Shep (British Dog)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Shep (1 May 1971 – 17 January 1987) was a ''
Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC ...
'' dog, a
Border Collie The Border Collie is a British list of dog breeds, breed of herding dog of the collie type of medium size. It originates in the region of the Anglo-Scottish border, and descends from the traditional Sheep dog, sheepdogs once found all over the ...
. He was bought by the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
to replace Patch, one of
Petra Petra (; "Rock"), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu (Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: or , *''Raqēmō''), is an ancient city and archaeological site in southern Jordan. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit systems, P ...
's puppies, born in 1965. Shep became the main ''Blue Peter'' dog when Petra died in 1977. Shep debuted on Blue Peter on the 16th September 1971 and was named a week later. Shep is remembered by British television viewers as inseparable from ''Blue Peter'' presenter
John Noakes John Noakes (born John Wallace Bottomley; 6 March 1934 – 28 May 2017) was an English television presenter and actor. He co-presented the BBC children's magazine programme '' Blue Peter'' in the 1960s and 1970s and is the show's longest-servin ...
. Shep was excitable, and Noakes would often have to restrain him. Noakes' common refrain, "Get down, Shep!", became a
catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
, and The Barron Knights released a song with that title. Shep appeared alongside
Valerie Singleton Valerie Singleton (born 9 April 1937) is an English television and radio presenter best known as a regular presenter of the popular children's series ''Blue Peter'' from 1962 to 1972. She also presented the BBC Radio 4 '' PM'' programme for te ...
,
Peter Purves Peter John Purves (; born 10 February 1939) is an English television presenter and actor. Beginning his career as an actor, he joined ''Doctor Who'' to play Steven Taylor (Doctor Who), Steven Taylor, a companion of the First Doctor, which he play ...
,
Lesley Judd Lesley Judd (born 20 December 1946) is a British former television presenter and dancer, best known as a long-serving host of the BBC children's programme '' Blue Peter'' (1972–1979). Background Born in London, the daughter of Leslie T. Judd a ...
and
Simon Groom Simon Groom (born 12 August 1950) is a British producer and director. He was a presenter of '' Blue Peter'' from 1978 to 1986. Early life Groom was born in Chesterfield in Derbyshire, and was brought up on a farm in Dethick, which he later ...
as well as fellow Blue Peter pets Petra, Jason, Jack and Jill and Goldie. One of his most famous moments is when
Roy Castle Roy Castle (31 August 1932 – 2 September 1994) was an English dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician. An accomplished jazz trumpet player, he could also play many other instruments. In a career as a versatile perfo ...
came on the show and Shep tried to join in. Shep left ''Blue Peter'' when Noakes departed the show in June 1978. Shep also appeared with Noakes in six series of '' Go With Noakes'', from 1976 to 1980. Noakes left ''Blue Peter'' on 26 June 1978, and the BBC offered to let him keep Shep, as the dog had lived with him since his TV debut. Despite Shep living with Noakes, the dog was always legally owned by the BBC and in rules that also applied to himself whilst under contract to the BBC, he could not use Shep for advertising or commercial purposes. Noakes was paid a stipend to cover all Shep's costs from the ''Blue Peter'' budget (as was Peter Purves for 'Petra' and later Simon Groom for 'Goldie') and as part of the agreement to keep Shep after leaving the show, Noakes agreed to the maintenance of the no-advertising condition. However, shortly after leaving the show, Noakes was furious to discover that what he called his "dog money" ceased to be paid and he confronted the show's producer
Biddy Baxter Joan Maureen "Biddy" Baxter, MBE (born 25 May 1933) is a British television producer, best known for editing the long-running BBC TV children's magazine show ''Blue Peter'' from 1962 to 1988. As editor of the programme, Baxter devised much of ...
in a phone call. Baxter was adamant that the programme should no longer be responsible for any of Shep's costs after the dog had left ''Blue Peter'', although she did sympathise with some of his argument and felt that the BBC should pay Noakes for Shep to appear in ''Go With Noakes'' or for 'personal appearances' the dog made. However, according to what she later wrote, Noakes was too angry to discuss the matter, and the two rarely spoke again. Soon after this angry confrontation, Noakes relinquished Shep, who went to live with Edith Menzies. Noakes subsequently appeared in a series of television advertisements for
Spillers Spillers Ltd was a British company that owned flour milling operations, operated bakeries and also sold pet food and equine feeds. History The business originated in 1829 from the establishment of a flour mill in Bridgwater, Somerset, by Joel Sp ...
"Choice Cuts" dog food, using a dog that was indistinguishable from Shep but named Skip. The clear subterfuge led to a deeper rift between him and Baxter.Baxter, Biddy (1989), ''Blue Peter The Inside Story'', Interpet Ringpull
BBC Books BBC Books (also formerly known as BBC Consumer Publishing and BBC Publishing) is an imprint majority-owned and managed by Penguin Random House through its Ebury Publishing division. The minority shareholder is BBC Studios, the commercial subsidia ...
;
Noakes called her a "stupid woman" in a televised 2008 documentary celebrating the show's 50th anniversary. Shep died on 17th January 1987. Noakes revealed on ''Fax'' that Shep had died 3 days before. Noakes often became emotional when asked about him; he openly wept on an edition of ''
The Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which The Weakest Link (British game show), first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host ...
'' when hostess
Anne Robinson Anne Josephine Robinson (born 26 September 1944) is a British journalist and television presenter, best known as the host of BBC game show ''The Weakest Link'' from 2000 to 2012, and again in 2017 for a one-off celebrity special for ''Children ...
asked him about the dog.


See also

*
List of individual dogs The following is a list of individual dogs. Actors Advertising * Alex the dog, Banjo, portrayed Carlos, an Irish Setter-Golden Retriever mix and star of Stroh Brewery Company, Stroh's beer advertising in the 1980s. Also mentioned in the 1 ...


References

{{reflist


External links


Shep
from the Blue Peter website Blue Peter 1971 animal births 1987 animal deaths Individual dogs in the United Kingdom