What happened to Blue Peter’s pets? FEMAIL explores what became of the beloved dogs

For many Blue Peter fans, the beloved pets that would make regular appearances on the longest-running children’s television show were one of the highlights of their viewing experience.

More than 20 animals became pets for the popular British programme – including cats, dogs, horses, parrots, and even tortoises.

The first was Petra, a mongrel, who was adopted by the show in the 1960s – but, perhaps more famously, there was also Shep in the 1970s.

Blue Peter presenter John Noakes was left bitter amid his claims he was forced apart from his beloved dog Shep by BBC bosses after he left the show.

However, a new book has now alleged that Noakes did actually keep his border collie – before giving it away when he decided to go on a round-the-world sailing trip.

The biography of Blue Peter editor Biddy Baxter claims the BBC did not forcibly separate Noakes and Shep when the presenter said he was leaving in 1977.

Following the new revelations, FEMAIL takes a look at what happened to Shep and some of the other Blue Peter dogs following their careers on the show.

PETRA

Adopted Petra first appeared on Blue Peter in 1962, when its very first presenter Christopher Trace fronted the show alongside Valerie Singleton.

Petra, who was looked after by Trace, appeared as a regular for 15 years, and remained the longest serving animal companion until 2011.

There was even a bronze bust of the beloved canine, crafted by William Timym, outside the Blue Peter studios in Salford.

Petra gave birth to the second Blue Peter pet, Patch, in 1965. The pup was looked after by presenter John Noakes, until the pooch’s death in 1971.

In 2008, the programme’s former editor Biddy Baxter told the full story of how its first adopted animal was actually a fake.  She was an emergency replacement found when the original dog died two days after her debut.

In a book chronicling 50 years of Britain’s favourite children’s programme, titled Dear Blue Peter, Miss Baxter describes the ruse in detail.

She recalls how on the last episode before Christmas 1962 the head of Children’s Television, Owen Reed, appeared on the screen with a large cardboard box covered with festive paper and ribbons.

He presented it to Christopher Trace and Valerie Singleton, who cut the ribbon, opened the box and revealed a tiny eight-week-old black-and-brown puppy.

Miss Baxter, editor from 1962 to 1988, said: ‘It was the dog’s first and last TV appearance. Two days later she died of distemper.

‘It was unthinkable to traumatise our youngest viewers by giving them the sad news, so the producer Edward Barnes and I set off in his Mini to trawl London for the dead pup’s lookalike.

‘It wasn’t until we reached Lewisham that we struck lucky. In a dingy shop window there was one small browny-black puppy, shivering in the corner of a pen. Not a single viewer spotted the swap.’

The replacement dog, named Petra in a viewers’ vote, appeared until 1977.

She might have been regarded as a national treasure but presenter Peter Purves thought otherwise.

He once said: ‘People imagined she was a German Shepherd, but she was some rough collie cross. She’d lost her teeth, developed diabetes, her eyes were bad and she was neurotic and badly bred. A mess.’ Petra died aged 15 in September 1977 from old age.

SHEP

Blue Peter host John Noakes was initially told he could take Shep the dog with him when the presenter said he was leaving in 1977, but was then asked to sign a disclaimer that the animal would not appear in adverts or shows by competitors.

This left Noakes so angry that he tore up the paper on his last day at work and threw the pieces on the studio floor, according to Baxter’s biographer Richard Marson.

However, Noakes and Shep were then said to have lived happily together for the next few years – and Shep appeared with him in several series of the presenter’s BBC adventure show Go With Noakes.

Noakes then signed a contract to make a dog food advert, reported the Daily Telegraph. But because Shep could not appear, a lookalike named Skip was hired, who also then lived with Noakes.

The book – ‘Biddy Baxter: The Woman Who Made Blue Peter’ – then states that both dogs were given away when the couple decide to sell their home and go on a huge sailing adventure.

Noakes’s widow, Vicky, told Mr Marson: ‘Dogs find being at sea quite disturbing and get very anxious.’

And Mr Marson said: ‘John and Vicky took the lifechanging decision to sell their home in Britain and embark on an epic sailing adventure. Neither Shep nor Skip would be joining them.’

Shep was rehomed with Blue Peter’s long-standing pet keeper Edith Menezes. The dog was owned by the BBC, which paid an allowance to cover expenses.

Noakes first claimed in 1983 that the BBC had forcibly separated him from Shep, which resulted in Baxter receiving letters wrongly accusing her of cruelty.

The presenter had said: ‘I thought Shep was mine – they told me I could keep him, but they went back on their word.’

Noakes famously loathed Baxter until his death in 2017, with issues over the ownership of Shep being a crucial point.

Noakes and his wife moved from Britain to Majorca after their sailing adventure, but visited Shep shortly before the dog died in 1987. Ms Menezes died in 1994.

Mrs Noakes said of their final visit to see the dog: ‘We had just been to see Shep. By this time, he had stomach problems and was pretty much blind. But, immediately he heard John’s voice, whoosh, down the path he went like a bullet and they were reunited. They were good mates and John loved him.’

Baxter, who edited Blue Peter from 1962 to 1988, is now aged 90. Mr Marson worked on Blue Peter for almost a decade, as producer and later its editor.

Biddy Baxter: The Woman Who Made Blue Peter is out on July 3, priced at £17.99.

GOLDIE AND HER DAUGHTER BONNIE

Golden Retriever Goldie joined Blue Peter as a puppy in 1978, alongside new presenter Simon Groom. As became tradition, her name was chosen by viewers.

Goldie was the first in a long line of Golden Retrievers to appear on the show, including one of her puppies, Bonnie, who joined in 1986.

The new mother left the show shortly after giving birth, and went to live with Groom on his Derbyshire farm.

Bonnie then took up the mantle – and appeared with 16 different presenters on 1,150 editions of Blue Peter.

Goldie lived until she was 14 years old. She is buried on her owner’s farm. Bonnie retired in 1999 to live with Leonie Pocock, her off-screen owner. She died at the age of 15 in 2001.

MABEL

Long-serving Mabel enjoyed a 14-year screen career; the border collie cross was seen by millions of children during her time on the show.

She was the programme’s first rescue dog before retiring in 2010. Mabel – whose exact age was not known, but was thought to be 16 – died in 2011.

The popular pet was the second-longest serving dog on the BBC show after Petra.

Former Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton said after Mabel’s death: ‘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.’

Mabel originally featured on the programme in January 1996 when then presenter Katy Hill met her while making a film about the RSPCA.

She officially joined a month later when she came into the studio with inspector Mark Buggie from the animal charity.

Her name came from the letters MAB1 which were written on her RSPCA kennel. She starred alongside 14 different presenters in hundreds of studio shows.

She was notable for her different coloured eyes – one brown, one blue – and a folded-over ear.

Mabel spent her retirement living with a former member of the production team.

MEG

Meg was a Border Collie belonging to Blue Peter presenter Matt Baker who, though not considered an official pet from the show, often made appearances.

The trained sheepdog lived on Baker’s farm in County Durham, and after leaving the show with the presenter in 2006, appeared on Countryfile and the BBC’s 2007 coverage of Crufts.

Matt previously explained to The Daily Mail in 2009 how Meg was given to the presenter after he struggled with loneliness while trying to live in London, shortly after landing the job on Blue Peter.

‘I had virtually no experience of London and I was incredibly lonely. People just don’t talk to you in the same way and my only contact was people saying “Aren’t you that bloke off Blue Peter?”

‘Nicola, who was then my girlfriend, was studying physiotherapy in Nottingham, so I rarely saw her. That’s why I asked the editor of the show for a dog, to ease the loneliness.

‘They found Meg, a border collie sheepdog, who became a fixture of the show, and I moved to a rented two-bedroom cottage in Chalfont St Giles in Buckinghamshire.’

Meg had to be put down at the age of 11 in 2011 following a battle with cancer, reported The Radio Times. She’s buried on Matt’s farm.

BARNEY

In 2009, Irish Setter Dachshund mix Barney was introduced to Blue Peter. Barney was the show’s ninth dog – a former stray given to presenter Helen Skelton by the Dogs Trust.

The playful pup was said to receive just as much fan mail as Skelton, who he still lives with after leaving the show with his owner in 2013.

The then Dogs Trust chief executive Clarissa Baldwin said at the time: ‘We are thrilled that Blue Peter has chosen a rescue dog as their latest canine team member.

‘Barney is a charming little pup who was brought to one of our rehoming centres when he was found as a stray.

‘He immediately impressed staff with his winning personality and they knew that he was destined to be a star.

‘We wish Barney and Helen all the very best, and we all look forward to keeping up with their exciting adventures each week on the show.’