Anthea Turner in 1993 and 2025, holding a model of Tracy IslandAnthea Turner in 1993 and 2025. Later photograph: Pål Hansen/The Guardian. Styling: Andie Redman. Hair and makeup: Celine Nonon at Arlington Artists. Archive image: courtesy of Anthea Turner
Born in 1960 in Stoke-on-Trent, Anthea Turner began her broadcasting career as a runner for BBC Radio Stoke before moving into children’s television, presenting Blue Peter from 1992 to 1994. She went on to front primetime shows including GMTV, The National Lottery Live and Wish You Were Here … ? More recently, she has appeared on reality series from Celebrity Big Brother to Dancing on Ice, and continues to work across TV, radio and publishing. She is teaming up with Corgi to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Thunderbirds.
During Christmas 1992, there was a high demand for Tracy Island, the Thunderbirds’ secret headquarters playset. The manufacturers hadn’t ordered enough, so Blue Peter came to the rescue, declaring: “Don’t worry! You can make one at home instead!”
When I made one on TV, however, the DIY instructions ended up being so sought-after that our little offices became snowed under with letters. That’s what’s behind me – Royal Mail bags full of stamped addressed envelopes from children wanting to know how to make it. There were probably parents all over the country scratching their heads, thinking: “Why did we think we could help our child craft this intricate thing?” Tracy Island was not for the faint-hearted. I practised so many times to get it right for the live show. There were 8 million viewers – I couldn’t mess it up.
These were such fun and innocent times. Everything was slower in the 90s, but there was more unity and the viewers were so engaged. I was 32 when I got the job and glad to be a little older, as it meant I could deal with the pressure of recording two shows a day. They were looking for someone who could hit the ground running, and by this point I had done Saturday morning television and Top of the Pops, so I was ready to jump in with both feet.
I could have seen myself following a PR path. Because when it comes down to it, I’m just hustling
Despite how much I enjoyed being part of the team, I spent my Blue Peter era scared to death that I was going to get found out. I was dyslexic, and remember filling in the forms for a Blue Peter medical and thinking: “Oh shit, they’re going to give my job to someone else because I can’t spell.” I ended up getting away with it, but it made me more studious; I had to learn every trick to cover it up. Each morning I would go through my script and learn my and my co-host’s lines by heart, even though there was an Autocue. Nobody knew how to deal with dyslexia back then, but instead of becoming a weakness, it made me even more diligent and creative.
I left the show in 1994 because I was offered a presenting spot on GMTV. In my heart, I wished I could have stayed at Blue Peter for a few more years because I was so happy, but opportunities like that were rare. Transitioning out of children’s television can be tough, so I had to take the leap. The Blue Peter producer Biddy Baxter was a legend but, I had assumed, not my No 1 fan, as she didn’t initially want me for the show. However, when I told her I was leaving, she tore a strip off me, saying: “I cannot believe what you’re doing!” Biddy had various opinions about GMTV, none of which were glowing. I left with mixed feelings, but the Blue Peter team remain a family. There are WhatsApp groups. I did Celebrity SAS in 2020 and remember arriving at this small airport and feeling scared. I looked around and saw the former Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton and immediately felt safe again.
There was a part of my life after Blue Peter where I was in the newspapers a lot. How did I cope with the intrusion? Celebrity didn’t all happen overnight. The media’s focus on me was a slow burn; it wasn’t like one day I woke up and was famous. After a while, you get used to the attention, and it wasn’t an issue. But it did mean that when something went wrong – personal stuff like break-ups – stories did end up in the Daily Mail. I don’t feel bitter about it. Being a public figure can be full of joy. If I’m out and about and need help from someone, I always get a warm response from strangers.
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It’s important for me to embrace the time of life that I am in. Getting older isn’t an issue – but a bit of vanity, wanting to fit into some nice clothes, that doesn’t hurt anybody. That said, the elixir of youth is not in a pot of face cream. (Even though I do sell a line of face cream.) Instead, it is in your attitude. I’m trekking Kilimanjaro soon – I guess I thought I needed a challenge. I like to shove myself out of my comfort zone and do something that’s good for my health. Especially now I’ve got more air miles behind me than in front of me. I’m in sniper’s alley! Of course, there are the odd days where I stand in front of the mirror and hold my chin up a little and go: “Oh gosh, that bit doesn’t look quite as good as it used to.” You can turn yourself inside out with that fear of ageing, and I don’t want it to consume me.
It’s also harder to get your voice out there these days, because there are so many people scrambling to get people’s attention online. I have fully embraced social media and I love Instagram. I know it gets a bad rap, and some areas of the internet are dark and nasty. But thankfully I’m not involved in those circles, and instead my tribe is positive and enlightening. I might not have millions of people following me, but the right people do.
I’m a Gemini, so there are lots of jobs I think I could have done. As a child I had wanted to be a ballet dancer. I did a few shows, and was intermediate. For many years, I chastised myself, thinking: “I did all that training, and I never actually pursued it properly.” But that core of dance and the discipline ballet requires has been instrumental to almost every job I’ve had. When I did [the winter sports reality show] The Jump, me and Kimberly Wyatt both treated it like a dance competition.
The other option for me was PR. Before I got Blue Peter, work wasn’t flowing in, and a friend and I set up a company called Parker Turner PR. I could have seen myself following that path. Because when it comes down to it, I’m just hustling. Whether I am presenting a current affairs show or telling people how to make Tracy Island, I’m selling. But in a nice way, of course.
I’ve never been so busy representing my generation. Whether it’s lifestyle or travel, I’m out there. This year I’ve modelled for clothing brands, and have been reporting from St Lucia and Tanzania. Most days I look at my diary and think: “Wow, this is a good life, isn’t it?” For a dyslexic from Stoke, I’ve made a little go a long way.
