Actor, Television Presenter, Pantomime Dame, Climate Activist and former Chief Scout Peter Duncan sat down with fairypowered to answer 20 questions. Peter is just about to take his one man show A Falling Tree to The Fringe at Prestonfield, Edinburgh on Saturday 26 August. Tickets can be purchased here
Let’s start with a few favourites
Favourite Book
The Earth Transformed by Peter Frankopan
Favourite Song
Heart of the Country by Paul McCartney
Favourite Music
My daughters, they are singer songwriters
Favourite Food
It’s got to be Italian
Favourite Drink
A good red wine to go with the Italian food
What advice would you give to 16 year old Peter
Always be yourself
What was your first role
My first professional role was Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island
What is your favourite role
Denry Machin in The Card, a musical based on the novel by Arnold Bennett.
Peter starred in the 1994 revival at Regents Park Open Air Theatre
If you could be someone else for the day, who would it be
Greta Thunberg
What’s the nicest/weirdest gift you’ve been given by fans
I was in the film, Flash Gordon and was killed by having my arm ripped off by the Stump Monster. Blue Peter presented me with the Stump Monster and I’ve still got it.
Do you prefer acting or presenting
Acting but I’ve enjoyed the challenges the I’ve had from presenting
How did you become Chief Scout
I was a cub scout in my youth and they asked me to be Chief Scout after I’d done the expeditions with my family.
Peter was was appointed as the Scout Association’s Chief Scout, for a five-year tenure from 5 September 2004 to July 2009
Do you still have your green check suit
Yes, but it doesn’t fit anymore
You did Blue Peter twice, were you happy to return
I did Duncan Dares and then went back into Blue Peter so I had two careers running at once.
Peter joined the Blue Peter team in September 1980, he is the only presenter to do two stints on the programme. September 1980 – June 1984. Peter returned to Blue Peter in September 1985 and stayed for a further 15 months. He also filmed a further six Duncan Dares. He has often made guest appearances on the programme including in 2007 when he was awarded a Gold Blue Peter Badge
Do you still run Marathons
I ran my last one in 2021.
He still holds the record for the fastest run by a Blue Peter presenter at 3 hours 11 minutes and 42 seconds
How did you become a bit of an action man
I enjoyed the thrill and was quite sporty, so I took on the challenges. I sometimes look back on them and wonder why I did it. Apart from cleaning the face of Big Ben, I did Flying Trapeze and took part in the Royal Marines Endurance Course.
Why did you do the travelling with your family
My mum died and wanted to celebrate her life so we went three times.
Between 1999 and 2005, Peter filmed and produced three travelogue documentary series. Each series consisted of six episodes and featured his family embarking on backpacking trips around the world. The family consists of his wife Annie, and their four children: Lucy, Katie, Georgia and Arthur. The first series, Travel Bug, charted a six-month tour of the world. Filmed in 1999 when the children were aged 7 to 13, the series was shown on children’s television on BBC1. The next series, Chinese Breakaway, charted the family’s two-month backpacking trip across China in 2002. The series was aired on Five and Sky Travel. In the third series, Arthur’s trip to India (also aired on Five), Peter’s 13-year-old son was featured as the chief presenter. A one-off additional episode (Arthur’s trip to Jordan) followed his son to the heart of the Middle East.
Do you still have your Blue Peter badge
The ones I have left I give them away to good causes
And now you are an Eco Warrior.
As a newly appointed Ambassador for Se-ed (Sustainability and Environmental Education), I’m taking my ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’ for all ages to explore and to discover what we have lost and what we might lose in the future. A Falling Tree overlaps what I did with Blue Peter and Scouts. It’s all about sustainability and while we are floundering, it might give us some answers of how we can help. It’s a family show but anyone can come along.
And what will you be up to next
I’m in the middle of moving to the countryside, to try to lead a more sustainable life and to live by example.
Peter’s plans for his current move from London to a new home in the countryside where he hopes, alongside his wife and grown-up children, to regenerate fifteen acres of land with wildflower meadows and orchards and to create a bio-diverse patch of land.
A Falling Tree at The Fringe at Prestonfield, Edinburgh, on Saturday 26 August 2023 at 12pm.
Peter will not only talk about his own global adventures and how they have fed into his take on the subject, but he will also be asking the age-old question ‘if a tree falls down in the forest and there’s no one to hear it, does it make a sound?’ There will be an audience Q & A to discuss potential answers to this dilemma, and perhaps a quick song about extinction at the end! The event is for eco-warriors of all ages.
Book now: www.fringeatprestonfield.co.uk.