Blue Peter’s formidable editor dies at the age of 92

Bidi Baxter, who died at the age of 92, converted Blue Peter into a television institute.

His recipe of pets, charity appeals, gymnastics displays, foreign travel reports and his recipe of topical history met the test of time.

And, of course, for more than 25 years, he introduced the generations of children for the pleasure of making rockets from sticky-supported plastic and plastic bottles.

She was emotional about his audience to join the program, with the participation of the audience long before becoming an industry mantra.

But he also received a reputation as a malignant person: a tyrannical who fell with the presenter and protected the Blue Peter brand from jealousy.

Zone Morin Baxter was born in May 1933 at Lester.

His father was the director of a sportswear company and his mother was a pianoist.

There were lots of jones in his classroom in school, so a nickname was made on the spot.

During the war, her upbringing created the potential of make-do and mend in the bidi, which later became part of the Blue Peter Location.

“My friends and I brought for Spitfire Fund and sold shopping and put in drama and concerts for the British Red Cross and France.”

She was educated in 1952 at a local grammar school before going to St. Mary College, Durham University. At that time, only 6% of undergraduate women were women.

Experience shaped the rest of her life. “For three memorable years, Durham was my life.”

Baxter intended to become a jail officer or social worker. But, by chance, he saw that there was advertisement for BBC employees.

He suggested to a university career officer that women were best suited for teaching or secretary work.

“He told me,” Nobody ever works for BBC from Durham, “So I applied. I should really be grateful to him.”

She joined the BBC in 1955 as a radio trainee studio manager, creating sound effects. He was promoted in 1958 to listen to school junior English programs and mother.

He had a brief mantra in children’s television to cover the duration of the disease and was applied for a permanent job soon after.

A radio colleague branded him a traitor to blame him for television.

In 1962, he was asked to take over as the producer of Blue Peter, a program whose life expectancy was low.

For those children, something was imagined, who saw the clock with the mother, its existence was resting on the fact that it was cheaper to make.

The 15 -minute program, Christopher trace and a former Miss Great Britain, were presented by Leela Williams.

Williams were fired before the Baxter’s program was removed and a new presenter, Valerie Singleton, was admitted to work with trace.

Baxter harassed the program like a tornado. Within a year, he introduced the prestigious Blue Peter badge after commissioning a young artist named Tony Heart to design the ship’s logo.

He also decided to recruit a dog, so the audience who did not have a pet could share in a sense of ownership.

Unfortunately, the animal died exactly two days after his first appearance in Christmas 1962.

Baxter and his producers, Edward Barns, decided not to inform the audience, rather replaced a sad -looking Mongreel discovered at a pet shop in South London.

Innocent audiences of the switch were asked to come up with a name for the puppy. He chose Petra.

Two years later, when children were asked to write for a picture of a dog, more than 60,000 came into force.

When Petra died in 1977, a film star worthy newspaper was Obiturij.

“Fur and feathers are more important than meat,” she used to tell the presenter.

It was reported that he once threw his handbag on a director, which failed to get closer to the Golden Retrier, Goldie of the program.

The stroke of Baxter’s talent was asking the resources of his audience to contribute to the ideas that he wanted to see in the program.

And letters inserted in the bacteria set a complex card index system to get personal answers instead of a format letter.

“We can examine the index and answer,” When you wrote the last time your hamster had a pav. I hope it’s better. ” This is just a small thing, but children are not stupid. ,

Baxter later estimated that 75% of the show’s content was based on the ideas presented by its audience.

Baxter was appointed as the editor of the program in 1965 and the change of Blue Peter continued.

The location filming was introduced, more pets appeared, and an appeal was initiated to collect old toys and silver paper for good reasons.

It was an early example of recycling and designed so that the poorest audience could also participate.

With improving ratings, Blue Peter was now twice a week.

Baxter worked hard for the program, emphasizing the best studios and resources.

He found a piece of garbage ground behind the television center, and built a garden.

Michael Grade – Now Lord Grade – crossed his path when he was the controller of BBC1.

“His life was that show.” He recalled “Without the obsessive talent, the program would never have maintained the quality he did.”

The iconic Blue Peter Annual appeared with a mixture of his entertaining but informative articles.

Before invention of the phrase, the Baxter ended the penis stereotyping. Male presenters were expecting their share of cooking duties.

But when the presenter was the public face of Blue Peter, there was never any doubt about who ran the show and most of his teams were in their fear.

A studio manager recalled that his habit of walking in the studio in Stillto Heels damaged the floor, but no one dared to tell him.

Baxter strongly admitted that no presenter was larger than the event and had reduced any of them, which she felt that she had fallen down from the standards she expected.

“They can always go and work elsewhere,” he said once.

Peter Parvs, who joined Blue Peter as a presenter in 1967, recalled: “This woman controlled our life, and she did not do it very well.”

Valerie Singleton complained that he treated presenters like children. John Naund called him terrible: “He was a bully who behaved me like Yokel in Yorkshire. I could not follow him.”

A former manufacturer was once asked if there was a hierarchy. “Yes,” he replied. “The bid at the top and the bottom were everyone else.”

When he left the Blue Peter, the naund fell out with the baxter. He intended to be present with shape in his stimulating dogs, domesticated food advertisements. The Baxter was frightened.

“I think it would be immoral,” he said. “How can you be a Blue Peter Presenter on Commercial Television Advertising Dog Food, so children think, ‘I should buy it.”

In the incident, Nauns performed advertisements with a Luklaic Dog.

However, until 1980, children were definitely old -fashioned against Brash newcomers for children like Blue Peter ATV.

Childhood was changing and this program was definitely unique to accept to watch.

It also came under the attack by commentator, who met the lack of its diversity and claimed that it reduces middle class values.

“All these people who wind it on it,” said Baxter. The bottom line is that people want to see it? They do and do in millions. So I do not believe that it is smog, self-satisfied and class-hit. ,

Bidi Baxter left the program in 1988. There are different stories about his departure.

At the time, it was reported that she decided to leave when her husband, music expert John Hosier was offered a job in China and decided to accompany her.

But Richard Marson-his colleague-connected-a living person stressed that he was “maneuversed by a new head of children’s programs in the summer of 1988, who wanted the show to develop without his omniscient motherhood.”

She was destroyed, but did not publicly complain.

On his departure, he was awarded a Blue Peter Gold Badge, which was the highest honor of the program. He worked as a freelance advisor for various BBC directors General till his retirement in 2000.

In 2013, he was given a special BAFTA Award. A former BBC chief told The Guardian that “he was somehow ignored. If anyone is entitled to be recognized. Blue Peter is a legend and he is Blue Peter.”

Peter Salman, a senior BBC executive, who worked on Blue Peter as a junior producer, said what he felt that was the secret of Baxter’s success.

“He got the right diet right for all the greens at the right place, the central England – meat and potatoes. And sponge pudding to follow. It’s comfortable and regular. Sometimes you will also enjoy it.”