Save Blue Peter garden for the nation, says TV presenter
British TV's most famous garden should be saved for the nation, a leading presenter said today.
Blue Peter's sunken garden, including paving slabs and a statue of Petra the dog, has been packed in storage, but Channel 5 gardener David Domoney is offering to rebuild it as part of a public park.
The garden site, at BBC Television Centre in White City, has been turfed over amid the show's move to Salford's MediaCityUK, which includes a roof garden.
In store are statues of former pet dogs Petra and Mabel plus time capsules and a plaque depicting the Italianate garden's creator, Percy Thrower. Domoney, 48, fears the garden will be broken up piecemeal and could be lost forever.
He said: "The Blue Peter garden is a lasting legacy of someone who inspired 30 years of youngsters watching gardening on kids' TV.
"We want to rebuild it in a park or maybe a hospice."
A BBC spokeswoman said there will be a new Blue Peter garden on the MediaCityUK studio roof. Items from the old garden "will be stored until a new home can be found".
