Get down Goldie
During this era of the show, the partnership of Simon Groom and Goldie rivalled John and Shep in popularity.
On 16th March 1981 Goldie gave birth to a litter of puppies. Her second litter was delivered on 3rd February 1986, and one of the puppies, Bonnie, joined the show. Visit the pets section for more information.
Blue Peter Baby
Sarah Greene replaced Tina Heath, who left the show to have a baby. Jemma Victoria Cooke was born on 22nd September 1980 and Tina and Jemma appeared on the 10th November edition of the show. Both returned in 1993, when Jemma was thirteen.
Duncan Dares
Peter Duncan soon established himself as the action man of Blue Peter - on his first programme he was seen climbing the face of Big Ben. In 1984 Peter presented his own series, Duncan Dares, which capitalised on this image.
Keep on running
Peter also took part in the first London Marathon, held on 29th March 1981. Peter joined 7,054 other runners for the start at the zero Meridian line near the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. He completed the run in 3 hours 11 minutes and came 1,868 out of the 6,418 runners that completed the marathon.
Peter also took part the next year, but he hit 'the wall' and had to have first aid. He still completed the run in a commendable 3 hours 45 minutes. Since then he has taken part in 1983, 1984 and 1991 - the last alongside fellow Blue Peter presenter John Leslie.
Under the sea
On 19th May 1982, after gruelling training, Sarah Greene made a 13 metre journey below the Solent to the wreck of Henry VIII's flagship The Mary Rose. Two days after her dive, Sarah and Simon visited the President of the Mary Rose Trust, HRH The Prince of Wales, who showed them some of the treasures recovered, including a 'dead eye', one of the blocks used to hoist the sails, found by Sarah. She was also on hand to report on the raising of the wreck on 11th October 1982.
Commemorative Stamps
In 1966 two Blue Peter viewers, James Berry and Tasveer Shemza, designed Britain's first ever Blue Peter stamps. Fifteen years later the Post Office approached the programme again. Six stamps and a first day cover were issued for Christmas 1981, all designed by viewers.
Blue Peter uncovered
Perhaps one of the most celebrated features broadcast during Sarah Greene's stint on the show was the one where Sarah, Maggie Philbin, Tina Heath and Isla St Clair all dressed-up in historical underwear. One for the dads then.
Pass the medallion
During Blue Peter's 20th anniversary in 1978 former presenter Christopher Trace donated a solid bronze medallion to be awarded each year for a feat of Outstanding Endeavour. In 1982 it was presented to Musical Youth for becoming the youngest band to reach number one in the singles charts with Pass the Dutchie. In 1983 Andrea Holmes won the award for becoming Britain's youngest ever women's trampoline champion.
Roar footage
Simon Groom's finest hour came when he visited Tippi Hedren and her pet cats. Sounds a bit dull, until you realise these were lions, the stars of Roar. Simon's nerves were probably not helped by Tippi telling him about one of the Roar crew having their ear bitten off.
List of appeals and targets
1980 - The Great Bring and Buy Sale - bungalows for the disabled
1981 - Operation Pipeline - pure water and health care in Java
1982 - The Treasure Hunt Appeal - treasure for Great Ormond Street
1983 - The Weatherbeater Appeal - aid for 21 countries hit by droughts and floods
The idea for the 1980 appeal sprang from a Horizon documentary screened about Joey Deacon, a sixty year old man who suffered from cerebral palsy, which seriously affected his limbs and speech. With the funds raised, three bungalows were built in the grounds of St Lawrence's Hospital in Caterham, and Joey and his fellow patients moved into them.
The Blue Peter Expeditions
1980 - Malaysia
1981 - Japan
1982 - Canada
1983 - Sri Lanka
Back to school
In 1981 the team reported from the set of Grange Hill and launched a short story competition. Out of a whopping 21,212 entries a winner was chosen and published in the 1981 Blue Peter book.
Biddy honoured
On 10th February 1981 Biddy Baxter went to Buckingham Palace to receive the MBE. The award had been announced in the Queen's New Year's Honours list.
