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Blue Peter legend John Noakes has died at the age of 83. 
Get down,Shep.
Get down,Shep.
Show More
Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, he was educated at Rishworth School, where he excelled in cross-country running and gymnastics.[1]
Early career[edit]
Noakes trained as an aircraft engine fitter for the RAF and BOAC,[2] before deciding to become an actor. He trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and made his stage debut as a dog and a clown in a pantomime. He appeared on television in programmes such as the military police drama series Redcap and worked with the comedian Cyril Fletcher.
Blue Peter[edit]
Noakes joined Blue Peter as a presenter on 30 December 1965;[3] his colleagues at the time were Christopher Trace and Valerie Singleton. Trace left the programme in 1967, and was replaced by Peter Purves, creating the 'Val, John and Pete' line-up which lasted until 1972. When Singleton began to diversify her television career, former Young Generation dancer Lesley Judd joined the team. At a time when most BBC presenters spoke with received pronunciation (RP), Noakes's broad Yorkshire accent was a novelty.
Noakes usually fulfilled the role of action man in the series. Highlights included free-fall parachuting with the RAF's Flying Falcons display team and bobsleighing (his sled hit a hole in the ice and turned over, injuring him). After his five-mile-high free-fall with the RAF in 1973,[4] he held the record for the longest free-fall parachute jump by a British civilian for a few years, although it has since been broken.[citation needed]
Like most presenters, Noakes was encouraged to take special responsibility for one of the show's pets. His original dog was Patch, the son of Petra, the first Blue Peter dog. After Patch's sudden death in 1971 (from a rare disease) he was given another pet dog, a Border Collie puppy, christened Shep by viewers. Noakes's attempts to control the excitable Shep led to his memorable catchphrase "Get down, Shep!".
Other television work[edit]
Overlapping with his period on Blue Peter, Noakes and Shep appeared in another factual series, Go With Noakes, in which they travelled around the country getting involved in diverse activities like motor racing, rowing, aerobatics and painting. In each series Noakes was featured travelling around Britain in a particular mode, e.g. sailing, narrow boat, walking, open top car. Go With Noakes began on 28 March 1976, and would run for six series and 31 episodes, finishing its original run on 21 December 1980.[5]
Noakes left Blue Peter on 26 June 1978.[6] It is generally thought that Noakes was not allowed to keep Shep. Although the dog was legally owned by the BBC, Noakes was offered the option of keeping him. According to the behind-the-scenes book Blue Peter The Inside Story by Biddy Baxter, the show's longest-serving editor, this was conditional on Noakes' not using Shep for advertising or commercial purposes. Noakes appeared in a series of television advertisements for Spillers "Choice Cuts" dog food, using a dog that was indistinguishable from Shep but named Skip.[7] The subterfuge led to a deeper rift between him and Baxter.[8] Noakes called her a "stupid woman" in a televised 2008 documentary celebrating the show's 50th anniversary.[9][10] Because of his poor relationship with Baxter, Noakes refused to appear on an edition of Blue Peter to celebrate its twentieth birthday in October 1978[11] and had to be persuaded to pre-film a message for the programme by Lewis Bronze. The filmed message was taped whilst Noakes was on location filming the Go With Noakes episode Around The Cheshire Ring. This minor subterfuge also allowed the show to explain his absence in a positive manner for the viewers. He did not appear at all for the silver anniversary programme in 1983.[12]
After Blue Peter[edit]
In 1979, Noakes wrote a children's book, The Flight of the Magic Clog, published by Lion with illustrations by Toni Goffe. In the book, Mr. Brooks takes John, Mickey the brainy one, June the talkative one, Barbara the pretty one and Eric the clumsy one on an adventure against the international villain Baron Wilhelm Doppleganger and his secret arms factory, using a giant magic flying clog.
In 1982, Noakes and his wife made an unsuccessful attempt to sail around the world. A second attempt in 1984 got no further than Majorca, Spain, where they settled down to run a boat rental business. In 1983 Noakes presented The Dinosaur Trail, a 7-part documentary for Children's ITV.
Between 1986 and 1988 the BBC's programme Fax! answered questions posed by viewers. On 20 January 1987 the question "Whatever happened to John Noakes and Shep?" was posed. Noakes appeared on the show with his wife and revealed what he had been doing since retiring from television, During the course of the interview, Noakes tearfully revealed that Shep had died just three days before.[13]
Notwithstanding his status as an icon for a whole generation, Noakes has become publicly bitter about his Blue Peter experiences.[14] Despite having come across as a natural presenter, he claimed his television personality was a fake, and he was merely acting a role. He also complained about his perceived low salary during his time on Blue Peter, and expressed disgust that he had apparently never been insured for any of the stunts he had undertaken, claiming that he would never have gone through with them had he been aware of this at the time. Programme editor "Biddy Baxter was an awful woman," he said in 1999. "I don't want to talk about her."[14] Baxter, for her part, has denied Noakes's claims about the lack of insurance for his stunts.[15] The Singleton/Noakes/Purves team was reunited in October 1998 for a programme celebrating 40 years of Blue Peter and again in January 2000 for the disinterment of the time capsule that they had buried in 1971.
In 2000s, Noakes trained in the Michel Thomas method of language tuition, and then became a language tutor, specialising in Romance languages. In 2003, Noakes co-hosted an ITV series entitled Mad About Pets and in 2004, he took part in the Living TV reality TV show I'm Famous and Frightened!. A year later, he appeared in the Channel 5 programme Britain's Worst Celebrity Driver. On 14 June 2008, he appeared in a Blue Peter-themed edition of the Weakest Link, being voted off second. It was noted that when the presenter Anne Robinson spoke about Shep he became visibly upset and could not hold back the tears trying to answer the question. On 7 September 2013, he appeared with Peter Purves in Pointless Celebrities (episode 6 of series 4).
Personal life[edit]
On 30 June 2015 Noakes was reported missing from his home in Andratx, Majorca. His wife alerted local police, who confirmed that Noakes had a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and had been living with the condition for some years.[16] He was found the same day, close to his home, and taken to hospital, having fallen into some long grass "in the bottom of a storm drain".[17] Noakes died on the morning of 28 May 2017.[18]
Early career[edit]
Noakes trained as an aircraft engine fitter for the RAF and BOAC,[2] before deciding to become an actor. He trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and made his stage debut as a dog and a clown in a pantomime. He appeared on television in programmes such as the military police drama series Redcap and worked with the comedian Cyril Fletcher.
Blue Peter[edit]
Noakes joined Blue Peter as a presenter on 30 December 1965;[3] his colleagues at the time were Christopher Trace and Valerie Singleton. Trace left the programme in 1967, and was replaced by Peter Purves, creating the 'Val, John and Pete' line-up which lasted until 1972. When Singleton began to diversify her television career, former Young Generation dancer Lesley Judd joined the team. At a time when most BBC presenters spoke with received pronunciation (RP), Noakes's broad Yorkshire accent was a novelty.
Noakes usually fulfilled the role of action man in the series. Highlights included free-fall parachuting with the RAF's Flying Falcons display team and bobsleighing (his sled hit a hole in the ice and turned over, injuring him). After his five-mile-high free-fall with the RAF in 1973,[4] he held the record for the longest free-fall parachute jump by a British civilian for a few years, although it has since been broken.[citation needed]
Like most presenters, Noakes was encouraged to take special responsibility for one of the show's pets. His original dog was Patch, the son of Petra, the first Blue Peter dog. After Patch's sudden death in 1971 (from a rare disease) he was given another pet dog, a Border Collie puppy, christened Shep by viewers. Noakes's attempts to control the excitable Shep led to his memorable catchphrase "Get down, Shep!".
Other television work[edit]
Overlapping with his period on Blue Peter, Noakes and Shep appeared in another factual series, Go With Noakes, in which they travelled around the country getting involved in diverse activities like motor racing, rowing, aerobatics and painting. In each series Noakes was featured travelling around Britain in a particular mode, e.g. sailing, narrow boat, walking, open top car. Go With Noakes began on 28 March 1976, and would run for six series and 31 episodes, finishing its original run on 21 December 1980.[5]
Noakes left Blue Peter on 26 June 1978.[6] It is generally thought that Noakes was not allowed to keep Shep. Although the dog was legally owned by the BBC, Noakes was offered the option of keeping him. According to the behind-the-scenes book Blue Peter The Inside Story by Biddy Baxter, the show's longest-serving editor, this was conditional on Noakes' not using Shep for advertising or commercial purposes. Noakes appeared in a series of television advertisements for Spillers "Choice Cuts" dog food, using a dog that was indistinguishable from Shep but named Skip.[7] The subterfuge led to a deeper rift between him and Baxter.[8] Noakes called her a "stupid woman" in a televised 2008 documentary celebrating the show's 50th anniversary.[9][10] Because of his poor relationship with Baxter, Noakes refused to appear on an edition of Blue Peter to celebrate its twentieth birthday in October 1978[11] and had to be persuaded to pre-film a message for the programme by Lewis Bronze. The filmed message was taped whilst Noakes was on location filming the Go With Noakes episode Around The Cheshire Ring. This minor subterfuge also allowed the show to explain his absence in a positive manner for the viewers. He did not appear at all for the silver anniversary programme in 1983.[12]
After Blue Peter[edit]
In 1979, Noakes wrote a children's book, The Flight of the Magic Clog, published by Lion with illustrations by Toni Goffe. In the book, Mr. Brooks takes John, Mickey the brainy one, June the talkative one, Barbara the pretty one and Eric the clumsy one on an adventure against the international villain Baron Wilhelm Doppleganger and his secret arms factory, using a giant magic flying clog.
In 1982, Noakes and his wife made an unsuccessful attempt to sail around the world. A second attempt in 1984 got no further than Majorca, Spain, where they settled down to run a boat rental business. In 1983 Noakes presented The Dinosaur Trail, a 7-part documentary for Children's ITV.
Between 1986 and 1988 the BBC's programme Fax! answered questions posed by viewers. On 20 January 1987 the question "Whatever happened to John Noakes and Shep?" was posed. Noakes appeared on the show with his wife and revealed what he had been doing since retiring from television, During the course of the interview, Noakes tearfully revealed that Shep had died just three days before.[13]
Notwithstanding his status as an icon for a whole generation, Noakes has become publicly bitter about his Blue Peter experiences.[14] Despite having come across as a natural presenter, he claimed his television personality was a fake, and he was merely acting a role. He also complained about his perceived low salary during his time on Blue Peter, and expressed disgust that he had apparently never been insured for any of the stunts he had undertaken, claiming that he would never have gone through with them had he been aware of this at the time. Programme editor "Biddy Baxter was an awful woman," he said in 1999. "I don't want to talk about her."[14] Baxter, for her part, has denied Noakes's claims about the lack of insurance for his stunts.[15] The Singleton/Noakes/Purves team was reunited in October 1998 for a programme celebrating 40 years of Blue Peter and again in January 2000 for the disinterment of the time capsule that they had buried in 1971.
In 2000s, Noakes trained in the Michel Thomas method of language tuition, and then became a language tutor, specialising in Romance languages. In 2003, Noakes co-hosted an ITV series entitled Mad About Pets and in 2004, he took part in the Living TV reality TV show I'm Famous and Frightened!. A year later, he appeared in the Channel 5 programme Britain's Worst Celebrity Driver. On 14 June 2008, he appeared in a Blue Peter-themed edition of the Weakest Link, being voted off second. It was noted that when the presenter Anne Robinson spoke about Shep he became visibly upset and could not hold back the tears trying to answer the question. On 7 September 2013, he appeared with Peter Purves in Pointless Celebrities (episode 6 of series 4).
Personal life[edit]
On 30 June 2015 Noakes was reported missing from his home in Andratx, Majorca. His wife alerted local police, who confirmed that Noakes had a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and had been living with the condition for some years.[16] He was found the same day, close to his home, and taken to hospital, having fallen into some long grass "in the bottom of a storm drain".[17] Noakes died on the morning of 28 May 2017.[18]
John Noakes climbing Nelson's Column is the antithesis of PC Health & Safety.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4YFCJETmwI
In fact it's quite frightening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4YFCJETmwI
In fact it's quite frightening
Nice to see those ladders secured safely with one length of thin rope.
Climbing Nelson's Column in flares 
with not much in the way of safety precautions. John was as hard as nails.
with not much in the way of safety precautions. John was as hard as nails.
Still remember the baby elephant peeing on the studio floor and pulling its trainer all over the place, very very funny
I grew up with John Noakes and Blue Peter, a sad day indeed.
Wasn't there a record released into the charts called "Get Down Shep?"
RIP
Wasn't there a record released into the charts called "Get Down Shep?"
RIP
made my head go spinny watching that clip - f00k that for a game of soldiers 
what a fella !
what a fella !
Good viewing poppydog, especially as the next clip shows a more recent ascent by a lovely looking thing from the same show.
The camera man was already up top and he had to carry the camera
Magpie was superior.
Poncey men with permed hair, Mick Robertson would have only managed just a few steps up that ladder before wetting himself and calling for his mother.
Poncey men with permed hair, Mick Robertson would have only managed just a few steps up that ladder before wetting himself and calling for his mother.
Magpie was for the working classes...Blue Peter for the middle classes.
Magpie was superior because...because JENNY HANLEY...because SUSAN STRANKS...
Magpie was superior because...because JENNY HANLEY...because SUSAN STRANKS...
Noakes = the Gallagher brothers
Bastable = p0ncey Damon Albarn
Nothing "working class" about Magpie. If you wanted grit and the street, then go with Noakes.
Bastable = p0ncey Damon Albarn
Nothing "working class" about Magpie. If you wanted grit and the street, then go with Noakes.
anyone remember noakes reading the bbc lunchtime news back in the late 60s?
She didn't need to be special, she only had to be hotter than Valerie Singleton.
nice to think they might be back together again,loved that dog he did
@Poppydog -- John Noakes climbing Nelson's Column is the antithesis of PC Health & Safety.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4YFCJETmwI
There is an amazing contrast between John Noakes climbing Nelson's Column and Konnie Huq doing the same for Blue Peter nearly 40 years later with the aid of scaffolding, stairs and a high-viz jacket.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVg15Gqhzp0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4YFCJETmwI
There is an amazing contrast between John Noakes climbing Nelson's Column and Konnie Huq doing the same for Blue Peter nearly 40 years later with the aid of scaffolding, stairs and a high-viz jacket.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVg15Gqhzp0
why wasn't he attached to a climbing rope ? just as a back up . + he was wearing flared trousers which were a bit of a hazard in any case .
May 29, 2017 -- 1:06PM, Coachbuster wrote:
why wasn't he attached to a climbing rope ? just as a back up .
screaming from beneaththewaves 29 May 17 13:15
Nothing "working class" about Magpie. If you wanted grit and the street, then go with Noakes.
i see what you did there
Nothing "working class" about Magpie. If you wanted grit and the street, then go with Noakes.
i see what you did there
As an interesting aside I seem to remember having my first w*nk fantasizing about Jenny Hanley
If the rumours are true you can get away without the SB/plastic with a pair of Val's old knickers.
Noakes and Shep the best double act on TV in their day.
BBC banned Noakes from appearing with Shep on the telly.
Could of been the Ant and Dec of their day.
RIP John Noakes and Shep. Used to rush home just to see what you'd been up to. Brilliant entertainment.
Magpie was for hippies and Blue Peter was for real boys and girls.
Very sad. Always looked forward to when he was on and hope his family are well and thoughts to them (doubt they read a betting site forum but it's true)
BBC banned Noakes from appearing with Shep on the telly.
Could of been the Ant and Dec of their day.
RIP John Noakes and Shep. Used to rush home just to see what you'd been up to. Brilliant entertainment.
Magpie was for hippies and Blue Peter was for real boys and girls.
Very sad. Always looked forward to when he was on and hope his family are well and thoughts to them (doubt they read a betting site forum but it's true)
Remember the annual Magpie appeal at Christmas? "Erm, just send in your money please and we'll put a red line on the walls and floors to show you just how much has come in".
'Blue Peter' meanwhile had the kids of the UK working selflessly, often in teams, constructively scouring the land for silver milk bottle tops, used stamps, and other assorted second-hand bric-a-brac that could be recycled for cash. The kids of that generation had no time to get obese. I am lucky to have been one myself.
'Magpie' had the women for sure but 'Blue Peter' was a constant education.
'Blue Peter' meanwhile had the kids of the UK working selflessly, often in teams, constructively scouring the land for silver milk bottle tops, used stamps, and other assorted second-hand bric-a-brac that could be recycled for cash. The kids of that generation had no time to get obese. I am lucky to have been one myself.
'Magpie' had the women for sure but 'Blue Peter' was a constant education.
It was more simple than that in my house. Magpie was on ITV, so I wasn't allowed to watch it in case I grew up common.
Liz mcDonald ur 2017 jenny hanley leather trousers to night too tight as well
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