WHERE WERE YOU WHEN Blue Peter s John Noakes met Shep YOU Magazine
WHERE WERE YOU WHEN Blue Peter s John Noakes met Shep - YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Sign in Welcome!Log into your account Forgot your password? Password recovery Recover your password Search Sign in Welcome! Log into your account Forgot your password? Get help Password recovery Recover your password A password will be e-mailed to you. YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Home Celebrity WHERE WERE YOU WHEN Blue Peter s John Noakes met Shep By You Magazine - April 7, 2019 Former presenter Janet Ellis remembers the unbreakable bond between man and dog. JOHN, WE’RE ON! Noakes and his canine co-star Shep. Image: BBC How does a programme reach through the television screen to its audience? Especially when that viewer is a child – the most discerning and easily distracted audience ever. The programme has to talk only to them – and make them feel special. There may be a grown-up in the room, but the successful children’s show has to reflect their curiosity, their sense of fun and their hopes for the future without judgment or irony. If you add animals to the mix, they’ve got to be loyal and messy, lovable and unpredictable – just like real pets (and children, come to that). And you have to make sure you pair them with an owner who is all that and more Blue Peter got the mix exactly right and the result was magical. From their first appearance together in September 1971, John Noakes and Shep were the perfect double act. John’s boyish enthusiasm was easily matched by his border collie’s appetite for life – as evidenced in that familiar catchphrase: ‘Get down, Shep!’ The two of them could be very naughty. They both loved it when things went wrong and – appropriately – always cheered on the underdog. The questioning of authority and rules that made John so watchable, so funny and so influential was replicated in his devoted pet’s behaviour. And Shep was his pet – make no mistake about it. No ‘just on camera, then off with a handler’ stuff here. It was a real, 24-hours-a-day relationship with that much sought-after quality: chemistry. Like all the best partnerships, they knew each other well and loved each other’s work. Live television can be chaotic but nothing fazed these two and because they were so at ease, we could relax as well. Not all dogs take to the studio. Hardly any presenters live on in so many memories. I can see them, playful and unforgettable, in countless joyful recordings but, most of all, I hold them in my heart. Also that month… REX/Shutterstock Actor Martin Freeman, right (Sherlock, The Hobbit), was born. John Lennon started life in New York, never to return to the UK. Showjumper Harvey Smith was cleared of making an offensive gesture at Hickstead after using the ‘V’ sign. Lord Snowdon was fined £20 for driving carelessly when his car, carrying Princess Margaret and their two children, collided with a photographer. The Old Grey Whistle Test music show made its debut on BBC2. RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR 50 of the best celebrity Halloween costumes of all time Shirley Ballas ‘ Strictly gave me back my hope’ Davina McCall discusses how men can help women going through the menopause Popular in Celebrity Beauty vlogger Nic Chapman opens up about her diagnosis and troubled August 22, 2017 Quickfire with Strictly veteran Anton Du Beke December 5, 2017 Yolanda Kettle reveals what it’ s like playing the other woman February 12, 2018 The billion-dollar baby club The celebrity children living it large April 15, 2018 Tom and Giovanna Fletcher talk married life and working with your June 3, 2018 Jacqueline Gold ‘ I want to give women confidence’ July 15, 2018 Quickfire Comedian Alex Horne on Gary The Gorilla losing his trousers August 26, 2018 ‘ I’ m probably overindulgent with him’ Elizabeth Hurley reveals the most important September 30, 2018 One s best friends The Queen’ s corgis and their doggy dynasty October 28, 2018 Ruth Wilson will play her own grandmother in this new BBC November 21, 2018 Popular CategoriesFood2704Life2496Fashion2240Beauty1738Celebrity1261Interiors684 Sign up for YOUMail Thanks for subscribing Please check your email to confirm (If you don't see the email, check the spam box) Fashion Beauty Celebrity Life Food Privacy & Cookies T&C Copyright 2022 - YOU Magazine. All Rights Reserved