Biddy Baxter, who has died aged 92 after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and breast cancer, carved out a place in television history by shaping the hugely successful format of the world’s longest-running children’s magazine show, Blue Peter – while in charge of it for a quarter of a century. She took over as producer in 1962 – four years after its inception – to overhaul a factual programme then described by BBC management as being like “a rundown property with potential for improvement”.
Its audience of primary school-age children originally saw Christopher Trace, an actor, and Leila Williams, a former Miss Great Britain, presenting the 15-minute weekly show, which began with film of a three-masted schooner lowering its Blue Peter flag, signalling the start of a voyage, accompanied by the 1930s hornpipe theme tune, Barnacle Bill.
