Former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq criticizes BBC budget cuts and calls for the return of children’s TV, lamenting the loss of a “golden age of family viewing” in the UK.

Konnie Huq has urged her former employer the BBC to bring back children’s TV to BBC One in the afternoon after claiming the nation has lost the ‘era of family viewing’.

The 48-year-old who was Blue Peter’s longest-serving host from 1997 to 2008 also hit out at the broadcaster’s kids programming budget, saying it was currently being diluted over a number of channels.

BBC stopped airing children’s shows on u it’s main channel in 2012 moving it’s programmes to dedicated CBBC digital channel in a bid to cut costs. 

Konnie, who shares two sons with Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker, 53, told The Mirror: ‘Blue Peter was on three times a week on BBC1, in what was still an era of family viewing. 

‘That’s why the BBC should bring back children’s programmes on BBC1 after [kids] get home from school. I think it would be a better way to use the children’s programming budget, rather than diluting the budget over a whole two channels.

Konnie Huq, 48,  has urged her former employer the BBC to bring back children’s TV to BBC One in the afternoon after claiming the nation has lost the ‘era of family viewing’

Konnie, who was Blue Peter’s longest-serving host from 1997 to 2008 also hit out at the broadcaster’s kids programming budget, saying it was currently being diluted over a number of channels (pictured on Blue Peter in 1999) 

‘Then you could have Blue Peter back, and programmes like Newsround. Just give us an hour a day, that’s all I ask.’

Last year the BBC was told to ‘up its game’ after it emerged most of the cartoons it offers for older children are foreign animations.

Despite the corporation’s charter tasking it with providing ‘distinctive output’, it has been buying up huge amounts of shows for youngsters that were made in countries including Japan and the US.

Research shows about 60 per cent of the animated shows for older children on the corporation’s iPlayer service are foreign.

For this age group there are 285 hours’ worth of foreign cartoons, compared with 84 hours of British-made content for older children. 

Analysis of the CBBC section of the corporation’s streaming service reveals that this includes 125 hours of the popular Japanese anime series Pokemon.

The ‘100% Cartoons’ section of iPlayer, for CBBC viewers, which is for older children, shows the scale of foreign imports it is using to appeal to these youngsters.

This includes more than 300 episodes of Pokemon, as well other Japanese shows including 50 episodes of Dragon Quest. US shows include Dragons – Riders Of Berk, Arthur, and We Bare Bears.

BBC stopped airing children’s shows on u it’s main channel in 2012 moving it’s programmes to dedicated CBBC digital channel in a bid to cut costs (Newsround hosts pictured) 

Konnie, who shares two sons with Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker , 53, said: ‘Blue Peter was on three times a week on BBC1, in what was still an era of family viewing (pictured 2020)

She also said: ‘That’s why the BBC should bring back children’s programmes on BBC1 after [kids] get home from school. I think it would be a better way to use the children’s programming budget, rather than diluting the budget over a whole two channels’. (pictured on Blue Peter) 

There are also shows from countries including Canada, Australia and France.

British-made cartoons on the service include Danger Mouse, Dennis & Gnasher and Shaun The Sheep.

Tory MP Giles Watling, who sits on the culture, media and sport committee, was critical of an overreliance by the corporation on foreign cartoons.

He said: ‘We just need to promote our own culture and the BBC is the absolute ideal tool to do that – [it] needs to up its game and encourage and promote local talent.’

Corporation sources have pointed to the fact that the BBC has tripled its investment in UK animation for the seven to 12 age group, but this takes a while to deliver.

The BBC’s TV budget is set to drop by £100million this year as part of savings. It is set to slash the amount of original TV programmes it shows by 1,000 hours a year.

A BBC spokesman said it was ‘biggest commissioner of UK animation for children of all ages’ and acquired series are ‘simply in addition’ to British-made content.

Last year the BBC was told to ‘up its game’ after it emerged most of the cartoons it offers for older children are foreign animations (We Bare Bears pictured)