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CÂ鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú's Blue Peter announced today that Mabel, the border collie cross who was beloved by millions of children during her long 14-year career on the show, has died.

Mabel was the programme's first-ever rescue dog. She originally featured on the programme on 8 January 1996 when Katy Hill met her while making a film about the RSPCA. She officially joined the programme on 19 February 1996 when she drove into the studio with inspector Mark Buggie. Her name was inspired by the letters MAB1 on her RSPCA kennel.

The popular pet, who retired from the show in the summer of 2010, was the second-longest serving dog on the CÂ鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú show after Petra, who appeared on the programme for 15 years from 1962 to 1977.

During her long career Mabel starred alongside 14 different presenters, and appeared in hundreds of studio shows. She was known particularly for loving any kind of ball, and would frequently chase them off camera if one appeared in the studio. She was also one of the first dogs to go abroad when presenter Konnie Huq took her and golden retriever Lucy on a trip to Belgium.

Mabel, who had heterochromia eyes (one blue and one brown) and a distinctive folded-over ear, spent her retirement living with a former member of the production team.

Presenter Helen Skelton said: "I'm proud to have worked alongside such an iconic Blue Peter dog. She was dearly loved and that's a credit to her quirky character. She'll be sorely missed by the presenters and viewers alike."

Notes to editors

Mabel's precise age isn't known, since she was a rescue dog. However, it is thought that she may have been around 16 years old when she died.

VT