02/02/2012 Blue Peter

.

Coming up on today's all-new Blue Peter...

He's the canine talk of the town,

so we sent our very own Barney the dog to meet him.

The skateboarding star off The Artist, Uggie the Jack Russell.

If you're struggling with the freezing temperatures, have no fear.

We've got some great ideas to warm you up.

Join me as I climb one of the tallest and most incredible structures.

You never really get a sense of its size

until you are at the top looking down.

Plus BRIT nominated pop sensation Pixie Lott is here to help me

present the show and she'll be taking your calls live later on.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Thanks very much. Welcome to Blue Peter.

It's live, a jam-packed show.

As Helen is still on her way back from the South Pole,

we have persuaded someone very special to help me hold the fort.

Actress, pop star and now Blue Peter presenter, the brilliant Pixie Lott.

With three number-one singles. over a million album sales and a staggering

four BRIT nominations under her belt, she is seriously hot pop property.

Having collaborated with stars like Tinchy Stryder and Wretch 32,

I'm proud to say, she's agreed to collaborate with me.

Give her a massive round of applause, it's Pixie Lott, everybody.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-Hi! How are you doing?

-I'm good.

-Welcome to the show.

-Thank you.

-This is the second time you've been on.

You performed before, but now you are helping present,

you're doing something different,

which means you get your very own silver Blue Peter badge.

How exciting. Thank you. Beautiful.

Someone else who was on show

who we are big fans of is Ed Sheeran, who you know very well.

You are up against him in the BRITs, how does that feel?

It is such an exciting night, the BRITS, I always have loads of fun.

It's great to be included in a category with Ed.

So many great people up for it, so we will have to see on the night.

It will be loads of fun.

It's a real talent fest this year, isn't it? He may win Best Female.

If you are a Pixie fan

and you want to send a message, e-mail it to us now?

We'll get some of the best on screen later in the show.

Right, I've done my bit. Time for you to present.

Have you heard about the Hollywood film, The Artist,

that's set to dominate the Oscars?

It's unusual because it's in black and white and a silent film,

but there is one actor who doesn't need words to steal every scene.

He's hairy, slobbers a lot and walks on four legs,

so we sent our very own Barney the dog to meet him.

And it seems that Barney has finally found his voice.

Hello! I'm Barney. Let's face it I'm the real star of Blue Peter.

From the minute I arrive at work, I'm treated like a celebrity.

Before every show, I am groomed and pampered

in my very own dressing room.

I truly am King of the Studio!

But whenever I get tired of the adoring humans,

I like to mix with some of my own kind, too.

Today, I'm meeting a canine whose even more famous than I am.

Can you believe it?!

Uggie, the Jack Russell, is getting rave reviews in Oscar-nominated

silent film, The Artist.

He has starred in Water For Elephants with RPattz

and the lovely Reese Witherspoon. Ow, ow, ow!

HE PANTS

Today, I am here to see first-hand that Uggie has more strings

to his bow than just acting.

Good to shake paws with you.

Thanks for finding the time to see me before I had back to the States.

I hear you have got an amazing talent you want to show off.

A classic American sport, I will be showing off my skateboarding skills.

Fantastic, take it away, Uggie.

As he shows off his moves, I get the low-down from his human,

on just how much this four-legged fellow loves to roll on four wheels.

Omar, how did Uggie get into skateboarding?

I had another dog, he used to skateboard all the time.

So Uggie would be watching him and then I got him on a skateboard,

we got him on top of it and he just loved it.

-He has been skating ever since.

-Sweet.

So, how often does he practice?

About four times a week. When he was younger, he practised every day.

It is something he really likes and gets a lot of exercise.

He used to do all kinds of ramps.

Ramps? Amazing! What's the best trick he can do?

He likes to skateboard on his hind legs.

He was watching me skateboard one day and said he wanted to do it like me.

I said, "no way". He tried it - and he did it.

Thanks for chatting to me, Omar.

Barney, fancy giving it a go yourself?

I'm always up for trying something new, why not?

Why is it moving? What's this?

It's a skateboard, dude, get on it.

Hold on, I don't get it.

Fine, I'll send Omar in.

I'm not sure about this.

Get on it.

-How? I'm a dog.

-Just get on it.

No. It's not for me.

Ugh... Amateurs.

You made it look easy, but I couldn't even get on.

Like anything in life, it is just practice and confidence.

Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet us today.

Awesome to meet you.

Good luck with the film.

Next time you arrange something like this, make sure the dog

has some basic training. I look like the worst teacher in the world.

Sorry, buddy, it won't happen again.

What a doggy diva.

I think he's allowed to be a diva, that is one talented pup right there.

-And Barney's so cute.

-Thanks very much.

I was talking about the dog.

In four weeks' time,

we'll announce the winner of the Blue Peter Book Awards,

but we have a new category for a special one-off award

and we would like your help to decide who takes the prize.

We know lots of you love reading...

..on winter holidays...

..on summer holidays...

..at work, rest...and play.

CAMERA REPEATEDLY CLICKS

But with thousands of brilliant children's books available

we've been wondering which is the best.

So we're asking you to decide for us.

We've pulled together the top ten best-selling kids' books

from the last 10 years and we're giving you a chance

to vote for your favourite.

All you do is go to the Blue Peter website and click on the big link.

The vote closes at 4pm on February 23rd,

so make sure you cast yours before then.

I'm serious, it says they're not even brothers...

Sorry, I'll save that for later.

What's your book about?

I'm reading TV Presenting for Beginners.

-You don't need that!

-I'm learning a lot.

You're doing so well.

Make sure you stick around,

because there's loads more to come on today's show.

Pixie will be talking to some of you live on the show

and performing her new single.

Plus, Barney will be braving the height of one of

the tallest bridges in the UK.

We know Helen has been braving sub-zero temperatures in Antarctica,

but you've probably noticed the weather here has been getting cold.

Tonight is set to be as low as minus four in some places in the UK.

Earlier this week, Wiltshire in the south of England saw some snow.

To help see you through these chilly winter months

we decided to enlist the skills of top inventor Mark Champkins.

Here he is on Blue Peter last year when Helen set him his challenge.

Things are getting cold, a lot of our viewers

will be waiting at bus-stops, cold and bored.

-Can you create something for them?

-I'll do my best.

We asked Pollyanna Woodward from The Gadget Show

to catch up with Mark and find out

whether he'd risen to Helen's challenge.

The Science Museum in London,

home to some of the world's greatest innovations.

Ideas man Mark Champkins is the museum's resident inventor,

but has he managed to come up with any products to keep you warm

and stop you getting bored at the bus-stop this winter?

Mark, you've had a little while to think about the challenge,

-have you come up with many ideas?

-I have, lots of ideas, actually.

Winter problem number one -

do you love playing with your touch-screen phone,

but want keep your hands warm?

Here's Mark's solution - a pair gloves with easy access fingertips.

I have to get these on and give them a trial.

Look at that, that's great.

Pop your finger out if you need to pinch and zoom.

That's not all, Mark has invented a bonus feature for your bus pass.

A little transparent pocket on your glove,

so you don't need to root round in your bag to find it.

This will save me a good four or five minutes every time I use it.

Toasty.

Winter problem number two -

how do you choose between...

..cool tunes...

..and warm ears?

Mark's solution is woolly earmuffs, with inbuilt headphones.

They look very warm.

Yes, you can listen to your music and keep your ears warm.

But for perfect beats you need a perfect fit.

We'll scan your ear, so I can get a model on the laptop.

Mark places positioning targets all over Pollyanna's ear,

so the scanner can make a 3D map of her head.

The red laser bounces off her skin and into sensors in the scanner.

We've measured your ears, I know exactly where they are!

-And I've modelled them here.

-So when I put these on,

the positioning of the earphones will be on my ear.

Perfect. The world's first pair of perfectly-fitting earmuffs.

Winter problem number three -

have you ever been waiting for a bus to find it drives straight past you?

Mark's solution, a light-emitting ring,

so you can be spotted even on a dark winter morning.

-It lights up and the bus driver can see you're waiting.

-It glows!

I've done some stuff on my laptop and modelled it

and we can have it printed.

He's using a 3D printer, which piles up 947 layers of quick-drying resin.

Each layer is thinner than a human hair.

These are the two halves we made before.

This circuit is like a bike light, a little LED,

and this will shine through the top when you push the button.

This circuit should sit nicely in here.

Just snap that together, like that.

So, there you have it,

three brilliant new products to keep you warm

and entertained on those dark winter mornings.

Mark, these inventions are absolutely fantastic!

-You have cracked Helen's challenge.

-I hope so, thank you.

It's amazing how these solutions can come from

quite simple problems, but they're really effective.

These are the warmest headphones I've ever worn.

Music's rubbish, but it is not plugged in. What about your stuff?

Very beautiful. The bus pass

that just slips in there,

very cosy,

and this beautiful accessory here.

Yes, the Blue Peter light-up ring.

If we get the lights down, we can see.

This is supposed to attract the attention of the bus driver

while you wait at the bus-stop on dark, wintry mornings.

So cool, I love it. I wish I was an inventor.

And if it's still too cold to go outside, there's always loads

to keep you busy on the Blue Peter website.

The Blue Peter website is the place to be for games...

..competitions...

..votes...

..and loads of things to make and do.

You can get your questions answered by famous stars,

keep up-to-date with presenter challenges...

..and catch up on highlights from the series.

Why not check out our brand-new Sport Relief game, Keep On Running...

..or brush up on your footy skills, with Keepy Uppy?

Head over to the CBBC website and click on Blue Peter.

Hours of fun.

If you are constantly being asked to tidy your room

you may think it is the job that never ends.

If you are anything like me, it gets messy as fast as you tidy it.

I'm such a boy.

For over 100 years, the painters of the Forth Bridge in Scotland

had exactly the same feeling.

It is so large that, ever since it was built,

it has always had someone painting it.

But this year, for the first time, that's all changed.

5,000 workers risked their lives to build it.

It took seven years to complete.

But then came the real challenge -

painting its massive 1.5 mile expanse.

They said it was the job that would never end, but they were wrong.

This is the Forth Rail Bridge in Scotland,

and I am here to celebrate the scaffolding finally coming down

on the world's longest-running paint job.

As you can see, I am all kitted out. I have got my gloves,

safety goggles and high-visibility suit, all to make me completely safe,

because I am about to walk across

one of the biggest construction sites in the UK.

The Forth Rail Bridge was built across the Firth of Forth

in the late 1800s,

to connect the capital city of Edinburgh on the south side,

to Fife on the north side.

It spans the same length as 24 full-sized football pitches

and project manager John has been working on it for 12 years.

It is not every day you walk under a train to go to work, is it?

It is a fairly unique experience.

I imagine this bit of the walk for the painters and builders,

it is a bit like a tunnel at Wembley, as they walk onto the pitch

to the cheers of the adoring fans.

It is their walk to work, the only way in and out

and they do it every day.

With 200 trains passing over every day,

it is vital this huge steel beast remains rust free,

to keep it as strong as possible.

The best way to protect metal from rust is to paint it.

Just looking at the structure as we are walking past,

anybody who has helped their dad painting

will appreciate how big a job this is.

For over a century,

teams of workers have fought to keep the bridge in top condition,

by painting it day-in and day-out, year after year.

All the while, trains were passing while the work was carrying on?

It is a live bridge, it is not a museum piece,

has been here for 121 years

and will be here for an awful lot longer.

This never-ending job is finally finishing

and all because of this unlikely hero -

a can of paint.

Here is the paint.

The technical name is glass flake epoxy paint

and it is the toughest paint in the world.

It has thousands of microscopic glass flakes in each can

which lock together and form overlapping layers.

Just three coats of this bad boy

are strong enough to last for up to 25 years.

It was all delivered in pots like this. They were all delivered,

put into a spray container, but this is a pot of paint...

-SIREN SOUNDS

-..that's been used on the bridge.

And they are alarmed as well.

If anyone is picked them up that is not allowed to, the alarm goes off.

We better put that down and, hopefully, we won't get told off.

No, that's cos there's a train coming. I'm only kidding.

It has taken the 1,500 workers nearly ten years to paint the bridge

with this new super-strong paint.

It has been a truly massive operation.

6.5 million of these rivets hold the bridge together.

Each one of these were painted by hand.

6.5 million rivets - that is a lot of work.

A lot of cups of tea, isn't it?

With the painting part of the project over, the biggest challenge now

is finally taking down the 4,000 tonnes of scaffolding.

Before I help the boys out,

I am braving the lift and heading to the very top of the bridge.

-How high is this?

-110 metres above the River Forth.

We are going to the highest point of the bridge.

It makes you wonder how they actually built it in the first place,

without lifts.

You are right, how the guys built this 120-130 years ago,

-is just unbelievable.

-It's incredible.

As long as it stops and doesn't fall, I'm all right.

Oh, oh, oh!

Here we are, we are now on top of the Forth Bridge.

It is incredible.

Wow.

Even when you are at the side, on the banks,

looking at this amazing structure in the distance,

you never really get a sense of its size

until you're at the top of it, looking down.

Who has got the bungee cord?

Having experienced the highest peak of the bridge,

it is now time to get my hands dirty, dismantling the scaffolding.

-How long have you been here now?

-I've been here nine years now.

-Nine years on the bridge.

-Yeah.

This truly is a landmark moment for the workers like Colin,

who have been trying to tame this metal beast for many years.

Are you sad to see the end of the scaffolding and the boards?

It is a unique site. We will never get the experience

anywhere in Britain on a job like this again.

It will take me ten years to shift all this.

Before I leave, I have one final mission.

I have heard that when King Edward VII opened the bridge in 1890,

he put in the very last rivet himself,

and it was said to be made of pure gold.

As it turns out, there is no golden rivet. Apparently, it is a myth.

But there is one piece of gold

that I think would suit this bridge perfectly.

So to honour the thousands who built it

and to celebrate one of the greatest feats of Victorian engineering,

it gives me great pleasure to present the gold Blue Peter badge

to the Forth Bridge.

Such an incredible piece of Victorian engineering.

The steel they used to build it

is as strong today as it was 121 years ago.

Pixie, we couldn't have been on the show without asking some questions.

Our viewers have been getting in touch.

We've had loads of messages via the message boards

and we've some excited people waiting to speak to you

on our visual video phone.

Let's go to our first callers.

Hello, Abbey, and Georgia, and guy in the back

-putting glasses on doing something strange! How are you?

-Good, thanks.

-Do you know that man? That's Dad, yeah? See you later, Dad.

-Yeah.

You're live on Blue Peter with me and Pixie,

what would you like to ask her?

What's your favourite song that you've written?

A very good question and I must say I love your banner.

Erm, I always change my mind.

From the first album it's always the ballads,

I love Nothing Compares and Cry Me Out.

From this album, there is a ballad called We Just Go On or You Win.

They're my favourites. I wrote a song last week that I love,

but I can't tell you the name yet, in case it comes out as a single.

Abbey and Georgia, which of Pixie's songs do you like?

-Or Blue Peter screen!

-I like All About Tonight.

Ah. Thank you very much.

They're all catchy. Thanks for joining us, girls. See you later.

-Bye, girls.

-Bye. See ya. Maddie, are you there?

-Yes, I am, thank you.

-Hi, Maddie.

-What's your question for Pixie Lott?

What inspired you to be a singer when you were my age?

When I was younger, I used to listen to all the massive singers.

The big female diva voices, like Mariah or Whitney or Celine Dion.

I was in awe of their voices. It really inspired me to get involved.

Did that influence the kind of style you wanted to sing?

-They are big diva voices.

-Definitely.

It's what I learnt from.

I'd listen to them and, kind of,

not copy their style, but I didn't have lessons.

I just listened to them all the time and that's how I got into it.

-Do you want to be a singer?

-I want to be a singer and an actor.

-Give us a spin. Go, "Oh, yeah".

-Oh, yeah!

-What a voice!

What a stunner. Maddie, thanks for your question. See you later.

-Nathan, are you there?

-Yeah.

-Hi, Nathan. What is your question?

-Hi, Nathan.

-Hello.

What would you like to ask, Nathan?

If you could write a song all about Blue Peter,

what would be the first two lines?

That is a very good question, Nathan.

If I had to put it into one of my songs it'd be Kiss the Stars.

It would go...

# Baby, baby, I'm on Blue Peter

# Standing with Barney Isn't this funny? #

Nice! That is why she's stood there and we're over here.

That was pretty good wasn't it, Nathan.

What would your first two lines be?

-I am not too sure!

-He put you on the spot!

I wouldn't do that to you!

Thanks for your question, mate. See you in a bit. Ta-ra, fella. Lovely.

Loads of questions coming from the message board.

Greyspringyladybird says,

"When you're on tour, what do you miss the most?"

When I'm on tour, I love being on tour.

Touring's my favourite thing ever.

The thing I miss the most, I guess I'm travelling, so my friends,

doing normal things, going out, my family.

But I can't complain. I love touring.

It's ace. What a job.

"What was your favourite school subject?"

My favourite subject in school would have to be drama.

Quite right. It's all very dramatic, darlings.

That's all we've got time for today.

Thank you to everybody who's e-mailed with questions and comments.

We've reached the end of the show, but we've saved the best for last,

Pixie's going to perform her new single. Have you enjoyed yourself?

-I've had loads of fun. Have you had a good time?

-Lovely time, thanks.

If you'd like to get ready for your performance, while you're doing that,

I can tell you what you've got to look forward to on next week's show.

I meet the supergroup everyone's talking about, One Direction,

I'll reveal what they get up to on tour.

And Helen Skelton will be back home after conquering the South Pole.

If you want to ask her a question live on the show, e-mail us at...

If you can't wait until then, tune in to Helen's Polar Challenge

for Sport Relief on Monday.

That's BBC One at 4:30pm to find out more about her amazing adventure.

Now, with an exclusive performance of her new single, Kiss the Stars,

from the album, Young Foolish Happy,

it's the awesome, she has a voice like melted chocolate.

Everybody, please give it up for the amazing Pixie Lott.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

# Baby, baby, we're on a rocket

# Venus and Mars now

# Can't be apart now

# Baby, baby, put me in your pocket

# We're on a mission Get in position

# Put the plug in the socket Give me all of your power

# When you turn it on I can go for hours

# Hit the switch Push the button, baby

# Then you'll see we can have it all Baby, you and me

# Kiss the stars tonight

# You and me And I'll be there

# Write our names in lights

# They will see we're in love tonight

# Love tonight

# Love tonight

# Love tonight, love tonight

# Love tonight

# Baby, baby, we're on a rocket

# Wherever we land You'll be my spaceman

# Baby, baby, we're supersonic

# Now we're together We'll last forever

# Put the plug in the socket Give me all of your power

# When you turn it on I can go for hours

# Hit the switch Push the button, baby

# Then you'll see we can have it all

# Baby, you and me

# Kiss the stars tonight

# You and me And I'll be there

# Write our names in lights

# They will see we're in love tonight

# Love tonight

# Ooh, ooh

# Love tonight, love tonight

# Oh, oh, oh, oh-oh.

# Put the plug in the socket Give me all of your power

# When you turn it on I can go for hours

# Hit the switch Push the button, baby

# Then you'll see

# We can have it all Baby, you and me

# We can have it all Baby, you and me

# We can have it all Baby, you and me

# Kiss the stars tonight

# You and me

# Oh, we will write our names in lights

# They will see

# We're in love tonight

# Love tonight

# Love tonight

# Love tonight

# Love tonight

# In love tonight

# Love tonight

# Tonight

# We're on a rocket

# We're on a rocket #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Pixie Lott, everybody! See you next week.