1980-1981
1980 · 82 episodes
Episodes
1. Episode 1
September 8, 1980
Expedition Malaysia There's more than a touch of Eastern promise in this year's expedition! Simon and Sarah have explored one of the world's most exotic countries. Giant turtles, coconut collecting monkeys, dragon boat races, Sepak Raga - the football game where you kick with the back of your heel, blow-pipe hunters and the world's largest and hottest tin smelting works are just a few of the unusual sights they saw. Studio surprises include entries in the world's fastest man-powered super-cycle contest - the quadri-cycle record stands at 57 MPH! And you can catch up with the latest news about the four-legged members of the team - Goldie, Jack and Jill and Jill's kittens - not forgetting Britain's speediest tortoises, Maggie and Jim!
2. Episode 2
September 11, 1980
Today, Blue Peter's new boy makes his first-ever appearance on the programme. Think you've seen him before? You probably have, if you watched the "King Cinder" series, where Peter Duncan played the dare-devil speedway fanatic Kerry. Peter's keen to get into more action in "Blue Peter", and today he has a go at navigating Keying II, a 20-metre Chinese sailing junk, up the River Thames. In the studio there's the first-ever television appearance of Britain's record-breaking litter of 17 poodle pups.
3. Episode 3
September 15, 1980
Six-and-a-half thousand miles from Lord's and The Oval, Simon and Sarah watch the cricket at Kuala Lumpur's Selangor Club, explore the Sunday market on Saturday night and hold their noses as they sample 'durian' - the exotic tropical fruit that smells like a cowshed!
4. Episode 4
September 18, 1980
The next time you have baked beans on toast, spare a thought for the rabblers who produced the tin. They are the men who stir the molten metal in temperatures of 200°F. Sarah sizzles as she reports on Malaysia's vast tin smelting works.
5. Episode 5
September 22, 1980
6. Episode 6
September 25, 1980
'Allemande Left, Buckle Up Two, Dish Rag Turn and Do-Si-Do' Join the Hoe-Down in the Blue Peter studio as Simon, Sarah and Peter master the steps of the latest craze - Square Dancing!
7. Episode 7
September 29, 1980
Introducing 'Muhammad Ali', Malaysia's coconut-collecting baboon!
8. Episode 8
October 2, 1980
9. Episode 9
October 6, 1980
10. Episode 10
October 9, 1980
11. Episode 11
October 13, 1980
12. Episode 12
October 16, 1980
13. Episode 13
October 20, 1980
14. Episode 14
October 23, 1980
15. Episode 15
October 27, 1980
Meet the only rabbit in Britain brought up by a goat. Two months ago an orange rex doe died before giving birth to 12 babies. The only survivor was fostered by the family's British alpine goat and today Miracle and her foster mum Samantha make their first public appearance.
16. Episode 16
October 30, 1980
Star Gazey Pie, with its seven sorts of fish, is a recipe that dates back 200 years when Skipper Tom Bawcock was the only fisherman in Mousehole to put to sea in a fierce storm. Tradition has it that the fish heads stick up through the pastry, but even if you can't find seven different fish you can try out the modern version demonstrated in today's programme - with pilchards!
17. Episode 17
November 3, 1980
If you have ever resorted to counting sheep to send you off to sleep, try visiting Biggin-by-Hartington the next time you can't nod off. It's the scene of Derbyshire's biggest sheep sale and this year 13,500 lambs and ewes went under the hammer in six hours flat! Simon was there to sell a few of his father's flock and report for Blue Peter.
18. Episode 18
November 6, 1980
David Attenborough and Sir Hugh Casson have been hard at work helping to judge the Blue Peter/ Natural History Museum Centenary Poster Competition. Today is results day and even if you don't win a bronze stegosaurus, tyrannosaurus rex or brontosaurus, there are thousands of runners-up, so you never know your luck!
19. Episode 19
November 10, 1980
20. Episode 20
November 13, 1980
21. Episode 21
November 17, 1980
Simon reports from Loch Ryan, where 50,000 tons of the Royal Navy's best-loved aircraft carrier are being turned into scrap metal.
22. Episode 22
November 20, 1980
An estimated 20 million trees have been killed by the dreaded Dutch Elm disease and unless 50 million saplings are planted during the next three years, Britain's landscape could look like a moonscape by the year 2000. To mark National Tree Week, Simon, Sarah and Peter are planting a Japanese Elm at Television Centre - with expert guidance from Percy Thrower.
23. Episode 23
November 24, 1980
24. Episode 24
November 27, 1980
Today Simon, Sarah and Peter make Blue Peter's most important announcement of the year - so have a paper and pencil handy for details of the 1980 Appeal.
25. Episode 25
December 1, 1980
Last year nine million Blue Peter viewers raised nearly £4 million to help the starving people of Cambodia. Today you can discover more details about the 1980 Appeal. Your help is urgently needed, so have a paper and pencil handy to take down the Appeal address. There's good news for pocket money savers too, because Sarah will be showing a Christmas present to make for Grannies and Grandads - so keep a look out for old margarine carton lids - and all will be revealed!
26. Episode 26
December 4, 1980
Peter joins a team of men with one of the most dangerous jobs in Britain - the crew of the fishing boat Fruitful Harvest. Seventy miles off the coast of north-east Scotland, skipper Robert Reid and his men battle with Force 9 gales and 30-foot waves as they haul in their six-ton catch.
27. Episode 27
December 8, 1980
Top Cats! Last Saturday 2,450 cats and kittens took part in the National Cat Club's 84th annual show - the largest in the world. Sarah was there judging the Blue Peter classes for pet moggies, and today the eight first prize winners come to the studio with their owners to compete for the silver cup and the title Blue Peter Supreme Champion.
28. Episode 28
December 11, 1980
Christmas is Coming! Lighting the first candle on the Advent Crown means there are only four Blue Peters to go before the Great Day! There's an idea for a present to make for Dads and uncles, too, so don't despair if you've run out of pocket money.
29. Episode 29
December 15, 1980
'Merry Christmas' in Cornish, and today four brothers from Bodmin, Merv, Andy, Chris and Neil, otherwise known as Bucca, make their very first appearance on TV. They'll be singing old favourites like 'Tom Bawcock's Eve' and playing some of their amazing collection of 40 instruments, including the bombarde. And Sarah tells the story of the Unknown Armada, when Mousehole, Newlyn, Penzance and Paul were invaded by Spanish troops in 1595. Story Dorothy Smith
30. Episode 30
December 18, 1980
This time next week, Christmas Day will be nearly over. If your cards are arriving thick and fast and there's nowhere left to put them, you might like to make a Christmas card hanger that doubles up as a very attractive last-minute decoration.
31. Episode 31
December 22, 1980
On the last Blue Peter before Christmas there's news of the help you're giving, that will change the lives of disabled people all over Britain. Join in with carols round the tree with the children of Allfarthing's School, Warlingham County Secondary School and the Band of the Chalk Farm branch of the Salvation Army, and see if you can spot your card among the display in the studio.
32. Episode 32
December 29, 1980
1980 was an eventful year for "Blue Peter"! Tina had her baby, Jill had kittens, Simon got married and Sarah and Peter joined the team. If you missed any of these milestones, join Simon, Sarah and Peter today for "Blue Peter"'s highlights of the past 12 months - plus a look forward to 1981.
33. Episode 33
January 1, 1981
Ring in the New! On the very first day of the International Year of Disabled People, Blue Peter leaps into 1981 with the latest news of the Great Blue Peter Bring and Buy Sale Appeal. There's the chance to see in print 14-year-old Amanda Taylor's design for a poster to celebrate the centenary of the Natural History Museum plus something hot and spicy to cheer up the cold January nights!
34. Episode 34
January 5, 1981
Who Stole the Stone? Thirty years ago this year, the Coronation Stone, one of Westminster Abbey's most precious treasures, was stolen from beneath the Coronation Chair on which all the sovereigns of Britain have been crowned since the days of Edward II. Sarah tells the story of the most audacious theft of the century.
35. Episode 35
January 8, 1981
High Diver! Peter joins British diving champions LINDSEY FRASER and ANDREW JEFFS at Crystal Palace pool and picks up a few tips on perfecting Olympic dives like the double somersault, the pike and the half twist.
36. Episode 36
January 12, 1981
37. Episode 37
January 15, 1981
38. Episode 38
January 19, 1981
39. Episode 39
January 22, 1981
Including rare archive film of the funeral procession of Queen Victoria who died 80 years ago.
40. Episode 40
January 26, 1981
The result of the Christmas Stamps competition.
41. Episode 41
January 29, 1981
Happy Birthday! Jack and Jill, Britain's favourite Silver Tabbies, celebrate their fifth birthday today. But will Jill do her famous disappearing act on this important day? All will be revealed!
42. Episode 42
February 2, 1981
Will You be Mine? A preview of the 1981 St Valentine's Bay stamp and an unusual way of sending a message to your true love. Have a paper and pencil handy to take down details of a recipe for an edible Valentine.
43. Episode 43
February 5, 1981
Peter helps build the course for canoeing's most hazardous race - the White Water World Championships and tests the run.
44. Episode 44
February 9, 1981
Mucking out and milking were the main jobs Simon was asked to tackled when he took charge of his Dad's farm for a day. But the unexpected happened in the shape of 11 new-born lambs! See how Farmer Groom Jr coped in today's film report.
45. Episode 45
February 12, 1981
Simon reports from Germany where children of the British Forces are helping the Great Blue Peter Bring and Buy Sale Appeal.
46. Episode 46
February 16, 1981
47. Episode 47
February 19, 1981
48. Episode 48
February 23, 1981
49. Episode 49
February 26, 1981
50. Episode 50
March 2, 1981
51. Episode 51
March 5, 1981
52. Episode 52
March 9, 1981
53. Episode 53
March 12, 1981
54. Episode 54
March 16, 1981
In two weeks' time, 7,500 athletes will be running in the London Marathon. At 26 miles, 385 yards, it's the longest race in the world. Sarah tells the story of how this greatest test of man's endurance began.
55. Episode 55
March 19, 1981
Make sure mums and aunties are not around for this edition of the programme, as Sarah shows how to make a special card for Mothering Sunday.
56. Episode 56
March 23, 1981
57. Episode 57
March 26, 1981
Next weekend Peter joins the runners taking part in the first-ever London Marathon. Today he travels the route the easy way-on a bike - and points out some of the historic landmarks along the 26-mile track.
58. Episode 58
March 30, 1981
59. Episode 59
April 2, 1981
60. Episode 60
April 6, 1981
61. Episode 61
April 9, 1981
62. Episode 62
April 13, 1981
63. Episode 63
April 16, 1981
Grange Hill Competition Results Will your storyline be chosen for Tucker and Trish's Grange Hill Christmas Special? Guest judge Phil Redmond explains how he picked the overall winner out of the 21,212 entries.
64. Episode 64
April 23, 1981
Top Ten Birds: Will the starling stay at the top? Britain's second garden bird survey is launched on Saturday and your help is vital! Have a pencil and paper handy for the details.
65. Episode 65
April 27, 1981
Goldie's Return! Britain's most popular Golden Retriever returns to the studio with her five 6-week-old puppies. They're in good company too, with guests Kevin Keegan, Rags, the pony for handicapped riders, and Barry Tuckwell and his famous Wind Quintet.
66. Episode 66
April 30, 1981
Will Goldie's puppies qualify as trainee guide-dogs for the blind? Today's the day they take their all-important tests when Puppy Walking Manager Derek Freeman puts them through their paces in the studio.
67. Episode 67
May 7, 1981
Appeal Auction: Last Tuesday all the collectors' items donated to the Bring and Buy Sale for Disabled People were auctioned at Phillips. Find out whether the proceeds have raised the appeal total to £1 million.
68. Episode 68
May 11, 1981
Top Ten Birds: Aided by a computer, scrutineers at the RSPB's headquarters have analysed the thousands of surveys sent in by Blue Peter viewers after the one-hour birdwatch on 25 April. Discover the results today and see how the spring Top Ten compares with the winter survey of 1979.
69. Episode 69
May 14, 1981
70. Episode 70
May 18, 1981
Royal Wedding Stand by for details of a competition that could win you a unique souvenir of the Wedding of the Year.
71. Episode 71
May 21, 1981
Gaping Gill Every year high in the Pennines local cavers build a dam to divert a stream and Britain's largest subterranean cave reveals its secret for just three weeks. Peter reports from 104 metres below the earth's surface at the bottom of Gaping Gill.
72. Episode 72
May 28, 1981
Prince's First Walk Teaching a trainee guide dog puppy to walk is quite different from training a family pet. Prince must never walk to heel, but just a little bit ahead of Peter to make sure there's a safe route ahead. He has to walk on Peter's left too in preparation for the harness Prince will wear when he grows up.
73. Episode 73
June 1, 1981
Feeling hot and bothered? Cool down with a mouth-watering pudding that needs absolutely no cooking. Have a paper and pencil handy for the recipe.
74. Episode 74
June 4, 1981
Pot Black! Sarah tries her hand at being a chimney sweep's assistant when she joins Dodd Diggins of Framlingham in Suffolk. Dodd has been cleaning chimneys with brushes for 50 years and says ' You can keep your modern methods'. The Rev Valentine Fletcher collects chimney pots and his prize exhibits range from 18th-century giants of six feet to mere midgets with fluted edges, which he says are the rarest.
75. Episode 75
June 8, 1981
Full Steam Ahead! This week marks the bicentenary of one of the most famous engineers ever - George Stephenson. To celebrate the anniversary of the birth of the father of the railway and the steam locomotive, Simon reports from Derbyshire on a gigantic preservation puzzle. At Matlock, the Peak Railway Society has stripped down its prize possession - a British Railways Standard Class 4 Tank engine 80080. After shot blasting the boiler and refitting new steel tyres, the 10,000 pieces will be reassembled and another giant of steam will be restored to its former glory.
76. Episode 76
June 11, 1981
Royal Wedding Postmen have been delivering paper plates by the sackful, as thousands of entries for the Royal Wedding Plate Competition have poured into Television Centre. Find out today whether your design has been chosen to be turned into the most unusual of all the Royal Wedding Souvenirs.
77. Episode 77
June 15, 1981
Peter joins the legendary White Helmets at their base at Catterick in Yorkshire for some expert tips on motorbike display riding. Led by Sergeant Fred Alexander , the 30-man team think nothing of leaping over Scorpion tanks or through hoops of fire, but they can't beat their greatest enemy-mud!
78. Episode 78
June 18, 1981
Slow, Slow, Quick, Quick, Quicker Maggie and Jim go to university. On a VIP visit to Oxford, they join the other contestants at Corpus Christi for the Great Tortoise Race And Julie Parker, star of Record Breakers' record-breaking tap dancing display, returns to television centre to join Roy Castle, Sarah and Peter in Putting on the Ritz.
79. Episode 79
June 22, 1981
Paper Doll: see a pile of newspapers and chicken wire transformed into a lifesized Sarah. Artist Terry Wall specialises in papier mache sculptures and you can watch him today.
80. Episode 80
June 25, 1981
Twin Mounts This summer an estimated 170,000 visitors will explore the spot where Jack the Giant Killer is supposed to have killed the giant. St Michael's Mount is a top attraction in the National Trust league, but few tourists realise it has a double - 150 miles off the Normandy coast of France. Sarah reports on the French and Cornish Mounts.
81. Episode 81
June 29, 1981
82. Episode 82
July 20, 1981
St Christopher Special with Simon Groom and Tina Heath More than 20,000 viewers entered the competition to design a mural for the new cross-channel ferry, the St Christopher. Blue Peter followed the progress of the building of this 4,000-ton vessel at Harland and Wolff's Belfast ship-yard, the dramatic launch and the inaugural sailing from Dover to Calais when the top prize-winning mural was finally unveiled.