulate in the media. Tragically, Michael passed away at the age of 28 from an Aids-related illness in 1989, although it was reported as "liver cancer" at the time.
The show also mourned the loss of another presenter far too young, Gloria Hunniford's daughter Caron Keating, who succumbed to breast cancer in April 2004, aged 41, after a seven-year battle, leaving behind two young sons.
Peter Purves
Blue Peter icon Peter Purves, the show's longest-serving male presenter, is still thriving at 86. He was a part of the programme from 1967 to 1978 and once had a fleeting romantic encounter with fellow presenter Valerie Singleton during his marriage.
Purves later confessed, "It was only one night. We remained great friends." Purves also revealed that he developed skin cancer due to his extensive travels for the show, as he told The Mail on Sunday: "I travelled to 27 countries with Blue Peter in the 1960s and early 70s."
Despite the so-called 'curse of Blue Peter', Purves enjoys a tranquil life in Suffolk with his wife Kathryn Evans and their dogs. Meanwhile, Singleton, now 88, chose not to marry or have children. Following her time on television, she pursued a career in radio before retiring to Somerset.
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