Blue Peter presenters: From John Noakes to Valeria Singleton, here are the longest standing hosts

Children’s TV programme Blue Peter has arguably cemented itself as a household staple throughout its 60 years on television.

Much of its success has to be put down to the variety of loyal and long-standing presenters whose faces quickly became familiar whilst on the show.

Altogether there have been a total of 37 official presenters of Blue Peter during its 60 years on television.

Here are the 10 longest-serving members of the team and what they are doing now.

1. John Noakes (1965-78): 12 years, 178 days

With his boundless energy, chirpy personality and love of the outdoors, John Noakes created the template for the Blue Peter "action man".

During his record-breaking stint on the show, he climbed a ladder up the side of Nelson's Column without ropes or harness, made a five-mile high free-fall with the RAF, and survived a nasty crash at 80mph while bobsleighing down the Cresta Run in Switzerland.

He also set the trend for pairing presenters with dogs, looking after the mongrel Patch followed by Border Collie Shep. Noakes sadly passed away in 2017 at the age of 83 after a battle with Alzheimer’s.

2. Peter Purves (1967-78): 10 years, 127 days

Peter Purves, Noakes and Valerie Singleton were one of Blue Peter's best-remembered line-ups. Their long spells on the programme helped cement the idea of a Blue Peter "team", with distinct but complementary personalities.

Purves often played "big brother" to Noakes' cheeky antics, but he saw his fair share of escapades too, including climbing the Forth Bridge, training with the Royal Signals Motorbike

Display Team, and taking part in a mediaeval jousting tournament. He also looked after another much-loved dog, Petra.

He has since gone on to take part in a number of projects including being the Dr Who Annual Reader for BBC Audio Books, appearing as a guest on Antiques Roadshow and contributing to the Blue Peter National Archive.

3. Konnie Huq (1997-2008): 10 years, 52 days

The show's longest-serving female presenter, Konnie Huq was one of the team who helped to take Blue Peter smoothly into the 21st century and make the show relevant for the internet age.

She also proved there was no distinction between what a man and a woman could do on the programme, tackling rally driving, fin-swimming and power-boat racing.

Following her exit from the show, Huq has gone on to make appearances on This Morning, Sunday Brunch, The One Show and feature on a podcast interview as part of The Penguin Podcast.

4. Valerie Singleton (1962-72): 9 years, 304 days

Though Leila Williams was Blue Peter's first female presenter, Valerie Singleton remains perhaps the most famous.

Her calm authority and ease under pressure made her the model Blue Peter host, and she appeared just as home mingling with royalty or learning ballroom dancing as exploring the contents of York's Roman sewers and landing a light aeroplane.

Singelton’s later career saw her take part in a number of documentaries including a tribute to John Noakes. She also appeared on Celebrity Antiques Road trip in 2011 and 2017.

5. Christopher Trace (1958-67): 8 years, 281 days

The show's first male presenter, Christopher Trace was a rock of stability during the programme's tentative early years.

He had an ease in front of the camera and a way of talking to viewers that helped revolutionise children's television, shifting it permanently from the stuffy, formal tone of the 1950s into a more relaxed mood for the 1960s - typified by his decision not to wear a tie on camera.

Trace’s later life saw him resign from the media-industry after presenting on several BBC TV and radio shows

Sadly Trace died in 1993 from throat cancer but was visited by co-presenter Valerie Singleton and former editor of Blue Peter magazine Biddy Baxter in the days prior to his death.

6. Simon Groom (1978-86): 8 years, 39 days

With his dog Goldie by his side, Simon Groom kept the Blue Peter ship safely on course through a period when many other presenters came and went.

His highlights included doing a perilous aerial slide off Tower Bridge with the Royal Marines, learning to water ski, and taking part in dragon-boat racing in Malaysia.

Groom also filmed many items at his family's farm in Derbyshire.

After Groom left the popular children’s show he returned to the DJ decks, which he had previously explore before his stint on the show. He has moved on to running his own TV production company.

7. Matt Baker (1999-2006): 7 years, 1 day

Another presenter from a farming background, Matt Baker - along with his Border Collie Meg - brought Blue Peter viewers regular tastes of life outdoors, besides tackling challenges as varied as living in a simulated First World War trench and completing the Royal Marines assault course.

He had an unflappable style and was just as comfortable interviewing competition winners as prime ministers. Baker cemented himself as one of the more recognisable faces in television following his time on the show.

The Buckinghamshire resident moved on to taking part in shows including Countryfile and Secret Britain. In 2006 Baker landed himself a presenting role alongside Alex Jones on the One Show, where he still presents every evening.

8. Lesley Judd (1972-79): 6 years, 332 days

Undaunted at having to step into Valerie Singleton's shoes, Lesley Judd went further than her predecessor in helping to change perceptions about what a female presenter could do on television.

She asked for, and was given, just as many action-based assignments as her colleagues, John Noakes and Peter Purves, including abseiling on to the Bishop Rock lighthouse during a storm, rally-driving on Exmoor and joining a circus trapeze act.

After her stint in the limelight Judd stepped away from presenting and is believed to have moved to France but has appeared in a handful of Blue Peter tribute programmes.

9. Barney Harwood (2011-17): 6 years, 240 days

Already a familiar face on BBC children's television before he joined the show, Barney Harwood was a natural for Blue Peter and the ideal choice to help steer the programme through another period of change.

He stayed on board as Blue Peter moved from London to Salford and from BBC One to the CBBC channel, tackling a string of challenges including learning Cossack dancing, canoeing in a tin bath and trying out the longest zip-wire in Europe.

Harwood wasn’t away from screens for long as he went on to guest star on a number of shows including Hotel Trubble and Hacker Time. Last year, he appeared on Celebrity Masterchef and competed for the title.

10. Simon Thomas (1999-2005): 6 years, 107 days

Simon Thomas was part of Blue Peter's longest-lasting quartet of presenters, alongside Konnie Huq, Matt Baker and Liz Barker.

He was another of the show's action men, running the London Marathon, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and training with the England under-18s squad. But he was also just as willing as his colleagues to dress up for the show's many historical sketches or the annual Blue Peter panto.

After leaving the BBC, Thomas moved over to Sky ports where he became a TV staple across the nation.

Thomas has taken some time away from his presenting roles after his wife Gemma sadly died in November last year, only three days after she was diagnosed with Leukaemia.

He has since appeared on TV to open up about his heart-breaking grief and the sweet messages he sends his son to school with every day.

Additional reporting by Press Association