Lies, Damed Lies and the BBC

By Robert Weatherall on Sep 22, 07 10:24 AM in

I don’t really trust Blue Peter. I never have. Ever since I was a little child there has been something about the programme which has always rankled with me.

Each week seeing Mark Curry (a ginger four eyes), Peter Duncan (actor who exposed all on screen) or Sarah Greene (married to ludicrous jumper wearing Mike Smith) making perfect models out of cardboard and sticky back plastic while I ended up making something that looked more like the remains of Hiroshima after the bomb I knew the programme wasn’t to be trusted.

Earlier this year they admitted the phone voting scandal and now they have been caught at it again. And it’s nothing new for decades the trusty Beeb have been lieing to the public. Did you know they replaced the first Blue Peter pet in a coverup? ….

Petra the mongrel puppy was first introduced to the British Public back in 1962 unvieled from a cardboard box wrapped in Christmas paper (hardly reinforcing the dog is for life message).

All seemed well but within two days Petra had died from distemper. Rather than cough up and give the youngsters a lesson in the thin line between life and death the producers covered up and brought in Petra II hoping no-one would notice. It was to be the first in a long line of deciets which would eventually come home to roost.

The most recent – programme makers held a competition to name Blue Peter’s latest cat. The viewers wanted the name Cookie but instead the vote was fixed to call the animal Socks.

What possible reason could there be to do this other than not giving a damn about your viewers? It’s made all the worse as it comes less than six months after the programme was caught out fixing the result of a phone competition.

Back then presenter Konnie Huq said: “When this mistake happened we let you down.��? Richard Deverell, Controller, BBC Children's, said: "BBC Children's has a deep and genuine commitment to our audiences, and our relationship with them is built on trust. It is very important that Blue Peter to ensure that lessons are learned."

Actions speak louder than words Mr Deverell and it would appear no-one at Blue Peter has learned a damn thing other than if you lie to the public and get caught it’s not important as you’ll get off Scott free.

What next I wonder? Will the staff of Antiques Roadshow be uncovered as undervaluing antique clocks as part of a sting to make a quick profit. Will Songs of Praise admit it dubs over the congregations it visits with professional choirs?

And when will they admit that the cast of Last Of the Summer Wine all died in 1993 and have since been played by Computer Generated Images?