Blue Peter: 1979-1980
Season 16 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Blue Peter Season 15.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 16 Progress Shield
Episode 1
Sep 10, 1979
Expedition Egypt: Treasure and Camels Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only one still stands today, the massive Pyramids of Cheops, Chephren and Mycetimus, built by the
Episode 2
Sep 13, 1979
Fit for a Queen A teddy made of chrysanthemums, a koala bear with a plum for a nose and an owl sitting under a banana moon were just three of the hundreds of stunning floral displ
Episode 3
Sep 17, 1979
Expedition Egypt: Hall of Pillars Simon and Tina explore one of the Wonders of the World-the temple built in honour of the great god Amun, at Karnak. One hundred and thirty-four m
Episode 4
Sep 20, 1979
Transglobe Ahoy! Ran, Ginny and the crew will be reporting back to Blue Peter throughout the Transglobe Expedition's 55,000-mile voyage. Chris was on board the Benjamin Bowring f
Episode 5
Sep 24, 1979
The Gardening Family Are there michaelmas daisies at the bottom of your garden? Do you grow lilac, gladioli, tradescantia, Virginia creeper, or tulip, plane and acacia trees? All
Episode 6
Sep 27, 1979
'Expedition Egypt' Do you know what an oil tanker, a grand opera, a French engineer and an empress have in common? You can find out in today's report from Egypt, where Tina and Si
Episode 7
Oct 1, 1979
Goldie Goes to School Ex-guide dog trainer Richard Duckworth puts pupils of all breeds and temperaments through their paces at his unusual school for dogs.
Episode 8
Oct 4, 1979
Expedition Egypt The amazing child weavers of Herrania, whose tapestries are sought after by collectors all over the world.
Episode 9
Oct 8, 1979
It's smelly work down on the farm as Simon and Goldie get to grips with silage-making to feed the cows this winter.
Episode 10
Oct 11, 1979
1066 and All That.... It's 913 years since Britain was successfully invaded and next Sunday marks the anniversary of the famous battle that took place at Hastings. Christopher has
Episode 11
Oct 15, 1979
21st Birthday Programme Join in the celebrations with Simon, Chris, Tina and the animals, including the first-ever presentation of the Blue Peter 'Award for Outstanding Endeavour'
Episode 13
Oct 22, 1979
Good news for model railway fans today! Vintage '00' gauge ocos dating from the 1920s will be chugging along the Blue Peter layout-making what may well be their last public run. be
Episode 14
Oct 25, 1979
'Oh I wish I'd looked after me teeth' - says Pam Ayres who will be in the studio today rendering her famous poem with its awful warning to compulsive sweet-suckers.
Episode 15
Oct 29, 1979
The Long Sleep Tortoises Maggie and Jim make positively their last appearance before their winter hibernation!
Episode 16
Nov 1, 1979
Where are they Now? News of the eight puppies born to Petra in September 1965.
Episode 17
Nov 5, 1979
Next Saturday's Lord Mayor's Show features a covered wagon from Alberta, Canada, birthplace of the new Lord Mayor. Meet the four outriders as they mosey along to the Blue Peter stu
Episode 18
Nov 8, 1979
Top cook Delia Smith joins the team for the results of the Gorgeous Grub competition. Find out if you've won one of the unique Blue Peter aprons and whether your recipe has been c
Episode 19
Nov 12, 1979
Catch up with the latest news about The Great Blue Peter Bring and Buy Sale... Find out how your gifts are helping to save the lives of the starving children of Cambodia.
Episode 22
Nov 22, 1979
Make your pocket-money go further and give your friends and relations home-made cards this Christmas. They're cheap and cheerful and different from anything you'll see in the shops
Episode 23
Nov 26, 1979
Flying Cats Jack and Jill take to the skies and jet their way to Dunfermline for a guest appearance at the Edinburgh and East Scotland Cat Show. Blue Peter cameras follow their fli
Episode 24
Nov 29, 1979
George Cansdale, who's bringing a mysterious animal to the studio. George has travelled all over the world in search of rare animals and birds - he once carried some exotic snakes
Episode 28
Dec 13, 1979
With only four Blue Peters to go before Christmas Day, it's time to light the first candle on the Advent Crown. Chris will be demonstrating another gastronomic treat to delight you
Episode 29
Dec 17, 1979
Two hundred years ago this week the most famous pantomime star of all time was born. His name was Joseph Grimaldi , and everyone from King George III to flower-girls in the gallery
Episode 30
Dec 20, 1979
Hurry, Hurry, Hurry! This week's your last chance to join in with the Great Blue Peter Bring and Buy Sale before the Oxfam shops take down their posters this Saturday. Thanks to yo
Episode 31
Dec 24, 1979
Christmas is Coming! And today you can see the results of the Great Blue Peter Bring and Buy Sale Auction and find out how Blue Peter viewers all over Britain have given help and
Episode 32
Dec 31, 1979
Question: What do Her Majesty The Queen, Rameses II, Yul Brynner, the Prime Minister, James Callaghan and 80 pantomime horses have in common? Answer: They've all taken part in Blu
Episode 34
Jan 7, 1980
On the Trail of the Lonesome Pine Join Simon and Goldie deep in the heart of the Scottish Highlands and discover how an artist's sketches drawn on a wall in a mountain lodge have
Episode 35
Jan 10, 1980
In the Swim Chris spends the day with Britain's 800m Women's Freestyle record holder, 14-year-old Jackie Willmott from Southend. Jackie swims a gruelling 10,000m per day and start
Episode 36
Jan 14, 1980
Frightful Flies to Freedom The remarkable story of the baby kestrel rescued and hand-reared by student Wendy Page of Loughborough University.
Episode 37
Jan 17, 1980
Shampoo and Set Tina shows how to make a dolls' hairdressing salon, complete with basins, showers and driers.
Episode 38
Jan 21, 1980
Cleopatra's Needle Each year thousands of tourists visit London's famous obelisk on the banks of the River Thames. Simon and Tina explore the quarry in Egypt where this gigantic g
Episode 39
Jan 24, 1980
Operation Oily Bird A mysterious oil-slick off the coast of Somerset has resulted in the biggest bird rescue operation since the Torrey Canyon disaster. Tina helps John Hughes, Wa
Episode 41
Jan 31, 1980
Join Simon on a trip back in time on the Severn Valley Railway and discover how you can win a ride on the footplate of a famous old loco.
Episode 42
Feb 4, 1980
Deep in the heart of Buckinghamshire, lepidopterist Margaret Beer has come up with a world first. By breeding death's-head hawk moths in captivity she has succeeded where internati
Episode 43
Feb 7, 1980
Welcome World ... We're Ready! That's the claim of Lake Placid, the small mountain village in the United States of America where the 13th Winter Olympic Games open next week. Tina
Episode 44
Feb 11, 1980
Champions All There's a studio full of celebrities today with Crufts' Supreme and Obedience Champions and, ' Great Balls of Fire', none other than rock 'n' roller Jerry Lee Lewis.
Episode 46
Feb 18, 1980
Eager Beavers Barney and Bumble, two seven-month-old Canadian beavers bred at Chessington Zoo, try out the pond in the Blue Peter studio, with animal expert George Cansdale keepin
Episode 47
Feb 21, 1980
Calling All Gardeners Now is the time to be making plans for a bumper crop of spring vegetables and flowers. Percy Thrower joins the team in the Blue Peter garden with more helpfu
Episode 49
Feb 28, 1980
Vote, Vote, Vote! Do metres and milligrammes drive you dotty? Are you flummoxed by feet and ounces? Today is your chance to join in with Blue Peter's nationwide Weights and Measur
Episode 50
Mar 3, 1980
Ever seen a duck with six wheels? Now's your chance as Simon drives one at the Grange Cavern Museum -a mysterious labyrinth of caves underneath a Welsh hillside.
Episode 51
Mar 6, 1980
Operation Newt! The Cheltenham Tote Gold Cup horse race is in jeopardy-the water jump is full of great crested newts. Chris reports from the course on their rescue.
Episode 52
Mar 10, 1980
With Mothering Sunday only six days away, now's your chance to beat the high cost of flowers in the shops and make some everlasting violets that cost only a few pence. (Have a pape
Episode 53
Mar 13, 1980
Mountain Rescue! Chris takes to the hills on exercise with the RAF Valley Mountain Rescue Team and helps in the search for injured mountaineer Simon Groom.
Episode 55
Mar 20, 1980
A-Z of Space Since 1957 five planets in our solar system have been photographed and men have walked on the moon. Reg Turnill, who reported for the BBC on the space programmes, inv
Episode 56
Mar 24, 1980
"I name this ship..." With the traditional crash of a champagne bottle, Tina launches the latest cross-channel ferry at Harland and Woolff's shipyard in Belfast. Watch out for det
Episode 58
Mar 31, 1980
The Great Everest Mystery Fifty-six years ago two English climbers, GEORGE MALLORY and ANDREW IRVINE , made a bid to reach the summit of Mt Everest -and were never seen again. New
Episode 59
Apr 3, 1980
Dr Who's Spring Clean The BBC's travelling Dr Who exhibitions are constantly changing to keep pace with the latest monsters the Doctor tackles. Tina goes behind the scenes, to len
Episode 60
Apr 10, 1980
Octavia Aviator! Twelve-year-old Paul Sharp from Retford won Blue Peter's 'Name the Owl' competition and two days as a VIP guest of the RAF's Number 8 Squadron at Lossiemouth. As
Episode 61
Apr 14, 1980
Metric or Imperial? The results of a nationwide survey of 19,000 viewers are announced on today's programme. Find out how children voted in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and
Episode 62
Apr 17, 1980
Chris goes behind-the-scenes with the Mines Rescue Service - the emergency teams on 24-hour call to cope with pit disasters.
Episode 63
Apr 21, 1980
Crack Pots Do you throw away your broken plates and cups and saucers? They don't in Guernsey! Simon and Goldie investigate the Channel Island's famous crockery-covered Chapel.
Episode 64
Apr 24, 1980
St Christopher Ahoy! The results of the competition to design a mural for the newest cross-channel ferry. Find out whether you have won a vip trip on the St Christopher's maiden v
Episode 65
Apr 28, 1980
The Rochdale Pioneers It's hard to imagine life without supermarkets and nowadays we take clean shops and clearly-marked prices and weights for granted. But 130 years ago finding
Episode 70
May 15, 1980
William and Dorothy: Dorothy Wordsworth's diary was the inspiration behind many of her brother's most famous poems Tina and Chris go back in time and become 19th-century detectives
Episode 72
May 22, 1980
A ginger tom-cat and Britain's oldest garden under continuous cultivation are two of the unexpected finds Tina makes when she explores Westminster Abbey.
Episode 73
May 29, 1980
Portable Pavement: A replica of the largest Romano-British pavement north of the Alps fills the Blue Peter studio today-all 115,052 pieces of it! Simon, Chris and Tina help to fit
Episode 76
Jun 9, 1980
Fred, the bionic tortoise, shows off his new shell after a death-defying encounter with a tractor-drawn mower.
Episode 77
Jun 12, 1980
The Fishers of Mousehole Sarah goes mackerel fishing and eats Starry Gazey Pie.
Episode 78
Jun 16, 1980
Twelve years ago schoolboy Ray Gluckman grew a crystal in an eggcup. See it today in a dustbin - tipping the scale at 40 lbs and still growing!
Episode 79
Jun 19, 1980
' Dear Tina, Can you still cut your toenails? ' Find out today and hear Tina's baby's heartbeats through an electronic stethoscope.
Episode 80
Jun 23, 1980
Highland Fling! Goldie barks open the Irvine New Town Highland Games, Jill's kittens make their first-ever studio appearance and the team prepare for the summer expedition.
Episode 81
Jun 30, 1980
Goldie Special with Simon Groom Britain's best-loved golden retriever gets a programme all to herself today starting with a flashback to her first-ever appearance on Blue Peter on