Nineties Blue Peter stars Tim Vincent and Konnie Huq enjoyed a reunion on Monday night as the show desperately tries to cling onto its young viewers.
The TV stars both shot to fame as hosts of the beloved children’s shows but in recent years have retreated from the spotlight.
Yet it looked like hardly any time had passed for Tim, 52, and Konnie, 50, as they posed for snaps on the opening night of The Producers at London’s Garrick Theatre.
Sartorially in sync for their red carpet outing, Konnie was clad in a sheer blue blouse and black trousers, while Tim opted for a navy blazer with slacks.
Tim and Konnie were part of Blue Peter’s heyday but wouldn’t recognise the preogramme today after producers took dramatic steps to ensure the world’s longest-running children’s TV show doesn’t become obsolete.
The BBC show, which has been on air since 1958, has faced plummeting viewing figures as it struggles to compete with YouTube and TikTok.
Nineties Blue Peter stars Tim Vincent and Konnie Huq enjoyed a reunion on Monday night as the show desperately tries to cling onto its young viewers
The TV stars both shot to fame as hosts of the beloved children’s shows but in recent years have retreated from the spotlight (pictured in the Nineties)
Once watched by millions, the show now averages just 37,700 viewers, with a notorious re-run in 2017 recording zero viewers, The Times reports.
In an effort to capture the attention of a new generation, producers have revamped almost every aspect of the format.
Having first moved from London’s Television Centre to Salford in 2011, Blue Peter relocated again – this time to a smaller city-centre studio in Manchester.
The new set, housed in a Grade II listed building, has been designed to look more like the homes of online influencers than a traditional TV studio.
Gone is the glossy black vinyl floor, and in its place are exposed brick walls, wooden flooring and a colourful geometric rug, aiming for a warm and modern feel.
Joel Mawhinney, 25, who is currently the show’s oldest presenter, said the redesign was an important shift for young viewers. ‘The old set was quite jarring,’ he explained. ‘Now it feels like a loft where we’re all just having fun.’
The most surprising move came with the announcement that Mawhinney and his co-presenters, Abby Cook and Shini Muthukrishnan, will be joined by CBBC favourite Hacker T Dog.
The puppet character is officially Blue Peter’s 44th presenter – its very first non-human host.
Equally significant has been the decision to scrap the tradition of live broadcasts, a hallmark of the show since its launch.
Episodes are now pre-recorded and edited ‘as live’, with producers insisting the change allows more freedom and flexibility.
It looked like hardly any time had passed for Tim, 52, and Konnie, 50, as they posed for snaps on the opening night of The Producers at London’s Garrick Theatre
Konnie remains Blue Peter‘s longest-serving female presenter, and is renowned for her 11-year stint on the show, from 1997 to 2008.
A University of Cambridge economics graduate, Konnie already had an impressive media career, having trained part-time at the National Youth Music Theatre since childhood, and she made her presenting debut at age 16 on TVFM.
During her time on the show, Konnie visited Bangladesh and India, and took part in the Blue Peter Welcome Home Appeal, travelling to Angola to help reunite families separated by war.
In a grand finale to her Blue Peter tenure, Konnie set a Guinness World Record by pinning 17 badges onto fellow presenter Ayo Akinwolere’s shirt in under one minute.
Since leaving the show, she has participated in various charity TV specials and is the author of the popular children’s book Cookie and the Most Annoying Boy in the World, alongside a short-lived stint as host of The Xtra Factor in 2010.
Now also an established screenwriter, Konnie co-wrote the Black Mirror episode Fifteen Million Merits with her husband, the show’s creator Charlie Brooker.
Meanwhile, Tim kickstarted his screen career as an actor, playing alcoholic teenager Billy Ryan in ITV drama series Children’s Ward in the early 90s.
He went on to host Blue Peter for four years, during which time he ran the New York marathon and travelled to South Africa.
Tim left the programme in 1997 a few months before Konnie joined the team.
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.
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.
In an effort to capture the attention of a new generation, producers have revamped almost every aspect of Blue Peter (L to R: Shini Muthukrishnan, Abby Cook and Joel Mawhinney)
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