Epic Dragon Competition Blue Peter

On today's show, we're entering the dragon's lair.

That's right, these beasts are ferocious and terrifying,

and they've got the meanest temperament in show business.

It's our producers! LINDSEY LAUGHS

What are you two doing in here?

We're going live, get in the studio!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Hello. Hi. It's a great shot, that is. How are you?

You're watching Blue Peter, you know that, you pressed the button.

-It's a great show. We've got a brand-new competition for you.

-Whoa!

-Letters.

-And it's all about dragons.

Whoa! OK, pipe down, you.

-There's one over there.

-It's not, it's a special effect.

-Shh!

-Oh.

That's right. We're giving you the chance to design

a dragon that's going to be part of a famous historical landmark.

It's very special,

and it's all kicking off and happening in just 19 minutes' time.

Make sure you keep watching.

We'll give you plenty of inspiration.

This guy knows his stuff when it comes to animals.

He'll bring some stuff in that is as close to dragons as you can get.

Whoa! Hello, sunshine.

Someone else getting into the spirit of it is Shelley.

She's dressed up like a dragon today.

She's going to be hiding somewhere in this show.

Big or small, we don't know yet, but you might spot her first.

If you do, head to BP Fan Club Live and let us know.

The first person in touch wins a gobstopper the size of the moon.

No, that's not right. But you do get a shout out, a shout out.

Now, Radzi's not here today,

so I've invited another cuddly little friend along.

It's Kimberly Wyatt!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-Hey, friend.

-Welcome to the show.

-And should I say, congratulations on your badge.

-Thank you.

-Is that your first Blue Peter badge?

-It is my first Blue Peter badge.

-I'm in, I'm in the club.

-You're in the club.

Congratulations, because you're having another baby.

So, how does your daughter, Willow, feel about that?

She's going to get a brother or sister.

I think she's extremely excited.

Every morning we get up and she wants to see the baby,

she wants to kiss it, sing to it, give it a cuddle.

-It's the sweetest thing ever.

-What a start to the day.

I like the sound of that.

Now, everyone watching will go, "Oh, my goodness,

"that's Kimberly Wyatt, judge of Taking The Next Step." Of course.

But today, you're kind of here for another reason,

something very special has happened.

-What's this?

-This is a massive dream come true for me.

I've wanted to have my own book since I was about 17 years old.

So this is kind of like a performer's guide to success,

as well as just serious entertainment.

About the World Elite Dance Academy.

First book is available today, called Billie's Big Audition.

It's out today.

We like the sound of that. So, what exactly is it all about?

And was it tough to write your first book?

It is tough to write a first book.

Dance has been my absolute obsession and passion my whole life.

But wanting to get my stories out has been a big one as well.

So this one is about Billie Edmonds.

She wants to become part of the World Elite Dance Academy,

it's her big dream.

But she's got to get over the nerves,

she's got to battle the pressures, and she's got to really go for it.

It sounds good. I'm going to read it later, I might just take a copy.

So, you've had a baby. You've written a book.

It seems like there's no stopping you.

And you're a judge for Taking The Next Step, series two.

Which we're actually filming at the moment with Sam and Mark, aren't we?

It's just the best thing.

Now, we love an exclusive on Blue Peter,

so I had a little cheeky word with the producers.

I was like, "Please can we see a little first look of

-"Taking The Next Step?"

-Do we have it?

-We might have it.

Check this out.

# I just came to say goodbye

# I'm in the corner Watching you kiss here

# Oh, oh, oh... #

-APPLAUSE

-You've got loads of tricks.

Tons of nice core strength,

you really know how to hold your moves and have moments.

And is there anything on the floor?

Because you were looking at the floor the whole time!

You've got to look up.

If you're in my class, I would be in your face, yelling,

"Look up, look up, look up!"

You've got to really perform out, OK?

Oh, did he get through, though?

You can find out in autumn, when the series is out.

-I cannot wait for that.

-I'm excited.

In the meantime, Kimbo,

we told our viewers you were on last week, and they got very excited.

And we were inundated with amazing dance videos that Blue Peter

fans have sent in. Would you like to look at some of them?

-And maybe give a bit of feedback?

-I would love to.

I need all the dancing tips I can get, by the way.

This first one is from Brodie, let's have a look.

Hi, I'm Brodie, I like street dancing, especially the wave.

It's the dab at the end. A quick kitchen dab, that's what we like.

What did you make of that?

I mean, Brodie is ultimate coolness in the kitchen, very cool.

His waves are really fantastic, he's got series moves.

I would say, just slow it down a bit.

Really go for every single joint that you've got through your

-wave and practice it slow.

-I feel I look like a stupid robot.

-Because then you can pass it.

-Whoa!

There we go, nice one. Next we've got Vinara having a little jig.

Let's have a look at this.

Hi, my name is Vinara. I love Latin dancing.

-I'm into that. His beautiful hands.

-I love him!

Any advice or feedback, Kim?

I mean, the confidence is infectious, he's amazing.

He holds his frame fantastically.

I think, just keep going, I love what I see. Just do more.

And he's got a dance floor in his living room, which is very cool.

Let's have a look at Emily tapping away.

Hi, I'm Emily, and I love tap dancing because it makes me happy.

These are double-time steps.

Emily, I couldn't keep up. I was into that. Tap is tough, isn't it?

Tap is tough.

But Emily has really super-strong ankles and feet,

she's got clear taps, it looks amazing.

Just work on the timing of those rhythms.

When you do a basic time step, the rhythm goes,

da-da, da-da-da, da-da, da-da, da-da-da...

Dab, dab. Hope I helped. This is Daniel.

Hi, I'm Daniel, and I like dancing to Can't Stop The Feeling.

# I got that sunshine in my pocket Got that good soul in my feet

# I feel that hot blood in my body when it drops... #

Can you give me some new moves?

What a cutie.

Our favourite bit was this, wasn't it? Woo, Daniel.

-OK, so he needs new moves.

-He's got brilliant musicality, by the way.

-But we'll give him another move.

-I'm going to join in.

To finish it all off, he can do an out, cross, out, cross, turnaround.

There you go, Daniel. I feel like you looked a little bit better.

And then last but not least, we've got Bruno. Check this out.

Hi, I'm Bruno. I like street dance, especially the move

the butterfly kick. It's my favourite move.

I'll show you it right now.

-Yes.

-Yay, Bruno!

-He smashed that. Also, he's so confident.

Bruno, come present with us. We love you. What did you make of that?

I think Bruno is amazing, that butterfly kick was on point,

well done, Bruno. Bring on some more.

It doesn't get better than that, Kim saying you're on point, Bruno.

So keep practising. If you want even more of Kim - who doesn't? -

she's on the Blue Peter website. There it is.

I like your face, it's lovely. Giving some of her dance tips.

Kim, have you ever done parkour?

-I've only done a touch, I did a wall spin, that's about it.

-OK.

Someone who gave it a go is Radzi, have a look at this.

Parkour. Or free running as it's sometimes called.

I know you've seen it.

People running, jumping, flipping, somersaulting,

climbing, to go from one place to another.

And you know what, it looks well cool.

Developed in France in the 1980s,

parkour involves moving across obstacles

using creativity and athleticism.

For the first time,

it's been recognised as an official sport in the UK.

Which means it could start appearing in your PE lessons.

I figured, if you guys are going to get to give it a go,

I should try my hand, too.

This is Alex Pownall, he's been practising since he was 15.

So he's the perfect man to get me started at this parkour gym

that's been specially set up so anyone can have a go safely.

-Is it fun?

-Yeah.

-Is it exciting?

-Yeah.

-Is it scary?

-Usually only if you're doing it wrong.

-And why do you do it?

Sometimes I just get bored of walking.

-You've got me very, very intrigued.

-Good.

Well, let's get started, then, and I'll show you what it's all about.

Bring it on.

'Parkour is all about moving around whatever is in your way

'as quickly and smoothly as possible.

'So after a quick warm up,

'we begin with a basic move called a step vault.'

It uses the opposite hand and foot.

You're going to place one hand on the box.

And place the opposite foot on the top.

Now, you're going to lift your hips and your leg is going to

come through this space in the middle.

And then with the weight on your hands and foot,

-you're going to step off.

-OK.

That's a great example of something that looks really simple but

might not be quite so easy to accomplish.

Hip through.

-OK, again.

-'I'm happy with that.

'But then Alex has to go and make it harder.

Now, the real tricky thing about parkour is that to be really, really

good at it, you need to be able to do everything on both sides.

I want you to do this with your other hand.

-I was hoping you weren't going to say that.

-Everybody does.

'Using my weaker hand feels really strange.

'And it's tougher to move smoothly over the vault.

-'But, I keep practising and slowly I pick it up.'

-OK.

That's better.

'With the step vault sorted, it's time to try some other moves.'

So, the most basic way to jump in parkour is with two feet,

and from a standing position.

So, I'm going to go onto the balls of my feet.

Right, give it a shot.

-Follow me.

-How?

-You'll figure it out.

'But as we move onto the main parkour equipment,

'it gets much harder.

'With each different obstacle, I have to use different muscles.

'And I'm constantly thinking to try and keep up.'

I tell you what, this is so much harder work,

but the best fun.

Phew!

That was absolutely brilliant. Thank you so much for that session.

I'm really glad you enjoyed it, man. You did really great.

Um, the only thing is, we're not really done.

-OK, what's next?

-Well, we've got this event on Sunday,

-you see, and I'd love you to be there.

-I'm up for that.

-Awesome.

What do we need to do?

-Well, basically, we're just going to do a few vaults.

-Amazing, how many?

-A couple thousand.

-What?!

'Alex wants me to put my new skills to good use.

'In a few days' time,

'he and some other parkour fans are attempting to set a vaulting record.

'And I'm taking part.'

I do not want to let those guys down, and they're expecting

a lot from somebody that's never done it before.

Wish me luck.

'But as the big day arrives, I find out what the record target is.'

-Alex, great to see you again.

-Radzi, hey, how's it going, man?

Very, very well. What is going on today?

Everyone in the room is trying to beat 10,000 vaults in an hour.

-Well, I have been practising.

-Good.

-So, bring it on.

'We'll be watched by a team of judges,

'who will be counting as we go.

'And if it's not a proper vault, it won't count.'

Both hands, you can have feet on the side to help you. That's the vault.

You don't have to use your feet on the box. But what we don't want...

'OK. Better get this thing right, Radzi.'

-Are you ready?!

-ALL: Yes!

KLAXON

'The action is frantic, these guys don't hang around.

'They're flying through the vaults.

'As the minutes tick by, the pace doesn't slow.

'The level of fitness parkour takes is incredible.'

KLAXON

'When our hour is up, we have no idea if we've hit 10,000 or not.'

We did 9,877.

GROANING

Just on this side.

The grand total, in one hour,

was 18,247.

Smashed it.

To have played just a small part in that record attempt was brilliant.

And to see these guys in action was an absolute privilege.

That looked fun.

I want to have a go.

If you want to have a go, too, make sure you do get the proper training,

or it can be dangerous. It is worth saying,

it is just seven minutes to go until our dragon launch.

-You excited, Kim?

-Very!

In the meantime, let's have a look at this week's big badge wall,

covered in all your quite frankly beautiful posters.

Looking good. Kim, what have you seen?

Really good stuff. I am really feeling this graffiti up here

by Calder. I've got a character in my WEDA series called Tilly

who does graffiti.

Calder, you have earned a Blue Peter badge.

-Yes, my friend!

-Tres cool.

This has been designed by Jessica from Clapham.

She saw Dean Leavy do the levitating table trick last week

and she loved it. So much so that she's captured it forever in ink.

Thank you very much, you have got yourself a Blue Peter badge.

Guys, Amy is my hero.

Not just cos she's got a silver badge, but have a look at this.

If we open it up - it's 9.99, collector's item -

there is a tiny little Lindsey Doll.

-Spitting image!

-It's amazing.

Thank you so much(!) You're amazing. Well done.

Send me a Barney doll.

I want a life-size one, made out of chocolate.

If you want to be creative and earn a Blue Peter badge,

there is the address that you need.

Get creative and send it. We'd love to hear from you.

Amber did just that. She wrote us a letter.

You can see her here, actually.

She went to Kew Gardens, had a picnic, had a great time,

and said, "You guys should do the same.

"Why don't you do a programme about Kew Gardens?"

Well, Amber, we've done even better.

How about this competition launch?

This is Kew Palace.

Back in the 1700s, it was home to King George III,

who sculpted the grounds to create what is now

the Royal Botanic Gardens.

The king filled it with objects,

taking inspiration from around the world.

And one of them was this tiny, miniature tower called a pagoda.

Oh, no, it's just really...really far away.

Comedy gold.

The Great Pagoda is one of the most famous sights at Kew Gardens.

Standing almost 50 metres high,

it's an important example of Chinese architecture in Europe.

It is a Grade I-listed building,

which means it's thought to be of exceptional interest and

national importance, so it needs to be protected.

So a massive conservation project is underway to restore

the pagoda back to its former glory.

And the man in charge of doing that is Craig Hatto.

-Hi, Craig, how are you?

-Hello.

Good to meet you.

Now, how have you found yourself

in charge of restoring this huge pagoda?

Well, it's all down to Blue Peter.

-Really?

-Oh, yes.

I should have known.

In 1986, BP ran an architectural competition at York Minster.

It was this that inspired Craig

to become a top architect, and he now looks after

all the royal palaces.

You're welcome, your Majesty!

Tell me why you think it's important that the pagoda is restored

to look how it did in 1762.

It would have been adorned with dragons rising 50 metres up

into the air on each of the corners of the building.

It would have been an unbelievable and remarkable sight to behold.

In about 1780, the dragons came down,

and it was probably because they were rotting,

hard to maintain and they had fallen out of fashion.

So they didn't replace them.

And today, it is our job to put those dragons back on the building.

-Well, shall we go and have a closer look?

-OK.

At one time, the dragons that decorated the pagoda

were one of its most striking features.

And with the restoration, they are coming back.

But the project is set to take more than a year,

so it really could drag-on!

'I'm on fire today.'

So to get an idea of what the dragons will look like,

Craig has got a little trick up his sleeve.

What we create is what is known as a profile test.

With a profile test, it is the outline of a dragon to see

how it looks in proportion on the building, so we do big cut-outs.

-OK.

-These are the examples of what we use for a profile test.

You can see them all here. So you basically cut out

-what they might look like...

-Exactly.

..and plonk it outside?

Plonk it outside to look at its proportion and scale, and does

it look right on the building?

OK, should we get onto the balcony and see what it looks like?

Oh, wow.

This is a very cool way of testing it out.

This is exactly where it is going to sit.

When the 80 dragons are finished,

they should look spectacular.

What happens next?

Well, to find out, you'll have to come to our workshops.

Great. Um, I'll leave you on the roof.

79 of the new designs will be created by Tim Crawley,

who has made sketches for each one.

And I've come to meet him.

How are you doing?

Talk me through - what was your inspiration for the original sketch?

Well, I started off looking at the paintings of the actual building

as it was made in 1760. Before the dragons disappeared.

So there were some paintings that show them, but not in great detail.

So I also had to look at stuff that was being done at the same period

in other places.

It was a time when people were interested in China.

I then mixed together all the information that we found into

a number of drawings.

No two dragons will be the same,

and most of them will be 3-D printed based on Tim's design.

But some will be hand-carved.

And if you thought I would miss out on the chance to give that a go,

well, you don't know me at all!

-And that's where you come in, isn't it, Paul?

-It is.

So what are we going to be doing today?

This is a model.

-This is not going to be the real thing...

-Phew.

..so it's all right for you to practise on,

and it doesn't matter if we make mistakes. So go for it.

-I don't want to ruin it.

-You're not going to.

I'm scared I'm doing too much.

You're not doing very much at all yet.

You've really got to go for it.

I tell you what, it's harder than it looks.

Oh, big old chunk.

I like this tool. That needs to come right off?

-That needs to come out.

-Get off!

Did you like that? I really went for it there.

So if this is just the practice one,

can I have a go at the wood one?

Um...

soon. Once you've had a little bit more practice.

I'll put in a few more hours in.

'Yeah, probably for the best, if I'm honest.'

We've seen the designs that make all of the dragons

for the refurbished pagoda.

Well, 79 of them.

"What about the 80th dragon?", I hear you ask.

Well, this is the really cool part of the whole project.

Cos this is where you come in.

We're giving you the chance to design one of the dragons

that will sit on the great pagoda and be seen by millions of people.

That's right, your design will be part of an iconic

royal building, and it doesn't get much cooler than that.

And judging this amazing competition is

a bestselling author who knows all about dragons.

Hi, I'm Cressida Cowell, author and illustrator of the

How to Train Your Dragon books.

And I'm so happy to be a judge for this incredible competition.

What we'd like you to do is to make up your own entirely original

dragon, so you're not copying my dragons or anybody else's.

Your own dragons.

What I'm going to be looking for is very unique, original,

creative ideas.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to design

a piece of history.

It will be seen by millions of people from all over the world.

And it's a chance to earn your orange Blue Peter badge.

So what are you waiting for?

Get designing your dragon now.

That was a fine film, Lindsey Russell, I enjoyed it immensely.

-Thanks so much.

-If that's inspired you to draw some dragons

for our competition, head to the website.

A shot on camera, too, for you!

All you've got to do is download this application form.

It's three-parter. The first is simple and self-explanatory.

You've just got to put your details in there.

Then, the second bit, you've got to tell us about your dragon.

Tell us how you came up with the idea, the name of the dragon

and, more importantly, what superpowers your dragon would have.

On the last page, you can see there, it is blank.

That is where you draw your dragon design.

-Thank you very much.

-It's such a cool competition.

Remember, your dragon needs to be the classic dragon shape.

By that, I mean it has a body, a tail, wings and a mouth.

-That's very important.

-A mouth is very important.

Another important bit of info is that it needs to be original.

It needs to be your idea, something you have created out of nowhere.

So no copying, cheaters.

You've got to make sure that you don't use the BP logo

or the BP ship or the presenters in your design as well.

It'd be great to have a Lindsay dragon, but it just wouldn't work.

Aw, that would be lovely. You need to use the correct postage.

That's very important.

You need to send us your dragon entries by...

For example, re: postage... Stop laughing at me.

I'm laughing at your work.

If you're using an A4 envelope like this one with the

address on the front,

you need to make sure that you have a large stamp, otherwise

you might be disqualified and not in a chance to win this amazing prize.

-Good luck, peeps.

-So you can't copy, but you can be inspired.

Maybe by the new game on the BP website.

It is a dragon quiz.

-Go and check it out, it's really good.

-Scary.

Or you could find your inspiration from real life.

-Bye.

-Let's meet the man who's

brought things into the studio that are like dragons.

-Scott, so good to see you.

-Barney, good to be back.

Very good to have you back. Who's this cute little guy?

A few treats for you today.

Our first dragon-like animal is a crested gecko.

The first thing that people usually notice, eyelashes.

It's a girl, isn't it? It's got eyelashes.

-Actually, it is a little boy.

-Oh!

But they all have these.

They're not even eyelashes, just part of their spiky scales.

They wouldn't need eyelashes because they don't even have eyelids.

-They don't blink?

-They don't blink.

So they can't blink to make their eyes moist,

so instead they have to be able to lick their eyeballs instead.

If you have a little look at this clip...

One of my favourite clips to be played on Blue Peter.

Look at that!

Imagine having no eyelids, licking your own eyeballs to keep them wet.

-That is genius.

-That's pretty gross, right?

These guys have got other talents - they have a prehensile tail

like a monkey so he can hold on by his tail.

And even better than that, OK,

these guys can cling on to pretty much anything.

So they have minuscule fibres on each of their toes.

They have about one billion on each toe.

We have a shot of that as well.

You'd have to have a pretty good microscope to be able to see them.

That is the bottom of the feet?

So they can climb up glass, they can climb on a ceiling.

Scientists think that if they were upside down

on a ceiling that you could hang about 40 kilos off.

That is like a 12-year-old.

It just so happens, we have a 12-year-old with us.

Please welcome... No, can you imagine that?

-That would be quite cool.

-Thank you.

-Next time.

Next time, next one.

-We'll pop him away.

-These ones are weird.

The next one is a little bit of an unusual one.

It is an underwater dragon.

So definitely not going to be breathing fire.

But these are about as rare as a dragon.

These are only found in one lake around Mexico,

and they are critically endangered.

That's the only place in the world to find them?

Indeed. They are the axolotl.

-They are beautiful things.

-Pretty unusual, right?

The axolotl is actually a type of salamander,

and salamanders go through a process called metamorphosis

where they start their lives as a tadpole with little furry gills.

-Can you see them?

-Yeah.

Then they come out of the water later on in their life,

and live on the land as a lizard-shaped animal.

We actually have a clip of that happening, don't we?

Where they lose their fins and then they decide to just

walk... This isn't just because they feel like it?

The axolotl is quite unusual.

He actually spends his whole life in this tadpole stage instead,

so he never actually grows up.

He spends a whole life like this.

-Even as babies, in this tadpole stage.

-Wow.

It is quite unusual, a whole life underwater.

He has also got some superpowers, hasn't he?

This is what I wanted to tell you -

they have got an amazing talent.

They can regrow parts of the body.

If they lose a leg, part of their spine, brain,

they just grow it back.

Which is actually phenomenal, if you think about it.

How can you regrow a body part?

It makes them very interesting to scientists cos they think maybe they

might hold the key to finding cures for diseases in humans - who knows?

So, Scott, how do you follow a super animal like that?

I thought the only way I could follow it is with a real dragon.

We don't have real dragons. They don't exist, surely.

Do they?

Have we got a fire extinguisher?

This is a frilled dragon from Australia.

I love him. Her? Him? I can't tell.

This is a little boy now.

This is from a family of lizards called agamas,

and they are commonly known as dragons.

But no breathing fire. Instead, he has a different talent.

-Can you see these flaps of skin around his head?

-Yep.

He can fire them out and make them stand up to make him look

big and scary to help him to get away from predators, basically.

We might have a little clip of that, because it's pretty impressive.

There comes the bird.

Out come the flaps of skin.

With that split-second of confusing,

he can run off away from predators.

BARNEY LAUGHS

That's even weirder, right?

Never mind the skin flaps,

they're going be too busy laughing to eat him.

It's amazing. What a great run you've got.

He doesn't just use them for getting away from predators -

he uses it for courtship, but also

for epic battles with other frilled lizards.

Other frilled dragons.

If we look at the clip, it's pretty good.

Cue the orchestra.

This is where you need a big sort of ambitious string section.

# Dun-dun-dun dun-dun... #

We don't have an orchestra - budget cuts -

but I can do the impression myself. Beautiful!

What an incredible creature.

-Pretty awesome, right?

-Wouldn't want to get between them.

They seem to mean business. He's friendly.

Sorry he's not frilled-up, but it's probably for the best.

-Scott, always a pleasure. Thank you.

-Cheers, Barney. Thank you, man.

I reckon there's loads of inspiration here

for you to get involved and enter our new dragon competition.

All you've got to do is download the template

and then sent it to that address by...

That is the closing date, very important.

Scott, for now, thank you very much.

We're going to leave three dragons

and meet a big, fiery red dragon over here.

-No!

-I'm only joking.

-I'm not fiery.

-No, you're more like a lizard.

OK. I'll take that.

I love lizards now - that was so cool.

We have, of course, been playing Spot Shelley, our fave game.

She was having a cheeky little hide earlier.

-And she had dragon wings.

-Yes!

Shelley was hiding in the back of the parkour video.

-That is quite a subtle one, you know.

-It really is.

I don't think Radzi even noticed.

Who won?

The winner is Sapphire Zany Hedgehog Josh!

-What a name.

-Congratulations.

-Well done.

You have won your very own baby dragon.

-No.

-It's not true.

Stop giving away these rubbish prizes every week, Lindsey.

If you enjoy games like Spot Shelley and you enjoy going

to the BP Fan Club live, head there right now.

Kimberly Wyatt is going to be on there answering your questions

for the next nine hours.

Ask her anything you like.

Not really nine hours, by the way.

Can they ask you any questions at all?

-Absolutely anything. Bring it on! I'm here for you.

-Love it.

Get on there and check it out. That's it for this week.

Next week, Lucie Jones is going to be in the studio,

our Eurovision hopeful,

singing her latest single, the Eurovision entry. Can't wait.

As well as that, George is going to be in the garden

-giving us some spring tips.

-Love George.

Also, I am going to be cleaning mushrooms at the Albert Hall.

-Sorry, what?

-It's going to be good.

-We'll see you next week.

-OK, bye!

-Bye!