7 January 1973(1973-01-07)– 7 June 1981(1981-06-07)
Blue Peter Special Assignment is a factual BBC TV series broadcast in the 1970s and early 1980s, the first spin-off from the long running BBC series Blue Peter. It ran regularly from 1973 until 1981, usually at weekends on BBC1, and was heavily promoted on Blue Peter itself. The concept for the series was developed after Valerie Singleton had presented a successful documentary 'special' with HRH Princess Anne when she had visited Kenya in 1971. The Special Assignment series was mainly produced by Edward Barnes and presented initially by Valerie Singleton and later by Peter Purves and Lesley Judd both of whom had been presenters on Blue Peter itself.
Series One featured Valerie Singleton looking at six European Capital Cities. These included Rome, Paris, London, Edinburgh, Amsterdam and Brussels. The first programme to be filmed was the one featuring Rome and included a personal address to the children of Britain from Pope Paul VI in The Vatican.
Series Two continued to feature Singleton looking at European Cities and included Dublin, York and Madrid. Later series looked at Islands and included The Isle of Wight, The Isle of Man, Hong Kong, Malta and Venice, even though Venice had also featured in an earlier series as a 'city'. Later the show began to look at famous houses or famous individuals and included biographies of Vivaldi, The Brontë Sisters, The Duke of Wellington, Saint Therese of Lisieux, Marie Antoinette and Rudyard Kipling and both Lesley Judd and Peter Purves began presenting the series in place of Singleton.
The series in 1977 was presented jointly by Peter Purves and Lesley Judd, with the theme of 'twin towns'.
The final series was co-presented alternately by Singleton and Peter Purves, being broadcast in 1981. The series theme was 'Rivers', with Singleton examining the Yukon and Niagara, while Purves reported on the Tamar, the Tweed and the Singapore Rivers.
Spin off books were published covering the first two series.
The series was repeated on BBC1 in November/December 1973 with the broadcast order changed to: Rome, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Paris, City of London, Vienna.
Series 2: European Cities
Valerie Singleton reports on five European cities. Produced by Edward Barnes.
Total #
Series #
Title
Director
Writer(s)
Original airdate
7
1
"Venice"
Edward Barnes
Edward Barnes
Sunday, 31 March 1974 at 5:25pm on BBC1(Sunday, 31 March 1974 at 5:25pm on BBC1)
Sunday, 4 February 1979 at 4:40pm on BBC1(Sunday, 4 February 1979 at 4:40pm on BBC1)
Peter Purves follows the footsteps of the Bronte family.
34
6
"Antonio Vivaldi in Venice"
Sarah Hellings
Dorothy Smith
Sunday, 11 February 1979 at 4:40pm on BBC1(Sunday, 11 February 1979 at 4:40pm on BBC1)
Peter Purves meets the girls of the Venice Conservatorio Orchestra with the voices Sean Barrett, John Nettleton, John Rowe and Geoffrey Matthews as Vivaldi.
Series 7: Rivers
A series of five programmes produced by Edward Barnes.
Total #
Series #
Title
Director
Writer(s)
Original airdate
35
1
"The Niagara River"
David Turnbull
Dorothy Smith
Sunday, 10 May 1981 at 4:55pm on BBC1(Sunday, 10 May 1981 at 4:55pm on BBC1)
Valerie Singleton discovers the comic and the tragic stories of one of the world's greatest natural wonders - the Niagara Falls.
36
2
"The River Tweed"
Sarah Hellings
Dorothy Smith
Sunday, 17 May 1981 at 4:55pm on BBC1(Sunday, 17 May 1981 at 4:55pm on BBC1)
Peter Purves travels the length of the Tweed on the border of Scotland and England.
37
3
"The Yukon River"
David Hargreaves
Dorothy Smith
Sunday, 24 May 1981 at 4:55pm on BBC1(Sunday, 24 May 1981 at 4:55pm on BBC1)
Valerie Singleton travels 500 miles down the Yukon.
38
4
"The Singapore River"
Sarah Hellings
Dorothy Smith
Sunday, 31 May 1981 at 4:55pm on BBC1(Sunday, 31 May 1981 at 4:55pm on BBC1)
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