Blue Peter Presenters on Redruth Station

'I used to go to school from Camborne to Truro back in the seventies.  For some reason British Rail decided that the evening train wouldn’t stop there for a few months so I got off at Redruth (Camborne station was reinstated after much complaint...). It must have been about 5pm.  There was a crowd of eager schoolchildren on the platform.  In the midst of them were a very disgruntled Peter Purves and Valerie Singleton, the presenters on the much loved children’s programme, Blue Peter, waiting to catch the train back to London, I imagine.  I remember hearing Purves say to Singleton ‘Valerie, this is awful’ as if he were unused to such attention.  Even so, I persisted and got his autograph in light blue crayon on a scrap torn from an exercise book.  I have no idea where it is now.

I am pretty sure that that they were down to film an episode where Singleton dressed up as a bal maiden and chucked pasties down a mine.  Were the others down there to catch them, including Shep the dog?  Have tried to find out more but nothing as yet.  Does anyone else remember that?

JP

In the same period the Blue Peter programme spearheaded a national appeal to raise funds for three new inshore life boats. They were so successful that they were able to purchase a fourth and St Agnes was the recipient.  The station had a target of 100,000 books to be donated. The boat was named the Blue Peter 4.  In fact the programme supported the life boat until 2015.

The other linked story that I found in the West Briton in September 1972 was an article about David Mudd, the conservative MP for Redruth and Camborne.  He was described as being absolutely opposed to a plan to close down all of Cornwall’s railways.  The trains would have stopped at Plymouth… Happily that 'great' idea was squashed. Thank you to Kresen Kernow for that dip into the microfilm archive.

If you have any other memories of departing (or even arriving) from Redruth Station, please do share. Thank you to JP for the story and Tony for sharing his Blue Peter annual!

AH