Christmas is Coming! Blue Peter

Today, we are putting our guests to the test

to find the ultimate festive fan.

What about me, Linds? I love Christmas!

Oh, no, but Radz, these guys are proper fans.

Linds, I've only got two Christmas crackers left,

opened up every single advent calendar door

and unwrapped all of your Christmas presents!

-You've done what?!

-I know. I'm a bigger fan than this guy.

Hmm. Well, I'm putting you on the naughty list.

-CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Hello.

-Hello.

-It is just 18 days until Christmas.

-Yay!

Happy dance indeed. We are getting so excited in the BP studio

because it's only one week to go until our Christmas special,

so our aim is to get you guys into the Christmas mood.

And how are we going to do that?

Step one - we are going to be lighting the third candle

on our giant advent crown. MUSICAL FLOURISH

Nice sound effect! There it is, in all its glory.

Step number two, my friends - we're taking part in a very special

-Christmas quiz to test your Noel-edge.

-Do you get it?

-Know-ledge. Noel-edge. Knowledge.

-We can work on that.

Step three - check this out.

It's our little friend Shells. She's come as a tiny Santa, kind of.

She's got it on her jumper.

So if you can see her hiding anywhere in today's show,

hop onto the fan club and let us know where you can see her.

Bye, Shells.

Step numero quatre, as they say in Espana -

we'll be revealing the nominees for

Young Sports Personality of the Year 2017.

OK, OK, I know it's not that festive but it is epic, because one

of the judges on that panel will be a Blue Peter badge holder. Yes!

That's very cool. And step five - we're nearly there.

We will be enjoying a very festive performance

from brand-new musical Nativity!

Let me set the scene for you -

primary school teacher Mr Maddens is directing the school nativity.

But, because of a rumour that's gone round, everyone thinks a famous

Hollywood producer is coming, so suddenly everyone wants a part.

It's time to audition!

Oh, good, Mr Maddens, you're here.

-I thought you were going to miss auditions.

-What?

-We don't have auditions. I just cast the kids.

-No, we do have auditions.

-This is a Hollywood nativity.

-It's not a Hollywood nativity, is it?

-It's just St Bernadette's nativity.

-You are going to love this, OK?

Boop! We will do it like they do it on Britain's Got Talent.

-I'll be Simon Cowell and you can be will.i.am.

-That's The Voice.

-Craig Revel Horwood.

-That's Strictly Come Dancing.

Stop being so difficult, all right?

The point is, these kids are amazing, all right?

And we need to let them show us what they can do.

-But they can't do very much - that's the problem.

-Oh, ye of little faith.

# They want a part in our school nativity

# They want to be the best

# They'll be the stars of our school nativity

# Singing above the rest

# Watch them go "ooh"

# Watch them go "aah"

# Watch them go far, far, far in our school nativity... #

-All right, er, hello, Alfie. What's your name?

-Er, Alfie.

-Good. Right, who do you want to play in the nativity?

-Joseph.

He wants to be Jay-Z. Right? Show me what you got now.

# He wants to be Joseph the carpenter

-# He's the romantic lead

-Oh, yeah

# He's got the skills to be a great carpenter

# He break dances on his knees

# Watch him go " ooh"

-# Watch him go... #

-Ah!

# Watch him go far, far, far in our school nativity... #

-Get kneepads, mate. Get kneepads. Hello, Evie.

-Hello.

Hello, right, who do you want to play in the nativity?

-I'd like to play the star.

-OK, why would you like to...

-The star of Bethlehem.

-OK. And why would you like to be the star?

Because she's shiny.

I think we need to work on her confidence if she goes forwards.

Here we go. One, two, three, four.

-# And if I get the chance, I'm really going to shine... #

-Yes!

# I'll make up my own dance and show them I'm divine

# I'm going to be a star not useless any more

# Gonna leave 'em wanting more

# Leave 'em wanting more

# Of our school nativity. #

-You are going through to the next round!

-There's not a next round.

-The Hollywood round. Hello, Ollie.

-Hello.

What do you want to play in the nativity?

I really want to be Joseph but my dad wants me to be the donkey.

Why does he want you to be the donkey?

Cos ee-aw, ee-aw, ee-always says it's a great part.

You're on Blue Peter, mate. You need a better joke than that.

Do your rap. Three, four.

# Away in a manger, our crib was all bare

# And suddenly shepherds and kings are all there

# A baby, a lady, a bright shining light

# And this little donkey was a king for a night

# I was a DJ

# Called Donkey G

# I was a DJ

# In the nativity

# I was a DJ

# Down in the manger

# I was a DJ

# In my donkey trainers. #

Boo-yeah!

# Useless

# Then if they get a chance they're really going to shine

-# You need to be more ruthless

-They'll make up their own dance

-# They'll show us they're divine

-They won't even stand a chance

# They're going to be the stars

-# They're not useless any more

-They're just hopeless

-# Just a bunch of jokers

-Gonna leave us wanting more

-# Can't even sing or dance

-Leave us wanting more

-BOTH:

-# In our school nativity. #

We have got a show to do. Come on, you lot. Here, Mr Maddens...

One, two, three, four.

-ALL:

-# Sparkle and shine

# Planets gather round

# Sparkle and shine

# Let's all make a dazzling sound

# Here's something you won't believe

# It's the first time ever Christmas

-# It's the first time ever Christmas

-I think this is going to go well!

-# Eve. #

-Kids, come on!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-Guys, that was so good!

-Now, this is Blue Peter.

You all have your Blue Peter badges on. You all look very happy.

There's one thing to do. Happy dance!

A festive one. Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho. That was amazing.

It is, of course, based on the film "Nativity!",

which lots of people have seen.

And by the way, it's coming to CBBC this Christmas, if you haven't.

Those who haven't seen it, what's it all about, guys?

OK, so I'm Mr Maddens, and I've been asked to direct the nativity at

St Bernadette's this year, despite the fact that I hate Christmas.

Now, I may have told some little white lies, saying that Hollywood

are coming to see the show, but little did I know

that Mr Poppy here was going to tell the entire town!

But it's all right, though, because now we're all going to be

-rich, famous millionaires. We're all moving to Hollywood.

-No, no...

These guys are taking method acting very seriously.

Archie, let's have a chat to you, my friend.

So, I presume you guys have been acting in stage school for years

and years and years. Is that right?

Well, we all started off with a recording that we had to send

to the producers, and then it narrowed it down to an audition,

and then it came to another audition,

and then one final audition, and then 27 children were cast.

So none of you have performed before and now you're here performing

-on stage and on Blue Peter. High five!

-That's amazing!

And, Evie, you're touring the UK. How has that been?

It's really, really exciting because, like,

we go to all the different hotels and make so much new friends.

All right, stop. She yaps on a bit. This is...

We're going around the country - it's all brilliant, isn't it?

High-five! And next, we go to London next week and, also,

we get to meet Louis Walsh. He's going to be in the show, so...

-THE Louis Walsh?

-The Louis Walsh.

-AS LOUIS:

-It's a yes from me!

-I love the Welsh!

-Guys, thank you so much.

You two are sticking around for our Christmas quiz later.

But to the rest of the cast of "Nativity!", please give them

a massive round of applause! CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Now, guys, a question to all of you.

Who here has already turned on their Christmas lights at home?

OK, you're going to like this because on Blue Peter, we've gone

one better, because we've switched on something seriously impressive.

The BT Tower. Built from 13,000 tonnes of concrete.

It's one of the most iconic shapes on the London skyline.

At a massive 189 metres, it was once the capital's tallest tower.

First opened in 1965,

the tower is still a major television broadcasting hub.

In fact, check this out.

95% of UK television passes through the airwaves from here.

Including me, right now, on your television,

even though I'm here when I'm...

This is complicated.

Yep, the info is coming thick and fast, people.

And here's some more for you.

In 2009, the tower had a 360-degree screen installed at the top.

To find out more, I'm heading up there.

And I'm doing so in one of the fastest lifts in the country.

Which is great news.

With it being such a long journey all the way to the top,

I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite lift facts.

There was one time Lindsey, Barney and me got into a lift...

-LIFT:

-Door opening.

That's annoying.

The man who looks after the tower screens is Wayne.

-Wayne, lovely to meet you.

-Nice to meet you, Radzi.

What do you think it is that makes the BT Tower so special?

It's very much in use, it's an operational building.

It's a hub for the UK telecommunications.

I've noticed the screen at the very top. What is that for?

We actually know it as the info band.

It's used to celebrate UK landmark events.

And why would it need changing or replacing?

The original one was up there for seven years

and as you can imagine, being up at that height,

it gets battered by the wind, rain, snow,

so it was time for it to be replaced.

-How can I help?

-You're going to come along with us now

and install one of the new info band panels.

So we're kitting you up, full harness,

getting you over the side with the riggers to install one.

Over the side of this incredibly tall building?

Very much so.

We begin by heading back down to somewhere called the plant room.

Brilliant, I get to use that lift again.

Wayne, I do love plant rooms.

In fact, my top 10 plant rooms of all time...

-Sorry, Radzi, we're actually here now.

-Are we?

-Yeah.

-LIFT:

-Doors opening.

Ah, that's really annoying.

The info band is actually made up of lots of small screens

that work together to create a giant image.

These all need installing separately.

And it's here that they're prepared.

-Wayne, I'm seeing a lot of panels.

-There are a lot of panels.

396 in total and all the associated bits of steelwork

and everything that needs to go onto the back of these panels

to get them ready to go upstairs and be rigged.

What can I do to help?

What I can get you to do is install this bulb into this panel which

will complete this panel so we can take it upstairs and get it rigged.

-OK, fine.

-Happy with that? Have you seen these before?

-I've seen them before, of course.

-Excellent, there we go.

-What?

OK, no, that's not going to help.

Underneath. If you hold that underneath, that on top,

hold it back there and just crank it up.

-OK.

-There we go.

Each one of these bolts is holding the screen together above the city.

So I'm making sure I get this right.

You might want to go a little bit quicker

cos there's thousands and thousands more to go.

-Thousands?

-Thousands.

OK.

-Perfect.

-Now we're in.

OK, this one is complete now.

So we can take this one upstairs and get it rigged.

-Fantastic, leave it to me, Wayne, it's all mine.

-OK. Off you go.

I'm going to get some help.

Once a panel is put together,

it's time to fix it to the side of the building.

And you know this is where it gets serious

because I've got to put a hard hat on my Afro.

OK, Radzi, we're on level T37, level 37 of the tower now.

I'm afraid this is the part where I hand you over to the riggers.

Who'll take care of you

and let you install the panel we've just raised up.

-OK, that's it down there?

-That's the one.

-That's the one they pulled up now.

-Wait till you see this.

I am nearly 119 metres above the ground.

When I climb over the edge, I need to clip my harness

to the barrier to make sure I'm safe.

That in there.

I'm about to help out on a building project

above one of the busiest cities in the world.

There's no pretty way to do this.

I've got the best seat in the house, all thanks to BT.

Wow! Where my feet are, I can see the road.

And those people look about the size of very small ants.

But I'm not here to admire the view. I've got a job to do.

Let's get this panel into place.

-OK, that's perfect. Got both your attachments on there.

-I'm safe?

-You're perfectly safe now.

-Good.

We're going to winch it up now into position.

We're going to winch it up? OK.

396 of these panels all the way around the tower.

First up, I need to secure the bolts that hold the screen.

I'm not nearly as fast as these boys.

But I want to make sure,

if I'm putting a bolt into the tower, that it ain't going anywhere.

I then attach an extra safety cable, just to be sure.

This screen will be seen by millions for years to come.

So it's probably best if I leave the experts to finish the job.

-Wayne, thank you so much.

-It's been a pleasure.

And I guess all that's left to do is take the lift down.

Wayne, did I mention I've got some great facts about concrete...

D'you know what, Radzi? I'm going to grab the next one, if that's OK.

Wayne, Wayne...

But I want to see the results of the team's handiwork.

And I know just the place.

It's a few weeks later and we are back in London.

The only thing is, I can't see the tower from here.

We need a better view.

I'm heading to the rooftop of the BBC's West One building

for a very special view.

Now, we just need to find out if all 396 of the panels are working,

including the one that I helped to put in place.

Yeah!

Look at that!

The Blue Peter ship on the info band of the BT Tower.

And that right there is the highest Blue Peter badge in the country.

What a day that was. And who'd like to hear some more tower facts?

-So...

-We're OK for tower facts.

-I want the tower facts.

-No, put your hand down.

-Nobody wants the tower facts.

-If he wants them...

-Stop it. Go on, tell us some tower facts.

OK, so in 1947, I once knew a bloke who went into a tower,

-got to the third floor...

-No, this is terrible.

Have a look at this week's big badge wall,

covered in all your glorious post.

You're embarrassing yourself, Radz. Mr Poppy, what have you seen?

Well, I've seen certain things that I like.

I've seen a great white shark over there,

surrounded by three other sharks. Look at it, in the lagoon!

Also, I've spotted Amelie, up here.

-She's made an advent calendar.

-That's good.

-Open number seven.

-OK, here we go. What's inside?

-Hey!

-A Blue Peter badge!

Why do you get an orange Blue Peter badge?

For winning a competition or being a runner-up.

Win a competition or be a runner-up

-and you too can have an orange Blue Peter badge.

-Exactly.

This has been sent in by Jessica from Hampshire.

Look, she's six and she's made this little Shelley.

It's quite big, actually.

With a Christmas hat on, painted beautifully.

She's got a sparkly tummy. We love it.

The perfect Christmas stocking filler.

And if you want more stocking fillers, check out the BP website.

Frida, if I had my way,

I'd make you a Dame because you've created

what is a labyrinth of origami, AKA Radzi' hair.

And, Frida, that's got you a Blue Peter silver badge.

-I love it!

-Well done.

Thank you so much for all your glorious post.

We've absolutely loved it.

Just one more thing cos I've also just spotted Sophie and Harris

and there's Beatrice up the top. Rosie's down there.

There's a sassy reindeer down there.

There is. I think that's enough of that. Remember...

We've also got Archie and let's not forget the sharks.

If you get a Blue Peter badge,

you can get into over 200 attractions across the UK.

-Mr Poppy? ALL:

-For free!

Which is exciting.

Please make sure you check the website for details

because those details may be a-changing...

# They may be a-changing

# And whilst you're on the website... #

-There's all this as well.

-Great.

# Staying alive Staying alive. #

It's time to meet some more Christmas experts.

Would you please welcome to Blue Peter, Matt Haig and Chris Small.

-Hello.

-Matt, I'll start with yourself.

Author of the third Christmas series book, Father Christmas And Me.

What can you tell us about it?

Well, this is the tale of Amelia, a human girl,

living in a land full of elves,

living in this strange family with Father Christmas being

her adopted dad and her mother being Mary Christmas.

And having lots of adventures.

And unfortunate events happening at Elf School.

You've... You've dangled the carrot right there, Matt.

And Chris, you've brought a sketchbook along,

-what's inside that?

-Yes, I have.

So this is where I develop all the artwork for the book,

before I go to final artwork,

so I think about the look of the book, generally,

I think about environments,

think about the characters.

Here, I'm thinking about the cover,

and thinking about the palette,

and how it might look.

It really is incredible

that it starts so simply and turns into a book.

I think it's fair to say that you guys know your Christmas.

Well, the last three years, we've been pretty Christmassy, yeah.

-So would you fancy putting that to the test with a Christmas quiz?

-OK.

-Let's do it.

-OK.

-Bring on Lindsey!

Yes, thank you Radzi. It is time for the Blue Peter Big Christmas quiz.

It is so stuffed with festive facts it could be a turkey,

but it's not.

We're putting our guests to the test to find out

who is the biggest Christmas fan.

So without further ado, let's meet the teams.

Over to my left on the red team,

we've got Matt who once spent Christmas with 22 cats.

Wow, bleak.

-And Chris always eats Christmas cake with cheese.

-It's a must.

It's a must! Good.

And over to my right on the green team,

Mr Poppy still sits on Father Christmas's lap every year.

-Never too old to ask for a present.

-Good.

And Mr Maddens was dumped at Christmas

-by the love of his life.

-Don't bring that up...

CROWD GROANS Oh, sorry about that.

Right, let's get on with it.

The rules are simple, we're going to race through Christmas

with a series of questions.

It's one point for each correct answer,

and there's a special prize for the winner.

-Are you all ready? ALL:

-Yes!

-Come on, crew, are you ready? CREW:

-Yes!

Good. In that case, let's kick things off with the first round.

Christmas Eve!

Lovely bit of voiceover there!

Yes, it's Christmas Eve, everyone's getting very excited

so what better way to pass the time than with a little singsong,

everyone? OK. So buzz in to complete the lyrics. Here's your first song.

# I don't want a lot for Christmas

# There is just one thing I need... #

Go on, green team.

# I don't care about the presents

# Underneath the Christmas tree. #

Lovely! You get a point. Well done!

APPLAUSE

OK, here's your next song.

# So here it is, Merry Christmas... #

# Everybody's having fun!

# Look to the future now

-# It's only just begun!

-Ting, ting, ting... #

Yes, lovely, you get a point.

Well done. Next round.

Christmas morning.

We've reached Christmas morning.

Father Christmas has wrapped you both a present.

Isn't that nice?

We want you to guess what the present is using touch alone.

You've only got a few seconds.

Off you go, feel the presents!

Soft.

It's a tough one.

The ears are weird, aren't they?

It is tough.

Let's come to the green team first. What do you think it is?

Bouncy balls.

Bouncy balls.

Open it up, see if you're right.

-Here we go. BOTH:

-No!

It's a load of Brussels sprouts.

Bouncy balls?

No, kind of, not really. Let's come to the red team.

-What do you think it is?

-Well, it's got ears,

so I'm saying rabbit or reindeer maybe...

Could they be antlers?

-What's it going to be?

-Erm...

-It's a Christmas quiz, guys.

-Rabbit. Rabbit!

Oh, they've gone rabbit. Open it up.

Classic Christmas animal.

It's a cuddly reindeer.

It is a rabbit!

You can keep that, it's kind of a rabbit, yes.

Time for the next round!

Christmas dinner!

Yum! It wouldn't be Christmas dinner without

some Christmas crackers.

So I'm going to read you out some jokes,

you need to guess the punch line.

And you get a point for each correct answer

or if you just make the crew giggle. OK?

-OK.

-Ready. First one.

What kind of pictures do

Father Christmas's helpers take?

-Oh, I think that was red team.

-Elfies.

Correct. Elfies.

That is right.

What do you get if you cross Father Christmas

with a duck?

-Go on, red team.

-Christmas quackers.

Yes! Correct!

BUZZER

That is the end of the quiz.

Very well done, two all!

Well done, guys, it is a draw.

Come and gather in,

cos you're probably wondering what your prize is.

We've got a very special treat. In you come, Father Christmas.

-Here he comes with his phone.

-Very well done everybody!

Yes, well done, your prize is a selfie with Father Christmas.

Because what else?

-Smile!

-CHEERING

-Done!

-I think it's safe to say that's what we call

a "no expense spent" prize.

Now, not everything on this show is about Christmas.

Actually, it's also when we get very excited about

Sports Personality Of The Year! Check this out!

In 2017, the BP sport badge applications were only open

for one month, but that didn't stop over 5,000 of you applying!

And with every application came the chance for one person

to be a judge for this year's Young Sports Personality Of The Year.

And that person is Chloe!

Sport is amazing,

it's a great way to get outside,

it's good for you, you can make loads of friends.

Whoever you are, whatever you like to do,

there's always going to be a sport out there for you.

I love rugby because it's a great way to get muddy,

and you can play it pretty much all year round,

there's so many elements to it, with tackling and kicking,

rucking, passing, running, dodging.

It's just great.

-ALL:

-One, two, three, rugby time!

Chloe travelled to Media City, the home of BP and BBC sport,

to help draw up the shortlist.

But before she did, I had a surprise for her.

-Chloe.

-Hi!

-Good to see you.

-Thank you, you too.

-I see a big smile on your face.

-Yeah.

-How are you feeling?

-It's amazing to be here.

It's...kind of crazy.

It really is, I can imagine.

But let's talk about your Blue Peter badges. There are a lot of them.

Yeah! Well, I started with the green one

and then from there I couldn't really stop,

and I want to try and get them all!

So you've already got a blue badge.

Hello, silver badge!

And that is for you,

for doing something different to

what you did to earn your blue badge, and you're about to be

a judge on Young Sports Personality Of The Year,

and that's a face that looks very happy.

Thank you!

So all that's left for us to do is go inside that building

and join the panel for Young Sports Personality Of The Year.

-Are you up for it?

-Yeah.

-BOTH: Let's go!

The expert panel around this table includes some huge names,

from hockey,

athletics,

swimming,

and broadcasting.

But it's the future of sport that's the focus today.

The achievement sort of speaks for itself, 17 years of age...

When you see two world medals at a senior level,

you can't sort of...ignore that.

Just being there is not an achievement.

Obviously, it's a different ball game, with the pool of talent...

-LAUGHTER

-Thank you!

It's a tough task narrowing down the field,

but Chloe is taking on the challenge.

That's the highest possible level, and she's getting podium places.

Then she's clearly on the shortlist.

After hours of judging,

this shortlist is complete,

and Chloe catches up with the man in charge -

John Inverdale.

So what did you make of the whole judging process?

It was pretty tough

To start off with, it was just getting the shortlist,

but then once we started narrowing it down, it was pretty...harsh.

And when you looked at the depth of talent,

did it make you think there's just so many people out there

who are so good at what they do?

You don't realise how many people there are,

until they're at such a high level,

but, yeah, there's so many people out there.

So it's time to reveal to you at home the top three finalists

of Young Sports Personality Of The Year 2017.

Manchester City and England Under 17 star Phil Foden.

World Para Alpine Skiing champion Millie Knight.

And European champion gymnast, Ellie Downie.

I love the excitement and adrenaline you get in competition,

and the fact that training's never the same all the time,

it's always different.

I love skiing, it is the most fantastic thing.

You know, being visually impaired, life is somewhat restricting,

but the moment I click my boots in,

I get that amazing sense of freedom.

Football sensation Phil Foden

was voted player of the tournament

at this year's Under 17 World Cup.

And his form for England has led to him recently

play for the Man City first team.

Ellie Downey took home an incredible four medals

at this year's European gymnastics championships,

before injury cut short her season.

Being nominated for Young Sports Personality was...

I was actually quite surprised,

because I've been nominated before and won it.

I didn't think you'd be, like, be able to go in again,

and have a chance to win it again,

but obviously...really excited!

Millie Knight won Great Britain's only gold medal

at the World Para Alpine Ski Championships in 2017.

And if that wasn't enough,

she followed it up with three silvers.

To be nominated myself is amazing,

because I never thought I was ever going to be good enough

to be sort of considered for this so I'm...

Yeah, it's a wonderful achievement.

Winning it for a second time would be just pretty crazy.

I remember the first time I was quite young,

so going up on stage in front of all those people

was quite nerve-racking.

But I think if I won it this time,

I'd know what to say a little bit more.

It'd be amazing to win,

but, you know, just to be nominated and to make the shortlist is...

..is a massive achievement for me.

So those are the nominees.

But who will be crowned Young Sports Personality Of The Year 2017?

Very exciting, and to find out, indeed,

who will win Young Sports Personality Of The Year 2017,

make sure you're watching BBC One to find out.

Myself and Chloe will be there,

rubbing shoulders with some sporting legends,

and to see that behind-the-scenes look,

make sure you're watching Blue Peter in the New Year.

That's nearly it for today's show,

but not before we tell you where little cheeky Shells was hiding.

She was very cheeky this week, because you might have seen her...

There she is, she photobombed the winner's selfie.

That is cheeky! If you think you were the one that spotted her,

head to the Fan Club Live page straight after the show.

If you thought this show was festive,

wait till you see next week's!

We have a 250+ strong... # choir! #

Yeah, Radzi's not going to be in it.

As well as that, we've got a performance from Boogie Storm,

and the one and only Tom Fletcher.

We'll be announcing the winner of the Worst Witch competition.

And we're very lucky because we get to go to 10 Downing Street

to decorate the Christmas tree. So festive!

-Hello, Prime Minister!

-Yes.

How are you today?

-We'll see you next week. Bye!

-Bye-bye!

CHEERING