Matisse, Elyar Fox & Life-Saving Dogs Blue Peter

Do you want to meet a super dog?

Do you want to be inspired by a world-famous artist?

And do you want a music performance from the one and only Elyar Fox?

Yes, I hear you say.

That's good, because it's all coming up on today's live Blue Peter.

-Hello.

-Welcome to live Blue Peter.

Look who's back, it's Barney!

-We missed you.

-Thanks very much. I feel so much better.

It's great to be here.

And I thought why not bring the Easter spirit with me?

I got you some presents.

-Happy Easter, Radzi.

-Thank you, mate.

-Lindsey, there's one for you as well.

-Thank you.

-That is so lovely.

-Great minds think alike.

-I've done exactly the same thing myself.

-Oh.

-Barney, that is for you. Lindsey, we're all friends here.

-Yeah.

Thank you very much.

I definitely, um...

Yeah, I got you guys just a little something.

So happy Easter.

From the bottom of my heart, there you go. Don't eat them all at once.

It's the thought that counts.

Another Easter treat we've got coming your way

is a performance from Elyar Fox.

So we want to hear from you with your questions.

What question would you ask Elyar if he was in the studio?

I think I'd ask him who would you most like to duet with?

I'd like to know how he feels when he has one live performance

and he's nervous and he's holding the microphone. That's tough.

What would you like to know? Get in touch.

You can ask Elyar anything you like.

We'll try and read out as many as we can at the end of the show.

-That reminds me.

-Check that out.

-Wow.

-I have to give it to Elyar before the end of the show.

-Is she for real?

-That was massive.

-Serious?

I'll open this. It's going to take me ages, obviously(!)

You tell everyone what's coming up.

What would you say if I asked you what a lifeguard looks like?

Tall.

Brave.

Strong!

A bit like me, really!

Hiya.

Not you, Barney.

What if I said to you, webbed feet,

a fluffy coat, a wet nose and a rudder-like tail?

-I don't have webbed feet.

-It's not you, Barney.

Find out who I went face-to-face with as I went to Portishead Marina.

I do have a wet nose, though.

If you get into trouble at the beach,

then you'd hope that you'd get rescued.

But you probably weren't expecting

that help to come in the form of a dog.

Good boy.

Meet Ellie. She's from Newfound Friends,

a charity that trains Newfoundland dogs to help rescue people at sea.

The Newfoundland breed originates from, you've guessed it,

Newfoundland in Canada.

It's an area famous for its fishing and these strong animals

were originally used as working dogs for fishermen.

But today, it's going to be me working with them.

What is it about Newfoundlands that make them good rescue dogs?

They have really big webbed feet,

which helps them swim through the water.

A thick double coat, which helps to keep them warm.

-And they're amazingly strong.

-They are absolutely massive.

Yes, massive dogs.

-How much do they weigh?

-They can weigh up to

-13st. I'm 11st.

So that's a BIG dog.

How do they train to become rescue dogs?

We train them from a young age, getting them used to the water,

swimming, retrieving, holding things in their mouths.

Eventually, they build up to jumping off the boat into the water

to rescue someone.

These dogs are stronger swimmers than lifeguards?

Yes. They're immensely strong swimmers.

-They can pull up to ten people at one time.

-No!

Myself and a lifeguard would struggle to pull two or three at one time.

-So they jump off a boat to rescue a casualty?

-Yes.

Someone will be in trouble in the water.

They'll always jump with someone, with a trained lifeguard,

because they can't talk to a casualty that's in the water.

The lifeguard's there to do what the dog can't, basically.

While these dogs have impressive power that makes them ideal

to rescue people, they do need some guidance.

Usually this comes in the form of an experienced handler like Ellie.

Today, they've agreed to let me have a go

with one of their Newfoundland dogs, Landi.

Ellie, I've got the kit on, what am I going to be doing?

OK, so basically, you need to run off the end of here and jump in.

The dog will follow you off the pontoon.

It'll go to the casualty. Once the casualty has hold of the harness,

tell the dog to go to the boat.

Hopefully, Landi goes to the boat.

Are there any guarantees she'll do that?

If you're calm and assertive, then yes. Hopefully!

She's never worked with you before,

so this is all new to her as well as you.

She'll be looking to you for guidance.

So from the sounds of things, it's all on me.

Chloe is playing the role of a stranded swimmer

and it's down to me and Landi to rescue her.

GO!

Good girl. Harness.

Boat.

Good girl, Landi.

Landi was absolutely perfect.

She followed me immediately off the pontoon. She got to Chloe.

I said "boat" and she went straight for the boat. Well done, Landi.

Good girl.

Although that was pretty amazing, these dogs can do so much more.

There is one last rescue for me to take part in.

This is unbelievable.

A single dog pulling an entire boat all on its own! Incredible!

Now, there is no way we could go today

without introducing you to Tizz.

He is only ten weeks old. The cutest puppy of all time.

He'll not be fully grown until he's a year, and he won't be life-saving

until he's three. He's just getting used to the water at the moment,

and we think he's fantastic.

Before today, I had no idea that in water, dogs really do save lives.

And if I was stranded for real, I'd be pretty relieved

if what I saw coming to save me was a Newfoundland dog.

-Cute.

-It was such a good day. But thank you...

-And the puppy.

Ha-ha! We all want one of those.

Thank you to all the Newfound Friends team.

And especially, a big thanks to Darcy and Landi, the dogs.

The cutest things ever. Now if you saw last week's show

you'll have seen me attempt to make an Easter nest.

-It didn't go that well.

-It didn't. If you didn't see it, look at this.

3-2-1.

OK, that's what you call pear-shaped.

That's live TV for you.

And that's my quality of presenting.

Now, somebody who did deliver like the mailman is Amelie.

She'll 11, from Harrow. Feast your eyes on that.

-It's the sport badge colours, as well.

-It is.

-That's so good.

And our names are on all of those eggs.

-That is excellent.

-Well done, Amelie.

And this week, the Badge Wall is absolutely covered in your pictures.

Have a look at this from Ruby in Hull. Barney, she's made you a card,

and it says "Get well soon."

You've got all the badges there, all the different colours.

And if we open it, we've each got a bracelet and it says,

"it's not the same without you." I agree. We missed you.

Ruby, that's made me feel loads better. Thank you.

Take a look at the one next door to Ruby's.

I don't mean next door to her house - we don't know where she lives.

It says "Hoppy Easter." It's all three of us dressed as rabbits

with Easter baskets full of eggs on the Blue Peter ship.

-Amazing.

-I want to do that.

We should make the sea out of chocolate.

Lily, thank you very much. It's brilliant.

-And so is what you're about to see. Laters, dudes.

-See you later.

You've seen this on TV, I'm sure. This is known as sport stacking.

And I've been doing this for a few years now.

Yeah, I'm a bit of a dab hand.

In fact, this is a clip of me earlier on.

All right, fine, that's not supposed to happen. That's rewinding.

We recorded it earlier. But people can do it that fast in real-life.

It's true. You don't believe me, do you? OK, watch this.

This is the World Sport Stacking Championships,

taking place next weekend in South Korea.

Sport stacking involves stacking plastic cups in specific sequences

in as little time as possible.

At the World Championships,

the best of the best compete against each other.

Over two days, 300 of the world's fastest stackers

from 18 different countries will come together

to vie for the title in several events.

Individuals, Doubles, Relays

and the Speed Stacks International Challenge.

Just in case you're wondering,

that footage you saw was not sped up.

That was actual real time. There's a guy in the studio

who can do it in real life. Let's have a round of applause for James.

APPLAUSE

-So good to see you. Welcome to the show.

-Thank you.

So, the World Championships next weekend.

You're representing Great Britain.

-That is correct.

-How does it feel?

-I feel really excited about it.

I've really wanted to represent my own country

and it's something I've really wanted to do.

-You've been doing it for a long time?

-For nearly five years already.

Five years' training gets you some medals. Check these out.

These are gold medals and a bronze medal at the end.

-Tell us how you got those.

-Those are from Germany

and the other one is from America.

I came eighth place in 3-3-3, tenth place in 3-6-3

and fifth place in the cycle.

3-3-3, 3-6-3 are names of different sequences that you do with the cups?

-That's right.

-You're going to teach me the 3-3-3, which is three cups.

Before I do that, we're going to see just how good James is.

This is World Championship standard.

It's all yours. What is this one called?

-This is the cycle, the hardest for beginners to do.

-OK. It's all yours.

YES!

Radzi clearly very excited! This is slow motion - it still looks quick.

It's ridiculous, James.

That is some practice you've done there.

So I had a little go at the 3-3-3 earlier on.

I thought I might have a go now.

So just to give you an idea of how quick James is

and how slow I am, this is how I do it.

You ready? 3-2-1, go!

And a little girly jump at the end.

So I think I'm ready for this. I think we should do a race.

-Are you up for the challenge, soldier?

-Yeah.

-But I don't want to go too fast on you.

-You go as fast as you like.

It doesn't matter, because you'll be blindfolded.

Thank you very much.

That's fair, innit? World Champ.

Ready for this? I can't believe he's doing this blindfolded.

In three, two, one... Go!

Really? World Championship standard, blindfolded.

A huge round of applause for James,

and best of luck at the World Championships.

-Thank you very much.

-Well done, mate. Incredible.

I cannot believe that, James. You are amazing.

We know that you love using loads of bright colours in your artwork.

Have a look at this from Maisey from Liverpool.

She sent in this Blue Peter colourful bit of artwork.

A couple of weeks ago, I got to go to a new exhibition in London.

And trust me, the word colourful doesn't even begin to cut it.

This spring, London is playing host

to the big exhibition of the art world.

People will come from all over the world

to see the works of French artist Henri Matisse.

While other artists like Edward Hopper were painting pictures

with darker shades that were as realistic as possible

Matisse did things his own way using bright, bold colours

to make his images stunning.

In this, a simple oil painting of a blue table,

Matisse has used colours that ooze life

and are intended to just look good.

His influence can be seen everywhere,

from the bold colours of modern architecture

to fashion, interior design and even book covers.

But people heading to this exhibition

aren't coming along for the paintings.

In his later life, Matisse picked up scissors and started to cut.

By cutting into brightly coloured paper and creating bold shapes

and lines, he invented a whole new art form.

Painting with scissors.

Matisse's cut outs are now thought to be his boldest

and most imaginative work.

Flavia is the assistant curator of the exhibition at Tate Modern.

So cutting out shapes seems to be something that's quite simple.

So why does Matisse do it in such a special, clever way?

Actually, it's more difficult than you think.

For a start, he's using different-sized scissors.

-He has scissors going from this big to this big.

-Oh, wow.

Depending on the shapes, he's adapting

and using different scissors. And secondly, the dexterity of his hand

is so fluid that even though the shapes look simple,

they actual take a lot of work.

He's doing it all in one go. He doesn't stop.

What makes Matisse famous is his different use of colours.

It's bright and vivid.

How do you think that has impacted what we see around us today?

Even the most simple things,

the idea of bringing together two very bright colours,

like purple and orange,

-it's a very Matissian idea.

-He wasn't afraid of colour clash!

-No.

-A bit like us today!

-Exactly. We're very Matissian.

So I'm dressed for the part.

How can I help to put the finishing touches to the exhibition?

-This is your artwork, the one you're going to help us hang.

-OK.

-What is this one called?

-Small Dancer On A Red Background.

-It's tiny and delicate compared to the bigger ones.

-It is.

It's one of the earliest works he made.

-What do we need to do first?

-We need to go and stand here.

-So that we have a good distance.

-And these guys are going to help us.

They are.

So, they're going to hold it up for us.

And now the tough decision.

To the left? To the right?

I would say there's a smaller gap here than there

so I would move it to the left. Is that wrong?

-Slightly wrong...

-OK.

-..because this work relates to that work,

-so the gap should be smaller.

-So, you reckon there?

-Is that a good spot?

-I think they should put it there.

What do you normally do when you're happy? Big thumbs up?

-I say, "Let's put it up."

-Let's put it up.

-And there it is. It looks good, right?

-Well done.

-Thank you.

I was so lucky to go to that.

I had a great time. thank you so much, Flavia,

for helping me out as well.

Now, something we're going to be showing you how to do today is

these - because whilst Matisse artwork might look really complicated

and fantastic, it's actually very easy to create yourself using

loads of different colours and shapes.

Today, we'll show you how to make your very own

Matisse-inspired artwork with a bit of a Blue Peter twist.

And joining me today is a very special guest, live on the show.

-It is the great-granddaughter of Matisse, please welcome Sophie!

-Hi.

Hi, Sophie. Thank you so much for coming here.

-It's really, really special to have you here.

-For me, too.

And now someone else we've got joining us

as well was the person who made this.

It's another Matisse-inspired bit of artwork.

And we thought, you know what,

it's so good, we need to get Jessica on the show. Please welcome Jessica.

APPLAUSE

Hi, guys. Thank you so much for coming in.

Now, Jessica, before I ask you who you've got here, talk me

through how you made this, cos it looks amazing.

I just got a lot of plastic bags and sort of

mushed them all together.

And then ironed them with parchment paper on top and bottom.

-So they all melted together to make this Blue Peter logo?

-Yeah.

It's really creative, we love it. Thank you for coming in.

Who have you brought with you today?

I've brought my sister Emily, my friend Amelia,

my brother Ben, and Finn.

Hi, guys.

While you get started - you've already made a little start

on your Matisse artwork - what are we going to need?

-We're going to need a Blue Peter ship cut out.

-Emily?

-Coloured paper.

Lots of coloured paper. Very important.

A white A3 piece of paper.

-Ben.

-Some glue.

-And scissors.

Thank you, Finn. Beautifully delivered, everyone.

Remember, all the details on the website. So check those out later.

But now, sit back, relax,

and watch us make these Matisse-inspired bits of artwork.

Now, Sophie, you're an artist yourself.

So what's it like to see this exhibition come together?

-It must be quite special for you.

-It is very special.

Everything feels very alive.

The show is beautiful, the colours are amazing.

That really struck me when I went, there's just colour everywhere.

-And it took quite a long time...

-It took five years.

-Five years?

Five years to collect the work that was shown coming from America,

coming from Europe, coming from Russia, from all over the world.

So it's a very special event.

-And quite emotional because it's your great-grandfather.

-Yes, absolutely.

-But the colours are absolutely... They're very alive.

-Very bold.

And that's the key here.

Basically, all you need to do is remember to use

loads of different colour.

It's not difficult, as long as you're getting shapes

and lots of different colour. That's the most important thing.

As we can see, demonstrated beautifully by Jessica.

How are you getting on?

Good. I'm making a paintbrush and paint splat Matisse-inspired...

-Oh, I like it. Is that cos you're into art?

-Yes.

I like the brushes as well. They look brilliant. What about you, Emily?

I'm making a Blue Peter logo

with lots of colours around it.

That looks brilliant.

And, if you remember when I held this one up earlier, you can

just make out that, amongst all the shapes and colour, there is,

actually, the Blue Peter logo right there.

You can see the sails of the ship, the hull,

and then the sea over there.

So, remember, you can get that template from the website,

if you need it.

Now, we've got some great footage, Sophie.

If you look behind you, it's your great-grandfather actually working.

-He looks good, no?

-He looks brilliant.

What is brilliant as well is

-the way he's cutting is so smooth and so quick.

-Yes.

It's not random, what he's doing, is it? He's not just guessing.

No, he's thought about it a lot before.

It's gone over in his mind, over and over again.

So, by the time he gets to the scissors,

it's just very smooth flowing.

He really is just painting with scissors, isn't he?

-It's how we would do a brush stroke.

-It's coming very easy to him. Yeah.

Actually, he made some massive paintings as well. How big were they?

Cos he used to cover his studio, didn't he?

Yeah, he had walls of 3m by 15m. I mean The Snail is...

I think it's about 3m by 3m.

-Almost verging on as big as me.

-Yeah, it's much bigger than us.

Talk us through The Snail a little bit.

-It's one of his most famous bits of art.

-It's really nice.

I mean, you have huge blocks of stunning colour.

It feels very alive.

You can't tell quite where the head is or where the tail is,

but that's part of the fun, is to try to... Where do you think it is?

-For everybody, it might be different.

-Everybody can understand

Matisse artwork differently.

And if you don't have scissors, you can always tear the paper.

That's very Blue Peter, we like that.

Just tear it. Do whatever you want and be creative.

Amelia, how are you getting on? Yours is very neat.

-It's not torn at all, is it?

-No.

-She has several pairs of scissors.

Lots of scissors for yours! What's your inspiration?

-I'm making a dog because I have a dog at home.

-I like that.

And there is lots of colours. It's very bold. What about you, Ben?

-How are you getting on?

-I'm making a football.

You're a big football fan, aren't you?

Shall we have a look at them all,

cos we've all been working on these this afternoon.

So, let's hold them up.

Quick, Finn, get that last bit on.

Don't panic.

They look absolutely brilliant, well done, everyone.

Jessica, thank you so much for giving us this inspiration. And remember,

if you have a go at home, do take a picture and e-mail it to us.

Sophie, a massive thank you for coming in.

-It's been really special having you here.

-Thank you so much.

-Thank you.

How are you getting on, boys?

We're having a great time over here, thank you very much.

Do you know what? Really simple but so effective. Really like that.

Now, we hope you at home have a go as well.

It's almost the end of the show

but we've got a poptastic treat for you.

Yeah, he stormed into the charts

with a top five debut single, Do It All Over Again.

He's here to perform his brand-new single. Before we speak to him...

Or before he sings, let's speak to him, the right way round!

Let's get a round of applause for Elyar Fox.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Welcome.

-Down low. How you doing?

-Here we go.

-Yowzers!

-(Sorry.)

-Good to see you.

-You, too.

-What have you been up to? It's been a while.

-Everything.

I've been on tour with The Wanted, which was amazing.

And I've just been working on my new single, A Billion Girls,

-and getting the album ready for the summer.

-Fantastic.

We've got lots of questions in for you. It's just gone mad.

Let's go for it.

Rubynuttyhobbit, hands down my favourite name ever,

"If you could be a presenter of any show, what would it be?"

-Apart from Blue Peter.

-Oh, really? I was going to say Blue Peter.

-It does seem like a lot of fun.

-It's amazing fun.

-And they give us chocolate.

-Blue Peter badges everywhere.

Always wear it, on the left-hand side for the boys.

Pearlairfig says, "Hey, Elyar, I'd like to ask you

"how you became a singer and did anyone inspire you?"

Well, really, I've always been into music,

since I was about six when I bought my first album.

And I've always loved pop music.

So I kind of knew it was one thing which I had to be doing.

And, also, Bruno Mars, big inspiration for me these days.

Really like him.

You bought your first album when you six.

I was still making bubbles in the bath at that point.

I was making bubbles in the bath, and listening to music.

Aquabubblycondor says, "Do you have any secret talents?"

Any secret talents?

I've got a few. One of them...

MAKES BUBBLE NOISES

-Talking about bubbles in the bath!

-Oh, yeah!

-Brilliant.

Maroonbanana says, "What advice would you give to someone

"who wanted to join the music world?"

I think it's just persistence. And you need to be dedicated.

I think as long as you don't give up, people are always going to try

and doubt you and put you down, but it should only make you stronger.

-I like that.

-One last question from Pearlgroovydevil who says,

"Hi, Elyar.

"My question is, what's your favourite pizza topping?"

It's a classic. "And, PS, I Love you Elyar Fox."

-I love you too, Barney.

-That wasn't me.

-My favourite pizza... Oh.

My favourite pizza topping, this is going to sound really boring

because I go through moods of what I like. It's a bit like music.

Sometimes you want rock, sometimes R&B, you kind of go through phases.

One thing which always is consistent with my pizza love is Margarita.

It's Margarita. In fact, I'm ordering one right after the show.

You've got to sing a song first, get yourself ready.

While he does, here's what's happening on next week's show.

Make sure you join us cos we're going to be kicking off our

Blue Peter Green Season so we're live from the Blue Peter garden.

We're going to be getting dirty hands in the garden as well

with the Skinny Jeans Gardeners. And Diarmuid Gavin's going to show you

how to build something really cool

using flowers and the Blue Peter badge as inspiration.

And to celebrate Shakespeare's 450th birthday, we'll be going to

the Globe to find out about special effects back in Shakespeare's time.

If you got in touch last week to send your Easter messages,

watch the bottom of the screen right now.

First, here's Elyar Fox performing his brand-new A Billion Girls.

CHEERING

# I heard Rihanna wants your body

# With curves like the streets of Monaco

# And everybody says you're trouble

# But I don't wanna know, no

# I don't wanna know

# Tried, tried, tried but they don't measure up

# While all this time, time, time

# You're spilling over the cup

# And maybe I

# And maybe I

# Should listen to my head

# But my heart says

# I could go from London to LA

# I could look a million times a day

# The way I feel is never gonna change

# It's never gonna change

# They tell me that I'm young

# And I should wait

# But then you'd be the one who got away

# The way I feel is never gonna change

# And all that I can say

# There's a billion girls in the world

# But there's only one you

# You

# A billion girls in the world

# But there's only one you

# You

# I must have died and gone to heaven

# Or has an angel fallen from the sky?

# And everybody says I'm crazy Well, maybe

# But you are my kryptonite

# Because I've tried, tried, tried but they don't measure up

# While all this time, time, time

# You're spilling over the cup

# And maybe I

# And maybe I

# Should listen to my head

# But my heart says

# I could go from London to LA

# I could look a million times a day

# The way I feel is never gonna change

# And all that I can say

# There's a billion girls in the world

# But there's only one you

# You

# There's a billion girls in the world

# But there's only one you

# You

# There's just something about you

# That makes me feel like I want to

# So, baby, hear when I tell you

# It's tr-u-u-u-u-e

# There's a billion girls in the world

# But there's only one

# There's a billion girls in the world

# But there's only one

# One, one

# Wh-o-o-o-o-a

# I could look a million times a day

# The way I feel is never gonna change

# Never gonna change

# They tell me that I'm young And I should wait

# But then you'd be the one who got away

# The way I feel is never gonna change

# And all that I can say

# There's a billion girls in the world

# But there's only one you

# You

# A billion girls in the world

# But there's only one you

# You, you. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE