History of Blue Peter Pets

There have been 24 pets and a host of Guide Dogs appearing on the show throughout Blue Peter's history. Here is all there is to know about them, we love them all!

Blue Peter's first dog - Petra - appeared in 1962. She didn't actually like the studio when she first arrived. Presenter, Peter Purves took responsibility for her soon after he joined and then she then seemed to settle down. She is also immortalised as the nations favourite pet as a statue in the Blue Peter garden.

With every Blue Peter pet there's a whole host of enthusiastic and fun presenters cheering them on, check out our full list of Blue Peter past presenters here.

Petra wasn't alone for long, Blue Peter's very first tortoise called Fred arrived on 21st October 1963. 

Thanks to an eagle-eyed viewer, it turned out that he was actually a she! On the 12th June 1967, an 'a' was added onto the end of Fred, creating Freda! 

Jason, a seal-point Siamese cat arrived on 1 June 1964. Jason, who was very nearly christened Jumbo, turned out to be the perfect television cat, sitting so still that some viewers thought he was stuffed! 

Patch was John Noakes's first Blue Peter dog and arrived in 1965 and was one Petra's puppies (awww)! Patch was quite the music critic, darting off the set after a new cordless electric guitar performance. We don't think he liked it! 

Joey arrived in 1966 as the programme's first parrot.

Barney, Blue Peter's second parrot arrived in 1968.

After Patch, the next BP dog was Shep in 1971. He was a very loyal, lively dog and he lived with presenter, John Noakes. John and Shep had a very special relationship and lots of people remember John's catchphrase being "Get down, Shep!"

Rags the pony came in 1976, she was given to the Riding for the Disabled through a Blue Peter appeal, and the programme followed her progress for many years.

Jack & Jill arrived in 1976 and were known as the 'disappearing cats'. They were always legging it off the Blue Peter set. It happened so often that viewers requested clips of their escape acts to be shown on the show!

In 1978 Goldie appeared on screen. She was presenter Simon Groom's biggest support on set, and was very loyal and gentle.

The tortoise double act appeared on 1979's Election day. Blue Peter viewers were then inspired to name them after the then leader of the opposition,  Jim Callaghan and Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.

George the tortoise is the longest-serving pet. He made his first appearance in 1982. When he died in 2004 he was around 81 years old. 

Willow arrived in 1986 and she was a beautiful Burmese kitten. She loved being on the show but unfortunately was really noisy, she was one of the only pets sacked. MEOW!

Bonnie the dog took over from her mum Goldie, in 1986. On her last programme, she was presented with a specially made collar with a Gold Badge embedded. It was the first time any pet was given a Blue Peter badge.

Mabel was Blue Peter's first rescue dog. Her unusual quirky look, and her uncanny ability to know when she was on camera made her the perfect fit for the show. Katy Hill was the presenter who first met her and brought her into the studio.

After Mabel, Lucy joined and only had eyes for her handler and her ever-ready supply of dog treats! The pair were always getting lots of post from BP viewers. Lucky pups!

Kari & Oke were Blue Peter's next feline double act. They were rescue cats and their name was inspired by that year's summer expedition to Japan.

Meg was given to Matt Baker. She was a Border Collie and when Matt was busy rehearsing she would get so bored she circled the Blue Peter furniture as though she was rounding up sheep!

Smudge appeared in 2004 and was taken from a rescue litter. CUTE.

Socks arrived in 2006 and has been Blue Peter's happiest and most relaxed cat on the show. Although, he wasn't a fan of David Beckham's football boots!

A second Ragdoll kitten arrived in 2007, named Cookie and so there was now another feline double act on the show!

Barney was a cross between and Irish Setter and a Dachshund. He officially joined the Blue Peter team in 2009 and was the show's ninth dog. He was given to presenter Helen Skelton by Dogs Trust.

Shelley is a female Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise who first appeared on the programme in 2004 as a friend to George the tortoise. Blue Peter fans loved spotting her on the show every week. She retired in 2019 after 15 years on the programme.

Henry is a rescue dog from Dogs Trust and is believed to be a cross between a beagle and a basset hound. He's been on the show since May 2019. 

Henry LOVES his biscuits and is adored by all he meets! Henry has so much character and has made crew and audience alike LOL with his silly antics. Henry completed his first BP challenge in 2019 when he completed a muddy assault course with Richie. 

If you can't get enough of Henry, watch Blue Peter every Friday at 5pm on CBBC and streaming on BBC iPlayer.

Do you know your dog breeds? See if you know your Beagle from your Basset in this cute quiz.

Find out if you are the ultimate Henry superfan in our quiz 🐾

Become Henry in our fun runner game, where Henry collects biscuits and leaps frogs to dodge the sponge in Henry’s Bathtime Breakout game 🐶

If you're in the mood for a personality quiz, hungry for facts, or want a challenge check out our big collection of quizzes here.

The most famous animals on Blue Peter were the Guide Dogs. Their training was covered on the show until it was time to hand them over to their new owners. Honey and Cindy started the tradition in the 1960's, Buttons arrived in 1975, Prince in 1981, and in 2006 came Magic.  In 2014, Lindsey Russell began to train the latest Guide Dog Iggy. Iggy and Callum, her owner, regularly appear on the show and talk of their latest adventures together.