19/04/2012 Blue Peter

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Today's live Blue Peter includes lambs...

gadgets...

and Conor Maynard.

We give the inside story on lambing season

in just a few minutes' time.

This is iodine that we have to put on the lamb's umbilical cord,

which is this bit here.

Eugh.

And it's never been seen on TV before,

an exclusive competition to name the latest high tech gadget.

That's coming up in less than ten minutes time.

And he's the UK's answer to Justin Bieber,

internet pop sensation Conor Maynard in 20 minutes time.

He joins me live to answer your questions

and perform his latest single.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Thanks very much. Hello, how are you doing?

You're watching Blue Peter, we are live and interactive.

As you can see, Helen isn't here today. Get in!

"Isn't Barney so cheeky off Blue Peter?" No, it's a good thing,

it's not about me today, it's about you getting involved

and asking questions to a very famous person

who you're very exciting about.

Conor Maynard is going to be right here in the studio.

Would you like to ask him a question? You would,

I can see you nodding.

Here's the email address.

Only email if you're watching on Thursday, but ask him anything

you like and I'll ask as many as I can, and get them answered.

Now, have you ever seen a lamb being born?

Well, it's gross. And at this time of the year,

13-year-old Ella Henson just takes it as part of her daily routine.

ALARM CLOCK BEEPS

I'm Ella Henson and this is Being Me during lambing season.

Welcome to my family farm in Gloucestershire.

We have 2,000 animals.

But at the moment, there is one type of animal

demanding our focus and attention.

And that's these guys, the pregnant female sheep known as ewes.

We're in the middle of one of our most important and busiest times

on the farming calendar - lambing season.

So I help out before and after school, and at the weekend.

Lambing season officially started on our farm on March the 12th,

but it's different for other farmers in parts of the country.

These lambs were born a few days ago,

and I spend a lot of time helping to take care of them.

SHEEP BLEATS

Hi, Ella, how's it going?

This is my dad.

You might recognise him from the TV show Countryfile, but to me,

he's just my dad and an amazing farmer.

-Is there anything lambing?

-No, not at the moment.

-Well, you can come and do this iodine while I put the hay round.

-OK.

-It's just on the rack there, OK?

-OK.

This is iodine that we have to put on the lamb's umbilical cord,

which is this bit here.

And when it dries up, it will fall off and form a belly button.

This'll stop any infection from getting through the belly button.

OK.

This is colostrum,

which is milk that the mother first produces.

It's really important for the lamb,

because it has lots of vitamins and minerals in.

It's like a special medicine.

The newborns should start suckling milk from the mother's teats.

But we need to lend a hand to point them in the right direction.

However, even this doesn't always work.

These are lambs me and Dad will bottle feed.

It's a beautiful day now, so we're going to take them outside.

There we go, there's your bottle.

-Do you enjoy doing this?

-Best part of the job.

Ella and her dad can't enjoy the sunshine for too long,

because they must start preparing for the newborn lambs.

Well, ewes can give birth any time,

and so me and my dad have to do quite a few checks.

There's a few signs to show that the ewes might be giving birth.

They paw the ground, get restless, lie on their sides,

and they move around a lot.

These ewes were scanned halfway through the pregnancy,

and do you know what the dots mean?

The red dot means they have a single.

No dots mean that they have two,

and the green dot means they have three.

This can help us, because the more lambs they have,

the more food they need.

To keep these ewes healthy, we have to give them sheep nuts,

hay, fresh bedding and fresh water.

While you're doing the bedding down, I've got some questions here,

from the Blue Peter viewers.

So, Purple Spotty Impala asks,

"What's your favourite animal on the farm, and why?"

Well, um, I like all of the babies on the farm, really,

like all of the lambs and the calves and... Yeah.

All of the little ones.

Quartz laughing panda asks,

"Ella, when you were collecting the eggs from the chickens,

"have you ever got covered in egg?"

I haven't been covered in egg yet, but there's always a first time!

Sheep can give birth at any time of the day,

so there has to be someone here all the time.

There's myself, my dad or some other shepherds that come and help.

However, sometimes it can be a long wait before anything happens.

This ewe's got the first few signs of going into labour.

She's got the bubble.

It's important that we're here to help out with the birth,

because lots of things can go wrong,

and we don't want to lose either the precious baby or its mother.

And lift it up. That's it. Clear its nose.

That's one healthy little lamb.

Well, this is the miracle of lambing.

Aw, so cute!

-Not sure about the name, though.

-That's me done for today,

but there's always work to be done on the farm. See you guys later.

Ah, I like it when things are cute and cuddly on this show.

Loads more still to come, it's very exciting. Take a look.

Conor Maynard is 19 years old, he's an internet pop sensation

and he's going to be in the studio

performing his latest single and answering your questions.

Excited!

Also, we're going to be giving you a tour of the latest superbus

to hit the streets of London.

Now, though, high tech gadgetry. I cannot wait for this bit.

This is so exclusive, the biggest newspapers aren't even allowed

to write about it yet, and we have got another exclusive,

and this is a competition for you

to design and name this brand new gadget.

And here it is.

Now, you may think you know what it is already,

but I think you're going to be surprised. Watch this.

i-Pads, Xboxes, Freeview and Raspberry Pis.

What have they all got in common?

Yes, they're all gadgets. But more importantly, they're memorable

because of their distinctive and rather cool names.

It seems that if you're launching the latest piece of technology,

finding the right name is almost as important as the kit itself.

So, what's this amazing piece of high tech kit called?

The UAV, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.

It's not that catchy, is it?

Well, that's all set to change,

because we are offering you the chance to come up with a name

for this type of futuristic gadget.

The UAV has been produced by Southampton University, for the BBC.

It's a super-sized, radio-controlled plane that takes aerial footage

using an on-board camera which can be controlled from the ground

using a joystick.

Nicholas Pink's helped plan the plane for the BBC.

On-board the plane itself is a really great autopilot system.

and though we have a pilot on the ground, we're able to send the plane

up in the air and it looks after itself,

keeping it level and flying well.

The UAV's on-board camera

can turn to track whatever it's filming on the ground.

Pictures from the camera are then relayed back down to the ground,

so they can be beamed straight into your home.

It's hoped the plane will be able to take aerial footage

for TV programmes, and things like massive music events.

And this extraordinary plane was made

in a pretty extraordinary way too.

We've got the fuselage itself. This has all been 3D printed.

3D printing is the most cutting-edge way to make a new product.

A solid object is painstakingly printed, layer by layer.

And because each is as thin as a human hair,

it takes a long time to print even a small piece.

This plane is made of nylon plastic,

and it's main body was printed in around 6,000 individual layers,

taking 24 hours.

While the plane might look pretty finished,

there's still something missing.

We have no name, and we have no decoration for it,

and it needs to look much better.

So, please, Blue Peter. Help us out.

You want one, don't you? I do too.

Well, before we start to talk about the competition,

let me show you one of the cool features of this plane.

It's under the nose, right here, and I love it,

cos you can control it with this transmitter. It's the camera.

It does everything you'd expect to do if you were holding on to one.

It goes left and right. It goes up and down.

But my favourite feature is this one.

The camera rotates left and right,

much like a steering wheel would move.

The reason it does that is because when the wind hits

the underside of the wing, it tilts to one side, doesn't it?

It either goes left or right.

If this was filming something at the time,

the picture on your TV would make you feel a little bit seasick.

They've thought about that. Because that camera rotates both ways,

it compensates and keeps the picture perfectly steady.

It's such a cool thing.

And what's even better about this is that you get to name

and design this brand new, high tech gadget.

Let's talk about the name first.

It can't be something like Eric or Jeff, cos that's boring and rubbish.

We want funky names like iPad, smartphone, Freeview,

because they sound cool and also tell you about what the gadget does.

So think about that when you're naming it. Also, the design.

Two sections to this, really. You've got the top of the plane,

which is the obvious bit, but don't forget the underside,

because when this flies overhead,

that's the bit you see from the ground.

What you need to do is download this from the Blue Peter website.

It's a template for your design, basically.

There's a top and bottom section,

and there's a little space in the middle

for you to put your brand new name for this brand new gadget.

Two ways to get involved. You can actually send it by post

to the Blue Peter Plane Competition...

Or you can scan your template design

and email it to...

Just one entry per person.

You've got until 9am on the 8th of May,

and you need to be aged between 6 and 12 years old.

All the terms and conditions are on the website,

so make sure you check them out. And the best of luck.

Don't forget, Conor Maynard is going to be here

performing his latest single and answering your questions.

But first, check this out.

A few months ago, I went to test drive the biggest thing

to hit the streets of London.

Thank you. Thanks very much.

Oh, hi.

So, as you can see, today I am visiting a place

that is so top secret, it was built completely out of sight,

so that nobody can see what goes on inside.

The people here do everything they can to find and eliminate weakness,

and security here is tighter than Jedward's trousers.

This is Millbrook, a 700 acre vehicle assault course,

with 70 km of test track, consisting of the most extreme twists,

bumps and corners, designed to find flaws in every type of land vehicle.

This is where car manufacturers test their newest vehicles

to their absolute limits, before they can be unveiled to the public.

This proving ground has had some pretty impressive guests

over the years. 007, James Bond rolled his Aston Martin here

in the film, Casino Royale.

It's also where Top Gear have filmed some of their most punishing stunts.

65, 66!

-Here we go.

-69! Yes!

But compared to what I'm testing today, cars are simply small fry.

This is the latest addition to London's transport network,

the new bus for London, a 2012 reworking of the iconic Routemaster.

The old Routemaster was taken out of service in 2005.

But due to popular demand by Brits and tourists,

it's been redesigned and revamped, and it's back.

The guy sitting in the seat is Darren.

He's a principal engineer.

Darren, let's start with the most important question.

It's a bus for London, but it's not red. What's going on?

Well, it's a prototype. We're just using it for testing.

Once we've put it through its paces,

-it'll be painted red and have all its stickers on.

-Oh, wow.

Well, you can see straight away that it's no ordinary bus,

I mean, it's made of wood, for starters.

And there's no seats for the passengers, what's all that?

Well, we can't use real passengers when we're testing it.

What we do is use the gravel bottles

and the water dummies to simulate the people.

But this bus is as heavy as it will ever be in service.

At the moment, we're doing durability testing on the vehicle.

We're trying to put as many miles on as possible,

so we are trying to break it, scientifically.

-We'd like you to help us with that.

-Bring it on.

But before they let me loose on the bus,

they need to test my driving skills in a car.

I need to prove that I can handle their most challenging courses...

-Turn left, turn left.

-Whoa.

..perform an emergency stop on command...

Push that peddle further forward.

..and master the High-Speed Bowl.

When you've got to 100 mph,

take your hands off the steering wheel

-and the car will drive round all on its own.

-What?

Centrifugal force and gravity cancel each other out,

and it will sit in this lane at 100 mph.

It's called the neutral steer speed. Hands off the wheel.

-It'll drive round all day...

-Ah!

-..at that speed.

That's incredible. No hands on the steering wheel!

I thought Barney's driving was really good.

He showed competence behind the wheel,

and his emergency stop was superb.

I'm more than happy to let Barney loose on the bus now.

The new London bus will join the 8,500 buses

already in the UK's capital city.

That makes up almost half of all bus journeys in the whole of England.

So to make sure the new bus is completely reliable,

it's been going through a gruelling testing regime 24 hours a day,

7 days a week.

So, under the watchful eye of instructor Malcolm,

I'm about to get a taste of what this bus has been through

over the last few months.

Test track 1, the High-Speed Bowl,

a course designed to test the bus's performance at high speeds.

It's quite an amazing feeling driving a bus.

-You're quite high up.

-Yeah.

-You've got a massive windscreen.

We're doing 45 now. It's not the speed that feels quick,

it's the fact that you know that should you need to stop,

you've got all that weight behind you as well.

So it may not go as fast as a car,

but considering how big this thing is, it's a very smooth ride.

And I am loving it!

You really do feel like king of the road, don't you,

when you're in a bus?

Test track 2, the City Course,

a track which simulates the tight corners

and narrow roads the bus will be forced to negotiate in London.

These roads are so tight and so winding,

but when you think about driving something that's this long,

you can't take corners like you would in a car.

The back of the bus is 11 and a bit metres that way, behind me.

Actually driving this bus in London, I think would terrify me,

cos you've got such tight spaces to get it through.

There are other people on the road, you've got taxi drivers.

It must be an absolute nightmare driving a bus in London.

So, apart from one minor mistake from me...

Whoa, sorry, I'm on the gravel.

..the bus is handling the tight twists and turns

even with a novice behind the wheel.

I might be a bus driver. I've decided I want to be a bus driver.

Test track 3, the dreaded Belgian Pave,

a treacherous stretch of jolts and jerks

which will shake the bus to its very core.

Wo-ho-ho-ho.

Everything is literally shaking.

If you had a dashboard here, everything would just fall off it,

because it's so rough.

I could do this all day. I'm loving this.

I'm not sure I'd be loving it quite so much if I was a passenger though.

Let's hope there aren't too many roads in London like this.

So, I've driven the bus at high speeds,

round tight turns,

and even given it a good old shake.

And in my opinion,

it definitely deserves the Barney Seal Of Approval.

And as we arrive into the piazza here at Media City in Salford,

I'd like to introduce you to the finished, red Routemaster bus.

I'm on it, by the way, through the big window. Hello.

This really is a feat of engineering, it's incredible.

It uses the latest in green engine technology, it has two engines.

It has an electric one and a diesel one.

It drives on electric normally, and when the battery's run down,

the diesel kicks in and charges it back up.

It really is the most economical bus of its kind.

It emits half the CO2 of the current diesel bus,

it's the first bus in 50 years to be designed specifically

for the streets of London,

and very soon there are going to be seven more of these.

If we get the doors open, I can show you on-site.

This is Bobby, the driver. We've got a steering wheel and horn.

-HORN HONKS

-If you hear that, get out the way.

It's got two staircases, one at the front and one at the back.

This helps with the efficiency of the hop-on, hop-off system

that the Routemaster is famous for.

Because it is reported that 6.4 million people

use buses in London every single day,

so it needs to be made of strong stuff.

Which it is. Follow me to the back.

The whole rear of this bus is made from the same composite material

they use in Formula 1, which I'm very excited about,

cos that makes it light and strong.

Up to 45,000 people use this bus's route every single day.

That's a lot of footfall. Which has been thought about as well.

If you look at the floor, you'll see this is a very non-slip material.

It isn't normally seen on a bus, you normally see this on a posh boat.

It really is the future of driving. And it's open at the back,

which means you can hop on and hop off.

It really is incredible. And I've been waiting to do this all day.

-It's all yours, Bobby.

-BELL RINGS

Even the bell's wireless. I want one.

I really do say, "it really is" quite a lot, don't I?

But it really is quite exciting, but not as exciting as the next guest.

Before I introduce him, if you're visiting the capital city,

you can see that bus on the streets of London.

Now, though, you've been wanting to speak to him all week.

He's 19 years old,

he's an international popstar from the internet.

Everybody please welcome Conor Maynard.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-How you doing? Good to see you, welcome to the show.

-Thank you.

Take a seat. So, before we go any further, it's your first appearance,

and so you need to stick that on.

-Oh, my mum's going to be so proud.

-Nice moment, isn't it?

I'm going to quit music tomorrow. This is it.

Already? You don't need to, look how well you're doing.

Let's talk about where it started, though.

It's gone so fast and quick and you're already a superstar,

and it's not been that long, has it?

No, it hasn't, I mean, obviously for me, it's been a long time coming,

because I've been working on it for so long.

But things have got very exciting recently.

So, you know, I'm taking it as it comes and seeing what comes next.

Where did it start?

I was kind of walking down the road after school one day.

I was singing with my friends,

and this girl a few paces ahead of me overhead, and ran up to me

and said, "You can sing!"

And then, yeah, she made me sing to some people at school,

so I started recording covers for YouTube,

so everyone else could see them.

And sure enough, I did a cover of Usher's OMG,

which blew up. It got 100,000 views.

Incredible, and this was just you at home

recording something on a video camera and sticking it online?

Yeah, it was all done in my room in Brighton.

It's unbelievable really, isn't it? But let's get to where we are now.

You are on the phone to the R'n'B superstar, Ne-Yo.

-He called you, didn't he?

-That was pretty crazy.

Someone contacted me who knew Ne-Yo, and I was sceptical at first.

I was like, "Is there any proof?" I didn't want to get to America

and have my friends on the phone, like, "Got you!"

I'd be like, "Thanks, guys(!)" But no, sure enough,

I was sitting on Skype with Ne-Yo at 1am in the morning in my pyjamas,

talking to him, because I asked for proof and there he was on Skype,

and I was like, "Oh, it's real."

But he's not the first American rapper.

Pharrell, he sent you out to Miami.

Yes, I went out to Miami to work with Pharrell on my first album,

so it's been crazy.

I've worked with some amazing people, inspirational people.

That's already, you're at the start of your career, doing very well.

Of course, lots of others have made the same kind of route

that you're making now, via the internet.

Lots of famous people have done the same thing.

So we're going try and find out how much you know

about their journey and about them as people.

We've devised a game we'd like you to play, and it's called Face Facts.

Follow me over here. It's very simple.

You can see on those boards over there, there are four famous faces.

You've got yourself, on the left hand side.

You're famous cos you're good.

Then, next up we've got Jamal Edwards, he created SBTV.

Next to him, Justin Bieber,

we all know what he's famous for - the floppiness of his fringe.

and then Charlie McDonnell. He's a very famous blogger.

Now, I have four individual facts,

what you've got to do is match the fact with the face.

It's why we call it Face Facts.

You've got 30 seconds to do this. Are you ready?

-Yes, I'm ready.

-Time starts now.

Who has a blog with 1,457,799 subscribers?

Um... That is...

-..this guy.

-You think it's Charlie?

-Yes.

Usher and Timberlake both wanted to sign this guy...

Oh. Oh...

20 seconds left.

OK, he is number 77 on the 2011 Times' Young Power List.

Oh, I want to say that's me.

You never know, you've done everything else already.

Three seconds left.

-Do you want to stick that on to the person who's there?

-Oh.

That could become a Maynard,

if you don't know that one, you are a loser.

You are right about yourself,

your video for your debut single has 4 million online views,

that's incredible.

Jamal is number 77 on the 2011 Times' Young Power List.

Bieber got the offer from Usher and Timberlake,

they both wanted to sign him.

And Charlie's blog does have that many subscribers.

Conor Maynard really knows his stuff.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

A little celebratory dance goes a long way, I have to say.

Right, we've had so many people getting in touch,

we've just got to go to our callers and get them to ask questions.

-We're going to go to our video caller. Eloise, are you there?

-Yeah.

Hello, you smiley person, you're on telly and Conor's here.

What's your question?

If you could be an animal for a day, what would you be and why?

If I could be an animal for a day?

I'd probably be a lion.

My favourite animals are lions, they always have been.

I actually wanted to change my name to Leo, when I was like seven,

and luckily I told my mum, and she laughed in my face.

So, lucky I didn't do it.

But that's how much I love lions, so I'd be a lion.

-Lovely, thanks for your question, Eloise, see you later.

-Thank you, Eloise.

-Bye!

Oh, she looks lovely, she got herself dressed up for telly.

Let's go to our next video caller. Ella, hi, Ella.

-Hi.

-What's your question for Conor? He's right here.

If you like One Direction, they call you a Directioner,

if you like Austin Mahone, you're called a Mahoney.

What do you like to call your fans?

My fans, they're called the Mayniacs.

It's a play on my last name, obviously Maynard, Mayniacs

spelt with a Y. That's their name.

They chose that name and they definitely fit that name, sometimes.

-Ella?

-Yeah?

-Are you a Mayniac?

-Of course.

-Well done.

-Yes!

Thanks for being on telly and for your question, we'll see you later.

-OK, then, bye.

-Bye.

We really have no time left,

it's so hard to get as many of these questions in, we've got so many.

But listen, you're going to perform your latest single,

so please go and get yourself ready. Thank you for answering questions.

And while Conor gets himself ready, take a look at this.

This is what you've got to look forward to on next week's show.

I brave the heights of the most famous mast in the UK.

And all the way from Barbados,

the fantastic Cover Drive will be joining Helen and I live,

to perform their new single and answer your questions.

He's 19 years old, he's an international internet sensation,

this is his latest single.

Everybody, please go mad for Conor Maynard.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

# Wasn't looking for trouble

# But it came looking for me

# I tried to say no But I can't fight it

# She was looking lovely

# She kind of reminds me

# Of a girl I know This pretty young thing that I got

# Waiting for me back at home

# She's got my engines turning

# This happens every time

# I see you a pretty girl, then

# I wanna make her mine

# They send my rocket to the sky

# I want them

# But I should I go for them?

# I'm like Houston, I think we got a problem. #

One, two, three...

# Girls, girls, girls I just can't say no

# Never see them coming I just watch them go

# Girls, girls, girls I just can't say no

# Never see them coming I just watch them go

# Take control Making me sweat, run that show

# It's them girls, girls, girls I just can't say no

# Houston, I think we got a problem

# Some girls are naughty

# Some girls are sweet

# One thing they got in common They all got a hold on me

# Meet them at the party, girl Meet them in the street

# Get me in so much trouble That's all right with me

# They got my engines turning

# This happens every time

# I see a pretty girl, then

# I wanna make her mine

# They send my rocket to the sky

# I want them

# But should I go for her?

# I'm like Houston, I think we got a problem. #

One, two, three.

# Girls, girls, girls I just can't say no

# Never see them coming I just watch them go

# Girls, girls, girls I just can't say no

# Never see them coming I just watch them go

# Take control Making me sweat, run that show

# It's them girls, girls, girls I just can't say no

# Houston...

# I think we got a problem

# Looking like a model Making me stare

# All the pretty girls are standing right there

# Doing that thing It's just not fair

# How come all the pretty girls are up in here?

# Looking like a model Making me stare

# All the pretty girls are standing right there

# Doing that thing It's just not fair

# How come all the pretty girls are up in here?

-# Girls, girls, girls

-I just can't say no Never see them coming

# I just watch them go

# Girls, girls, girls I just can't say no

# Never see them coming I just watch them go

# Take control Making me sweat, run that show

# It's them girls, girls, girls I just can't say no

# Houston, I think we got a problem

# Problem, problem, problem, problem,

# Problem, problem, problem, problem. #

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Possibly the catchiest tune ever.