From a baker loved by the Queen to a school teacher and sheep farmer… Blue Peter stars who quit fame for ‘normal’ jobs
FOR over six decades landing a presenting job on Blue Peter has been the ultimate badge of honour on kids’ TV.
No less than 43 hosts have graced our screens since the BBC show began way back in 1958 – and while some have gone on to have illustrious showbiz careers, others have left fame behind for more ‘down to earth’ professions.
Last week Zoe Salmon-Corrie – who presented the show between 2004 and 2008 – and her family bakery, co-run by her husband Will, hit headlines after their toddler Fitzwilliam, two, photobombed Queen Camilla‘s visit to their business.
The adorable tot opted to wear a tiny tuxedo for the royal visit, which saw the royal visit Knott’s bakery in Belfast.
Zoe, who reached the quarter-finals on Dancing On Ice in 2009, does still do presenting jobs and has an agent.
But she has largely stayed out of the limelight since marrying her farmer husband in 2016, seemingly opting to focus on family.
She’s not the only one to opt to go in a different direction after starring on the show.
From sheep farming to organising conferences, here are the other Blue Peter stars who chose very different careers post TV fame.
Peter Duncan – Scout boss
Peter Duncan became a presenter on the show in 1980. His last appearance was in 1986, before he went on to pursue an acting career initially.
Speaking to the Mail about the job that propelled him into the limelight, he said: “Working at the BBC actually reduced my income initially.
“I only got paid a few hundred pounds per episode. There was a sense that you were lucky to do it, that you’re going to be famous and all that malarkey.
“But it meant I had a steady job for four years – the first continuous job I’d ever had – and it led to more lucrative offers. It was a great job too – who wouldn’t want to be a Blue Peter presenter, travel the world and influence people’s lives?”
Peter then went on to be appointed as the Scout Association’s Chief Scout from September 2004 to July 2009, and co-founded the Natural Adventure Company later that year.
Yesterday Peter appeared on Good Morning Britain to discuss plans to scrap the BBC TV licence fee for a pay-per-view model, and viewers remarked he looked unrecognisable.
Liz Barker – Cake decorating
Liz Barker joined Blue Peter back in 2000 as the 29th presenter, and hosted the show for a respectable six years.
She was joined by Blue Peter’s longest running female presenter Konnie Huq, along with Simon Thomas, Matt Baker, Zoe Salmon and Gethin Jones.
After leaving the show in 2006, Liz went on to spend more time with her family, welcoming four children and working in her family’s chain of bakeries as a cake decorator.
Liz was also a radio presenter on local station Cambridge 105, and still continues to act, too.
Katy Hill – Life coach
Katy Hill landed the coveted Blue Peter role back in 1995 and was known for her daredevil stunts, even becoming the first civilian to fly with the Red Arrows.
She went on to enjoy a 25-year career in broadcasting, however, she later decided to quit all that – and became a life coach.
Writing about her decision to change careers on her business website, Katy says: “It was a great life in broadcasting – but it was a life that didn’t feel ‘very me’ anymore.
“So – I hit pause, spent years training and qualifying as a Personal Development Coach – and now equip and empower others to live their all-out, limitless lives!”
Romana D’Annunzio – Secondary school teacher
Romana became the show’s second Scottish presenter when she joined in March 1996, and presented alongside Tim Vincent, Katy Hill, Richard Bacon and Konnie Huq.
She was on the show for two years until 1998 when she left to try her hand at acting.
However, she went on to become a secondary school teacher after graduating from Glasgow University.
She caught the ‘teaching bug’ while teaching English in Rome, telling the Scotsman: “There were a number of times when I was in the front of a class, that I thought, ‘This isn’t so unlike presenting Blue Peter’.”
Lesley Judd – Conference organiser
Trained dancer Lesley Judd was on the show in the Seventies, and quit to look after her husband Terry Gabell, who was an editor on the show and had multiple sclerosis.
Lesley went on to front her own children’s TV show called The Limelight With Lesley and Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour in the Eighties.
She later moved to a farmhouse in south-west France, and worked as a conference organiser and speaker.
Simon Groom – Farmer
Simon Groom was an English teacher before spending eight years presenting Blue Peter.
After leaving the show in the late 1980s he set up his own production company.
He also hosted a breakfast show on local radio station BBC Bedfordshire, and produced documentary The Flying Scotsman: A Rail Romance for BBC2.
Outside his work as a TV presenter and producer Simon ran a working farm that had been in his family for generations in Derbyshire, owning a small holding of pedigree sheep.