Wasn't she on Blue Peter? Photograph: Sarah Lee
So Blue Peter's longest-surviving female presenter has hung up her sticky-back plastic boots to pursue a serious journalism career presenting a political and current affairs chat show, London Talking, on ITV. Who's she fooling? She'll never be known as anything other than "former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq".
Former Blue Peter presenter Peter Duncan was a member of the National Theatre and now owns his own production company. In 1995 he was nominated for an Olivier Award for his outstanding performance in the musical The Card. But poor old Duncan will always be remembered as that chap off Blue Peter who went around with the Marines or, at best, as him off Duncan Dares, a show which capitalised on his Blue Peter daredevil role.
Former Blue Peter presenter and resident action-man John Noakes went on to present Go With Noakes, which, er, capitalised on his Blue Peter daredevil role. He wrote a children's book, which no-one's ever heard of, and he unsuccessfully tried to sail around the world with his wife, which no-one remembers. Now, the former Blue Peter presenter lives in Majorca where he runs a boat rental business and fends off questions from tourists about his time on the Blue Peter.
The late Caron Keating needn't have worried that she would never shake the label "Gloria Hunniford's daughter". When she died, despite having had success as a frontwoman on This Morning and her own Radio 5 show, the UK media unanimously reported the sad loss of "former Blue Peter presenter Caron Keating".
Former Blue Peter presenter Valerie Singleton (the Swinging Sixties' Konnie Huq) has had considerable success as a presenter on the BBC news programme Tonight, as well as on Radio 4's PM and The Money Programme. Singleton can be seen contributing to the national travel press where her byline frequently reads "broadcaster and former Blue Peter presenter".
The one thing worse than being forever remembered as a "former Blue Peter presenter", however, is being forever remembered as a "disgraced former Blue Peter presenter". That accolade, of course, belongs to Richard Bacon and John Leslie for their cocaine mishaps. Of course, disgraced former Blue Peter presenter Bacon hasn't done too badly out of it. He's forged a career as a maverick presenter, even playing himself in an episode of Hotel Babylon, hiring escort girls. True, he is quite a success in TV terms, but we watch him in the full, slightly thrilling knowledge that he was once fired from Blue Peter - and that's why we'll remember him.
