An iconic Blue Peter presenter looks unrecognisable 28 years after hosting the BBC’s beloved children’s show.
The programme filmed its final live edition this month after 66 years on our screens – although it will continue in a pre-recorded format – and it has certainly had its fair share of legendary hosts over the decades.
One much-loved name fronted the series between 1993 and 1997, during which time he ran the New York marathon and travelled to South Africa.
He was familiar to millions of children across the UK but after he quit Blue Peter he made his way over to America where he became a reporter on Access Hollywood and hosted several Miss World contests.
The presenter also fronted controversial Sky reality show There’s Something About Miriam in 2004 and has since moved back to the country, where he now hosts a dating podcast with Siobhan Wykes called Suddenly Single.
He was the face of children’s TV for a generation of youngsters but can you guess who this former star is?
An iconic Blue Peter presenter looks unrecognisable 28 years after hosting the BBC’s beloved children’s show – but can you guess who it is?
It’s Tim Vincent – who moved to the US after his stint on the show and interviewed a plethora of A-listers, including Robert De Niro and Angelina Jolie, before returning to the UK
It’s none other than former Blue Peter host Tim Vincent, whose podcast has welcomed the likes of Katie Price, Ulrika Jonsson and Lizzie Cundy in recent months.
The show’s description says each episode sees Tim, now 52, and Best Magazine editor Siobhan ‘talk to their celebrity mates about how it feels to be Suddenly Single – yet again – and their ongoing dating disasters, with expert advice on how to find the one’.
Before his return to the UK, the broadcaster, who is from Wrexham in Wales, interviewed a plethora of A-listers, including Robert De Niro and Angelina Jolie.
But, as he revealed in 2022, he is now more likely to be watching Peppa Pig at home with his children, six-year-old twins Felix and Jasper who he co-parents after his separation from TV producer Gemma Charles.
He told Wales Online: ‘I think having children later in life kind of gives you a whole new perspective on everything.
‘You look at everything as, “Wow that’s amazing”. I love Christmas anyway – it’s one of my favourite times of the year.
‘To have small kids running around – this morning they were running around trying to find the elf on the shelf which I’d strategically put in their little toy plastic speedboat in the bath and they were hooting in laughter that they’d found Twinkletoes as they’ve nicknamed him – is amazing.’
Tim looks dramatically different to his days as a fresh-faced Blue Peter presenter, trading his voluminous brown locks for a slick silver trim these days.
The star (pictured, with L-R: Stuart Miles, Diane-Louise Jordan and Katy Hill) fronted the series between 1993 and 1997, during which time he ran the New York marathon
Tim (pictured, in 2022) looks dramatically different to his days as a fresh-faced Blue Peter host, trading his voluminous brown locks for a slick silver trim these days
He often takes to Instagram to share pictures of himself, with his silver hair styled into neat spikes.
Tim said he has now found ‘more balance in life’, adding of his family life that he’s ‘been working since the age of 16 I can afford to put different priorities forward’.
The presenter spoke out about how he feels new dads can often be seen as spare parts during an appearance on ITV’s Loose Woman in 2020.
‘That first 6-12 months you can feel a little bit separated from the events,’ he explained.
‘Somebody said to me, which I’m not sure is absolutely true, but for a man it takes a bit longer to bond with children because the child doesn’t have any recognition of you.
‘The mum has 90 percent of the time carried the baby once it’s arrived, so it takes us a little bit of time to bond on the same level.’
Tim kickstarted his screen career as an actor, playing alcoholic teenager Billy Ryan in ITV drama series Children’s Ward in the early 90s.
After Blue Peter, he starred as recurring character Adam Forrester in Emmerdale between 2000 and 2001 before appearing in Sorted opposite Tim Curry and Jason Donovan.
The star is now more likely to be watching Peppa Pig at home with his children, four-year-old twins Felix and Jasper (pictured, in 2022) who he co-parents
The host spoke out about how he feels new dads can often be seen as spare parts during an appearance on ITV’s Loose Woman in 2020
While in the US, he presented Miss World in 2005 and 2006, before returning in 2014 and 2015, and also stood in as host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire during that time.
Blue Peter began in October 1958 and in its heyday was screened three times a week on BBC1, making stars of presenters such as Peter Purves, Janet Ellis, Valerie Singleton and Peter Duncan.
But while Blue Peter has always been a cosy and sensible watch for youngsters, its ending has been anything but, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Insiders have told how the decision to take it off air was kept a secret by bosses, with its presenters Shini Muthukrishnan, Joel Mawhinney and Abby Cook unaware of the extent of the changes. In fact, they had been wondering where their new contracts had got to in recent months.
A show source said: ‘Of course this has been in the works for months.
‘The big bosses all knew what was happening and those they did tell were all told to keep it quiet. It’s a huge shock and a number of the crew still have no idea what’s going on. Goodness knows what it means for the presenters and those working on the show but the view is that it has all been handled very badly.’
