1973: EMERGENCY APPEAL for missing DALEKS | Blue Peter | Childhood Nostalgia | BBC Archive

[@CricketEngland]

So glad they got Peter Purves to do this story as he has first hand knowledge of Dr Who

[@julianaylor4351]

He was companion Steven, who was a space pilot the first Doctor met.

[@KororaPenguin]

​@@julianaylor4351 And who was last heard from trying to foster racial reconciliation on a BBC Quarry planet.

[@blastfromthepast-o1d]

Remember it well. Half a century ago. Time flies!

[@original.dwornboy]

Not as fast as the TARDIS

[@johnhudson9167]

The battered and bruised Dalek in Ealing must have run into Sarah Jane.

[@genisisarc]

This is so bizarre. You'd swear it was a Monty Python sketch if you didn't know it was real 🤣

[@ChiefExecutiveOrbiter]

I was waiting for Mr. Neutron to show up 😂

[@hilaryepstein6013]

50 years ago a damaged Dalek would have been something to celebrate but now it was rather sweet to see the poor thing having to be helped out of the studios. (Always good to see the old BBC studios too. Those doors were pretty impressive.)

[@NoosaHeads]

Priceless.

[@mrbluesky4838]

Champion Hill! I can’t believe a stolen dalek was stranded two doors away from my grandmas house

[@mrbluesky4838]

@@algrant5293 if so I’d be very disappointed she didn’t keep it!

[@ronniesemley7433]

Remember it well. I was about 7 or 8 and in fact I’ve just realised this was the first time I took interest in a ‘news story’. I was fascinated by first the appeal and then the aftermath. I bet the producers couldn’t believe their luck when the appeal got such quick results. Children quickly lose interest and move on so to have such a quick and successful resolution to the story really made it memorable. And it’s always great to see John, Peter and Lesley. :)

[@buxycat]

I love this channel.

[@davedogge2280]

They were found in Exeter-minator *groan*

[@KororaPenguin]

In the immortal words of Shakespeare: I like thy wit well, i'good faith.

[@stepheng8779]

If only I could jump into a Tardis, glory days 😂

[@positivelynegative9149]

Poor daleks. 😔

[@wisteela]

"I am damaged" 😁 Did they ever find out who took them?

[@paulharvey2851]

This is such a strange story! Two Daleks get nicked in broad daylight outside BBC Centre in May 1973 then a month later in June, Blue Peter puts out an appeal & 24 hours later one turns up in East Dulwich & another 11 miles away in Ealing! Did anyone confess? The mind boggles!

[@MadBiker-vj5qj]

BBC technicians had a drunken party, nicked a couple of daleks, then came up with this craziness to give them back without owning up to it.

[@original.dwornboy]

No drink involved. They did it for a bet. An inside job.

[@KororaPenguin]

@@MadBiker-vj5qj Is that what happened? Or are you speculating?

[@MadBiker-vj5qj]

@@KororaPenguin Speculation, based on many stories I've heard told by ex-Beeb staff at conventions etc.

[@maybeIAMthetuba]

How funny that they've got a dog and cat with them in the studio--I love it! Can anybody tell me more about those animals?

[@bendaniels1214]

The children's TV series Blue Peter has been on British TV since 1958. The presenters come and go. I was 10 when this was broadcast , and these presenters were for me some of the best. They always had animals with them . The black and white border collie was called Shep, and I think if the other dog was there was called Petra. There was a cat as well, no idea of the name. I believe the animals were there for children who couldn't have pets of their own, and so they saw the dogs as puppies and all that entails, training , feeding and looking after them, as if it were the children's own pet. Many dogs and cats and a tortoise followed over the years. I Hope this helps a bit . regards Ben

[@milquetoasted]

@@bendaniels1214 wasn't the cat called Jason or something? I'm 37 so when I watched it it was the era of the labrador Goldie and the cats Kare and Oke. What animals do they have now, i wonder

[@bendaniels1214]

Yes I'm sure the cat was Jason. Apparently when John Noakes left Blue Peter he didn't keep Shep which I found surprising. There may have been mitigating circumstances that we are not privy to, but I was disappointed that that was the case.

[@maybeIAMthetuba]

@@bendaniels1214 Wow, thank you so much for all that info! What a good idea to model pet care for kids. We had plenty of good kids' shows in the US when I was growing up, but none of them did something like that--the only similar thing I can think of is Mr. Rogers feeding his fish.

[@maybeIAMthetuba]

@@milquetoasted Thank you for the info! Jason is a great name for a cat :)

[@pressureworks]

Have Blue Peter ever done an appeal for the missing Dr Who and other TV & Radio programs ?

[@oranmccann2476]

I remember seeing this on The Dalek Tapes special feature on the DVD of Genisis of the Daleks

[@mattsan70]

noaksy is on another planet

[@stevenjohnson7442]

That ramp couldn't hold a cup!

[@jasonayres]

(3:20)I was.. instinctively expecting them to exterminate the people, and perhaps the dog. That's just how much the Daleks of 50 years ago (!) have impacted our thought processes. Fancy finding one sitting in front of your garage. Oh, that would have put me on the psychiatrist's couch for a long time, no doubt!

[@KororaPenguin]

All Daleks on _Blue Peter_ would have been given the Human Factor.

[@depniff]

Whodunnit?

[@musicfuhrer]

Ah the glorious seventies. Hardly any parked cars or traffic. People still had a sense of humour. No foodbanks or housing crisis.

[@angelacooper2661]

I was just three and Play School age at the time. Too young to understand or remember that period first hand!

[@Seal0626]

Just casually doxxing the guy who found it...

[@SegaNintendoGuy64]

Is that Roy Skelton voicing the Daleks in this?

[@robalexander8065]

Yes!

[@SegaNintendoGuy64]

@robalexander8065 Oh Good.

[@grahamstubbs4962]

Err, Morris Minor as a police car. That's not going to frighten anybody is it? I suppose they could be adored to death if there is such a thing.

[@MorristheMinor]

Actually, the Morris Minor was used by a lot of Police Forces as 'panda' cars, which unlike the 'pursuit' cars (Rover P6B, Triumph PI) didn't need to have a lot of speed. That said, one force skimmed the cylinder heads and fitted twin SU carbs on their Minors and turned them into 'Q' cars.

[@robalexander8065]

Watched a 1974 episode of Z Cars, which featured a Morris Minor Panda car.

[@marcse7en]

As a Doctor Who fan since 1971, I'll tell you this; if I found a Dalek in my driveway, the BBC would definitely NOT get it back! A genuine screen-used hero Dalek prop? ... Do you know how much they're worth? 🤣 05:13 ... I spotted Simon Cowell's dad in the studio! ... You can tell it's him, because his pants are halfway up his chest!

[@angelacooper2661]

Broadcast just two days after my third birthday. My friend Heidi has a grown-up son who met Colin Baker not too long ago. I call Tom the Time Lord and refer to him as Doctor Who, because of his Gallifrey obsession!

[@TruculentSheep]

We're all a bit too sentimental about what is, after all, an army of Cyber-Hitlers.

[@stuartryan610]

The scary bit is the hair cuts or lack of them 😂

[@stuartryan610]

From the decade fashion chose to skip..... 😁

[@robalexander8065]

Roy Skelton as the Dalek voice. Trying his best not to sound like Zippy!

[@onlyme219]

Was this put out on April 1st? originally

[@MadBiker-vj5qj]

"Clip taken from Blue Peter, originally broadcast on BBC One, Monday 11 June 1973." (from the video description)

[@onlyme219]

@@MadBiker-vj5qj thank you 👍

[@robalexander8065]

Hilarious ending as John gets the day wrong! Can't wait to tune in on Thursday and find out what Robert Dougal does on his day off...😅