Tomorrow (Saturday) will mark 60 years since Biddy Baxter introduced Blue Peter’s famous badge.
Since 17th June 1963, hundreds of thousands of badges have been awarded, with 750,000 in the last decade alone.
“Every week on Blue Peter we encourage kids to join in, find out new stuff, be creative and adventurous and earn their very own Blue Peter badge,” explained Ellen Evans, Editor, Blue Peter.
“To this day the Blue Peter team love reading the letters from our fans and we reply personally to every one we receive. There is something very special about receiving a personal letter in the post and knowing that you’ve earnt your badge because you’ve done your best. Everyone wants a Blue Peter badge, from kids to celebrities!”
It was started to encourage children to write in and tell producers what they’d like to see on the show. In return, they were rewarded with the badge.
Today, there are 8 different versions – Blue, Silver, Green, Sport, Purple, Orange, Gold and Music. Each is related to a different topic including kindness and doing something for others, the environment and sport.
The music badge was designed by Ed Sheeran, while the 2021 Sport Badge was created by Britain’s youngest Olympian, Sky Brown, with Lioness, Leah Williamson due to unveil her version later this year.
The gold badge is reserved for “outstanding bravery, courage and expertise or have represented their country in an international event.” Recipients include King Charles, Greta Thunberg, Tim Peake, Steven Spielberg, Sir Mo Farrah, and Sir David Attenborough.
Blue Peter is filmed at dock10 in MediaCity and is on CBBC and BBC iPlayer every Friday from 5pm.
