Blow Your Mind! Blue Peter

On today's show, we're going to have our minds read. I'm not.

He's not getting through these. Yes, same.

He'll never get through this. Doesn't matter.

Anyway, nobody actually knows what you are thinking.

The wee cup of tea that you were thinking about, Radzi. Oh, thanks.

How did he know?

CHEERING

Hello. How are you doing?

We're having a Bonfire Night party in the studio. I'm writing my name.

You're doing a great job. Lindsey is back. Yay!

I'm so happy to be back. I missed you two.

We had a great time without you, to be honest. Hey! I'm only kidding.

Stop it. We've got an amazing fireworks display

by the British champions, no less.

I get involved setting up... well, an even more special display

which you'll see later on in the show. That is so cool.

We're going to be catching up with our Autumnwatch buddies and they're

going to be telling us what's coming up later on Autumnwatch. Can't wait.

It's also the next part in my gymnastics challenge

when I get to meet some inspired tumblers and get my fitness

put to the test. Make sure you're watching then.

But, first, though, "Remember, remember, the 5th..."

Have you forgotten? Yeah. It's November. Ah!

Don't worry, Radz, fear not, because here to talk all things memory

and mind-reading is Colin Cloud.

There he is. Hello, Colin. Welcome to the show. Please take a seat.

Thank you very much, guys. So, Colin, life must be good.

You're on your solo mind-reading tour.

You're in The Illusionist on the London stage. I am.

But, if you are really a mind-reader,

what am I thinking right now? Right, it doesn't quite work like that.

It's more about me getting people to give off information without them

being aware they're even doing it. Wow!

Now, this is quite strange to us because we normally have an earpiece

in our ears with the producers telling us what's coming up next.

They've cut us off completely because you want us to not be able

to hear anything for what you're going to demonstrate.

Yes, it's easier for me sometimes

to show you what it is I do than try to explain it.

It's not psychic, it's very much a mix of mind magic

and brain science to get you to give this off. What I'd love you to do...

We'll do it quite quick, so I might not be accurate with all of you

but I'll be as quick as I can. Could you please think about... Don't say.

..a celebrity that most people would know or a place in the world.

Think about a memory, not anything you put out on social media,

nothing you've written about anywhere. Something only I know?

Only you know, yes, and could you please for us, Lindsey,

think about a thing you would love to do with Blue Peter. OK.

That you haven't done yet, but say nothing out loud. OK.

We'll start with you. Hold your hands out. Yeah.

Face me and imagine there's a computer keyboard right here.

Don't move your fingers, focus on just

the name of the celebrity, whoever it is in your mind.

You've never told me who this person is. Never, no.

Think about them right now. Focus on the last name.

Imagine typing the first letter. Don't move your fingers.

Imagine typing the second letter. Was that an R? The second name.

Is it an R, the second letter? It's got an R in the last name.

That's perfect. Go to near the end. It's quite a long...

Eight letters in the surname.

What?! Yes. Yes. Surname. Was it Grimshaw? Oh-h!

It was. Hey! No! Behave yourself!

It must be Nick Grimshaw, yes?

Oh, my goodness! Yes. How? That's so genuine because we had no idea

what you were going to do. Yes, he did.

I'll tell you what, we'll try very quickly with yourself.

You've got something in mind that you would love to do

with Blue Peter, yes? It's made up. Made up, perfect, so...

Put your hands up like this. Put your hands over my eyes.

Lindsey, if there's any part...

You don't know this is coming up.

Any part of what you're picturing in your mind,

could you imagine any part of it you could act out?

Act it out now.

As quickly as you can without even thinking.

Just imagine acting it out.

And just say done when you've done that.

I know I'm putting you on the spot. OK. Done. OK, put your hands down.

So, OK, at this is good. I saw the end of that.

You reacted like that kind of makes sense but not really

and you didn't stand up, you sat down,

so you're now putting your hands here as well. What am I doing?

So your hands were out like this, something like this. Yes.

And you sat forward, so this motion or movement involved and it's

something you want to do with Blue Peter, Blue Peter orientated.

Is it parachuting? Yes.

But you were thinking about someone specific as well. Stop it.

Is that right? Yeah.

Tell me, what's your favourite genre of movie?

What type of movies do you like to watch? I suppose... Beyonce.

Shut up! I wrote this down earlier. You're kidding.

You got me to write this. Parachute with Beyonce.

And that's exactly what you are thinking? Yes.

And you didn't tell me this.

How did you know that? Do we have time to do one more thing

with Barney? Stop it. You've got a memory in mind, yes?

You guys all know each other incredibly well.

You guys are going to interrogate Barney.

They don't know this story. It happened before I met them.

I'm going to ask you to keep saying the word yes.

You guys are going to ask any questions.

You just keep saying the word yes.

Even if it's a lie, keep saying the word yes.

So you guys just ask him a random question about the memory.

So yes regardless of what they ask. Were you a child? Yes.

Was it in the garden? No. Oh, sorry, yes. Good. It's hard, right?

Keep saying yes. Was it a painful experience? Yes.

Is it to do with some kind of sport or physical activity? Yes.

One more question each. Good. Does it involve a bike? Yes.

Interesting. One more question. Is your family involved? Yes.

OK, so it's not family. But when you said bike,

you kind of looked down like it was a bike but not a bike exactly.

Is that right? Something like a bike?

And I still saying yes? You can answer truthfully now. Yes.

OK, so I might not get that right. Is there a friend?

She said family, but it's not family, it's just a friend.

Yes, one person. Yes. Um... Focus on their name.

You're thinking nickname. You bit your lip there. Get lost!

Focus on just the first letter of the name.

Keep saying yes. Is it an A, the first letter an A? Yes. B? Yes.

C? Yes. D? Yes. Oh, back up there, it's D. Is it D?

It's not a bicycle,

but it's some kind of little digger or some kind of thing

you're riding about and it's not David, it's a nickname.

Duck. How close am I? That's as close as I'm going to get,

but you guys did all the questioning so well done, you.

My best meet at school was called Ducky and I was riding a trike.

Oh, you said bike, you were so close. That's amazing.

That's absolutely...

Colin, you are amazing and to prove how amazing you are,

you are going to set Radzi a challenge today, aren't you? Yes.

You think anyone can kind of improve their memory.

Absolutely. So we're going to test that with Radzi now.

You're going to go outside. We've got 20 items lined up.

Look at Barney's face. Barney's in shock so I'll do this bit.

We've got 20 items lined up. You're going to go and memorise them, Radz.

And we're going to test you at the end of the show.

You know Barney never gets speechless. Let's do it.

Go and do your challenge. That was amazing.

You should believe that you're able to do this, because if you

put stress on your brain,

it's going to clam up and this will not work. OK.

You need to relax, that's so crucial here. And we will start.

It's quite straightforward. Look at all these!

So the first object we have here is a crown. Yes. This is number one.

Now, when you think one, one sounds like the word sun.

One and sun, they sound similar. You with me? Yes.

So now when you look up to the sky, you think one sun.

You look up at the sky, instead of the sun, you now see a crown. OK.

So if you can count to one, look at the sun,

you've now got crown stuck in your head. Yes, I do. Easy with one.

What we're going to do is not just one object,

we're going to do it with all of these objects. Hang on.

Colin, how long do I have to remember these? You have ten minutes.

That's not long at all. It really is not.

Shall we get cracking? Let's go for it.

Barney, Lindsey, it's over to you.

We don't... We can't believe it.

Anyway, while Radzi's out there training his brain,

we can talk to you about when he was training his body recently.

He's got a gymnastic challenge and today he's got some expert help.

Have a watch. I don't what to say. That was ridiculous, ridiculous.

'I'm preparing for my latest big Blue Peter challenge

'to perform a floor routine here in Glasgow

'at the World Gymnastics Championships

'in front of 6,000 people.'

You've genuinely got me excited.

After being set my challenge by a British gymnastic superstar, I am now

well into my training with my coach Rob Payne and he is pushing me hard.

Good lad.

He knows just how far I have to go before I'm ready for my performance

and he wants me to understand too.

So, to help me find out exactly how well I'm doing,

plus allow me to see just how I measure up against the guys

who will actually be competing in Glasgow,

I've come to a very special place indeed.

Welcome to the English Institute of Sport in Lilleshall.

one of whom is this guy,

Kristian Thomas, holder of Olympic bronze and Commonwealth gold medals.

He knows exactly what it takes to be an elite athlete.

How difficult is the training?

To get to a level of being able to do 30 hours in the gym a week,

it takes years and years and years of just gradual building up,

so it is a tough sport to do, however it's also such

an enjoyable sport to do, doing things that nobody else can do.

What makes up the perfect gymnast?

I'd probably say that'd be strength, flexibility, balance and also power

are probably the most important aspects to being a gymnast.

It's unbelievable. Seeing Christian get put through his paces,

makes me realise just how far I'm off his level.

And suddenly my challenge feels very real indeed.

Gymnastics is a sport that anyone can get involved in,

whatever your ability.

But to see how I compare to the very best,

Christian's coach Rudi has lined up some tests for me.

The first measures strength.

Leg strength is really important for a gymnast,

especially on a floor exercise.

It enables them to put maximum power into the tumbles

so that they can fit in multiple twists and somersaults.

To test my leg muscles, we're going to do a box jump.

From a standing start, you jump as high as you can onto a box.

And Christian is going to show me how it's done.

Wow!

He's just jumped 135 centimetres from a standstill.

That's like jumping over a horse!

Oh, well done.

I managed to jump 105 centimetres. So my training is paying off.

But when it comes to Christian's level,

well, you can see for yourself.

But how does this strength test help me with the floor routine

I have to perform in a few months' time?

The height these guys tumble at

is because they can harness all the muscles at the right time,

at the right speed. And I think that this helps to create

that kind of action on the tumbling floor.

But there's something else Rudi has spotted.

And it's about my confidence.

You looked at it and thought, "It looks a bit high."

So challenge yourself, a bit more aggression

and maybe you could be close to getting those toes on there.

Thanks, Rudi. Now it's time for test number two - speed.

So speed is really important, especially for the floor exercise.

You need maximum amount of speed

so that can then help us with the explosive tumbles.

We're going to see how fast I can run over 20 metres,

compared to Christian.

My best is a respectable 3.43 seconds.

But Christian's explosive legs cover the distance in just 3.01 seconds.

And in competition, he'd be expected to go under three seconds.

So what I like to see for you to get improvement

is just to get those first couple of steps

a little bit more dynamic, a little bit faster.

So speed is vital for my routine. But we're not done yet.

The last thing we need to look at is diet.

Diet is really important to an elite-performing gymnast,

because it helps the muscles recover when they're sore

and it fuels the body for the day.

And, as you might have guessed,

mine isn't quite as healthy as Christian's.

So I start off with a bowl of one of my favourite cereals here,

which is chocolate covered.

And then for a classic Radzi dinner,

I've got lasagne here with a little bit of salad, to be fair.

So I have got some eggs, some chicken here.

I've got lots of vegetables.

Dinner, I'd have something like fish.

How much of a difference would having a diet

much more like Christian's help me?

Oh, it would definitely help your energy.

It would help you train building up to that big day up in Glasgow.

I'm sure, on the day, you want to perform to the best of your ability.

Absolutely.

And a very well-balanced diet will go a long way

to help you achieving that.

Loads of food for thought there.

I've just got a few months to improve my strength, speed, confidence

and diet if I'm to succeed at the World Championships.

Will I be ready in time?

This is Radzi. Of course he'll be ready in time.

His body's definitely ready.

What about his brain, though?

Well, he's working on that at the moment out the back with Colin.

How far has he got? That's ten items. He's got ten more to go.

Quite good. But he's got to learn all 20 of those.

They're really random, as well. That's a hard live test.

It's not long before he's back in here for us to put him to the test.

So good luck, Radzi. Let's head this way.

Because next week it is, of course, our Children In Need Spectacular.

We're so excited about it and we want you to get involved,

because it's Blue Peter.

So we need you to make your mask and make your mark.

You've been cutting and sticking and gluing and pasting

and doing all those lovely things to be creative.

Lewis from Aberdeenshire has sent this mask in.

It's a multicoloured, technicolour sort of mask. I love it.

And to raise money for Children In Need,

he's going to be washing relatives' cars. That's good.

I'm sure his relatives will appreciate that.

This is from Poppy, who's ten. She's sent in this one.

It's glittery. It's fabulous.

It's even got little feathers that shimmer.

And she is going to be dressing and doing a crazy little dance-off.

Amazing. I like the sound of that, Poppy. I hope you win.

Now, a lot of people say the country is a really big place.

It's not. We've got the entire country in our studio here.

As you can see, full of spots.

And that's because, when you send us one of your masks,

we'll mark your spot with a dot.

Now, we want this to be loads more spotty, don't we?

So that means we need loads more hero masks.

Maybe you can do them at school, send them in with your class,

but you haven't got long. You need to do it ASAP.

You've got until Thursday, 12 November. So maybe do it right now.

Well, wait until after the show.

And then get them into the post.

Send them to us, because we want to feature them on our show. Don't we?

We do. Speaking of heroes, Radzi is mine.

He's been working so, so hard on this gymnastics challenge.

But you know what? Even from time to time,

Blue Peter presenters still need a bit of inspiration.

My challenge to perform a floor routine

at the World Gymnastic Championships in Glasgow is just weeks away.

And I've been working really hard with my coach Rob

to perfect my technique.

Big effort in the warm-up.

Keep nice and tight.

But not only do I have to do a faultless routine,

I have to do it in front of 6,000 people.

So I need some advice on performing in front of large crowds.

So who better to speak to than Blue Peter legend Matt Baker

and gymnastics legend Beth Tweddle?

You probably recognise Matt from presenting The One Show.

But when he was younger, as well as being a Blue Peter presenter,

he was also a junior British gymnast.

And as for Beth, well, she's only the most successful British athlete

in the history of the sport,

winning European, World and Olympic medals.

I've just got to start by asking,

what is it actually like to perform in front of thousands of people?

Every gymnast gets nervous.

We look quite controlled and composed but, actually,

our stomachs are doing a hundred somersaults.

But once you step off onto that podium, you'll love it.

When I'm training, I get that feeling of,

"I can't do it. I just can't do it." Believe in yourself.

Think about where you've come from and look at that progression

and think, "You know what?

"I've come this far. How far am I going to get in the next few weeks?"

Well, guys, genuinely, it's been an absolute pleasure.

And I'll see you in Glasgow.

Those guys are legends.

But I want to learn more about how I can improve my performance,

so I've come to visit a very special project in London.

The young people that come here specialise in acro tumble,

a mixture of circus skills and gymnastics.

The project is funded by Children In Need

and it's a great way for young tumblers

from the local area to meet up.

What would you think if I were to do three moves and you were to judge me?

ALL: Yeah!

Thank you very much. Please, be kind.

First up, the pike headstand.

I hope you're impressed.

They seem to be.

Next, it's time to show off my balance.

This looks quite simple, but it's surprisingly difficult.

And this is a move I've sort of invented, so I hope you like it.

So, what did they think?

You looked like a swan that was, like, floating on water.

Your posture was, like, straight and you balanced really well.

The descent was clunky.

Impressed? Well, almost.

Now it's time for them to show me what they can do.

Cartwheels, balance and some epic towers.

These guys love what they do. They really enjoy it.

And that is what I'm going to remember when I do my performance.

I've got to enjoy it.

The opportunities the young people get from this project

wouldn't be possible without the support and funding

from Children In Need.

For those that come, it's an inspiring place.

Its main focus is to bring young people together in a positive way

and stop any feelings of loneliness.

I love coming to meet my friends.

It's given me confidence, as well.

This is quite a busy area

and it's good to be in a safe and secure place.

Before, I used to be really quiet

and I used to not speak to anyone.

And now I talk too much!

It does change your lives.

It's a very good opportunity for us. It's a good experience.

And we all thoroughly enjoy it

and we'd like it if you can keep it going.

The performers here have made me realise how important places

like this are and how money raised by Children in Need

can make such a big difference to people's lives.

And now our finale.

The human pyramid.

Guys, high five?

ALL: No!

It's so nice to see the difference your money makes.

Thank you so much for getting involved.

Don't forget to keep sending your hero masks in. You know the address.

I want to say a personal thank you to Robert Payne as well.

You are a diamond.

Radzi might have the body but does he have the brain?

Please welcome Colin and Radzi back to the studio.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

OK. So, you were set a challenge

to improve Radzi's memory in just ten minutes,

and you have had to learn 20 items.

You look confident?

I don't know how I feel, because I have looked at 20 items.

We will find out if I know then.

We are going to use a top of the range deluxe number generator.

It's a bowl with some ping-pong balls in.

OK, the numbers, we're going to pick some out.

You have to tell us what item corresponds to what number.

Ready? Here we go.

Your first number is 13.

13 was a skirting board,

and that has lots of sunglasses,

which look like they belong to Elton John, because they have petals

on the outside of the frames.

Sunglasses with stuff on the frames.

Let's see if you're right. Lindsey? Yes!

Well played. First one down. Next one.

The next number is number seven.

Seven, I look up to heaven and I see angels, and they are all...

Now, what are they doing?

They are...

Um...

You said wearing. That's all I'm going to say.

Yes. What are they wearing?

40 seconds left, Radz.

Can I come back to it?

Yeah. Course you can. Go for another one.

We are going for number five.

Number five is jive,

and what a dance, but little...

I think...

Oh, is it geese?

Is it geese...? Let's have a look. Lindsey, are they geese?

Oh! You can have that, you can have duck.

Back to number seven.

Seven is heaven. There are angels. They are up in the air.

They are doing something very specific. Do they have a digger on?

No, they don't have a digger. They've...

I think we have to go to Lindsey and see what it is.

Can you show what it is?

It's a sombrero! Angels wearing sombreros.

He even tried it on backstage.

But that isn't bad, to have that amount of time.

And the fact that he's got them in order,

not just remembering what is there

but the actual numbers they correspond with.

If I knew you were going to score, I would have done so much better!

Colin, thank you so much for being here.

Thank you very much for your time, guys.

If you want to learn some mind tricks or test your own brain power,

check out the Blue Peter website.

You can find the link on there.

You get some top tips as well from Colin himself. Absolutely.

Thanks again, guys. Brilliant. Lindsey.

That was amazing.

Speaking of memorable experiences,

there's been loads this week on Autumnwatch.

So, we thought, you know what? It's time to go green!

Hopefully! There it is.

So, it's the last show tonight BBC Two, eight o'clock.

Now we can go over to find out how our guys are doing.

Yes, they always look cosy.

Good to see you.

Let's start by talking about your highlights of the week, please.

One of the highlights for me has been the spectacle

of barnacle geese.

That is what we came here for.

The entire population of barnacle geese arrive here in autumn.

This year, record numbers. 40,000.

We've watched them as individuals as well.

This particular one is auditioning for the circus.

I like a good conservation story.

The dormouse is in decline over much of the UK

because their woodland habitat is being fragmented.

But we were working with the People's Trust for Endangered Species

to look at a way that we might join that habitat back together.

I don't want to give away the secret but I can tell you that it works.

That's good news.

My most exciting time has to be

I went up to the tiny island of Rum off the west coast of Scotland

to watch the magnificent deer rut.

Though they've been studying these deer for years and years,

they've got no idea what they did at night.

So I used my thermal camera to investigate what they were

doing during the night, and we discovered some brand-new science!

It genuinely is fantastic. So cool.

Barny mentioned it's the last show. What has it got in store for us?

One amazing thing is about starlings.

We wanted to show them doing the murmurations,

when you get tens of thousands of them all flying around,

but they didn't do it this year.

But we noticed our starlings were doing something amazing.

Normally, they just make a starling noise, but listen to this.

BIRDSONG

That starling is mimicking an owl.

That's a blackbird.

And that one was mimicking a jackdaw,

so they are not making starling noises,

they are copying the other birds, which is really confusing.

I love it! Cheeky old birds.

We know there is something we need to remember tonight

because it is Bonfire Night.

Is there something we need to do with our pets?

If you have cats or dogs or rabbits in your garden,

from this point onwards,

you really should be thinking about bringing them indoors.

I've got a couple of dogs. Itchy and Scratchy are my poodles.

They don't mind fireworks at all.

We used to put them indoors, but we found that they weren't

freaked out so we could take them into the garden and watch,

but that's unusual.

Most people's pets can get very upset, so please bring them in,

and if you can, have someone with them all the time, because they

don't like being left on their own.

BARNEY: That's brilliant.

MICHAELA: I have a Jack Russell called Toto.

BARNEY: Sorry, that's me jumping in. It's hard with a two-second delay.

But we have to move on to our amazing fireworks display.

Have a great live show tonight, guys, and we'll see you soon.

It is Bonfire Night. You've got to see this display of champions.

Welcome to Victoria Park in Southport.

It might not look like much

but in a few hours' time, this place is going to explode into life.

Literally.

This is the setting for the British Musical Firework Championships.

But these fireworks don't just have to look good.

Each display is set to music,

which means that the timing is absolutely crucial.

And we have given one team taking part a very special challenge.

All we need is a tune.

I know. What better music to set fireworks to...

Oh, sorry. And what better music to set fireworks to than this?

THE BLUE PETER THEME TUNE PLAYS

The Blue Peter theme tune!

The person masterminding our firework theme tune challenge

is Trevor, a former British champion,

which means he can do this.

Your job is to try to make these fireworks fire to music.

How do you even start with that? We listen to the piece of music,

and we look for symbol clashes or guitar riffs,

and then we can put a firework in to match that. How do you time it?

We can do it on a software package on the PC.

Along the bottom, we have the music file

and these white dots are where we have moved a firework into position.

When it plays,

it gives us a visual representation of exactly how the show will look.

It takes the team a whole day to set up the display.

So, it's all hands on deck.

We need a stake in the ground here, well pushed in.

He's well pushed in.

Then we will have a couple of these, one each side,

so these labels tell us where it sits in the field

and which pin in the rail for the firing system

that it needs to go into so it ignites at the right time.

These things at different angles, they will fan out for the chorus?

Yes. And they'll get channelled into one system?

Yeah. A master controller, if you like.

I think we are done for now,

so we just have to wait until it gets dark.

I will go and find the master controller and press the red button!

Don't press it! I won't, I promise...

EXPLOSION

It's going to be awesome.

Let's see what is happening on next week's show.

Children in Need spectacular.

We will be breaking the world record.

Pudsey will be there, he's excited, that's why he is dancing.

It's my gymnastics performance as well so make sure you are there.

As well as that, the Vamps. Enjoy the fireworks.

See you next week.

Subtitles by Ericsson.