Gadgets replace pets as Blue Peter moves to Salford - Telegraph.co.uk
"It is fair to say we're going to experiment a bit more," he said. "It's really crucial for us to tap in more to children's current passions, what they are talking about in the playground now.
"I hope the top end, the 10 to 12s will watch – we all know children always look up to older children.
"It is a big ask for cats to come to the studio every week. We want to feature them if editorially relevant, but cats don't do what they are told, they are not biddable, they zoom off. But if we have a guest who loves cats, say, they might appear."
Blue Peter has featured many pets since its launch in 1958, including parrots, two ponies and a boisterous border collie called Shep, who was paired with presenter John Noakes throughout the 1970s and early 1980s.
Other changes include a revamp of the show's opening credits to feature Skelton and her co-presenter Barney Harwood. The trademark Barnacle Bill theme tune has also been remixed.
Earlier in the week it was announced that the famous Blue Peter annual would be axed after 46 years, due to poor sales.
For years the book, first published in 1965, made an ideal stocking filler for children – but last year only 13,140 copies were sold.
It is a huge plunge from the 60,000 that were sold just four years ago, with figures not expected to improve.
Formerly a big player in the children's annual market, the Blue Peter book was not able to come close to the likes of Doctor Who and The Beano, which sold more than 140,000 and 200,000 respectively.
Matthew Reynolds, sales and licensing manager at publisher, Pedigree told the Radio Times that they were simply unable to compete.
"We produced the front cover this year, presented it to the trade, but Blue Peter is fighting against up to 200 other brands that retailers select from and it wasn't seen as being strong enough to be in the top 25 per cent that gets the mass distribution," he said.
"The fact is that it was starting to struggle last year, which probably influenced their decision to back away."
24 Sep, 2011--
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