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The much-loved 大象传媒 One programme Blue Peter is celebrating 50 years on the air this week.

Current and former presenters are to mark the anniversary by visiting Buckingham Palace for tea with Her Majesty The Queen.

Presenting with a young Sarah Greene

And one of those preparing his finest attire for the occasion is Derbyshire's Simon Groom who spent eight happy years fronting the show between 1978 and 1986.

Simon proudly boasts one of the longest tenures on the programme but admits he was very lucky to land the job.

Having grown up on a farm in Dethick, Simon originally trained as a teacher but was bitten by the showbiz bug when a film crew used his father's farm for a shoot.

He called the director for advice on making a demo and was tipped off that bosses at Blue Peter were searching for a replacement for Peter Purves - and after meeting legendary producer Biddy Baxter, Simon was given his big break.

He said: "My farming background was instrumental in me getting the Blue Peter job.

"Biddy Baxter was a very canny editor and I think the reason she was prepared to take a risk with me when I was so wet behind the ears was because she saw the farm in Dethick as a great source of material.

"And so it became that once I'd started we were always going back to Dethick and people always tell me they really enjoyed these films.

"They hadn't really done anything like that before on the programme and I suppose if you've got children living in high rise flats who know nothing of the countryside, it's great to have these farming stories coming into their living rooms through the television."

Interviewing Kevin Keegan

Simon's time on the show saw him work alongside fellow presenters Sarah Greene, Peter Duncan, Janet Ellis and John Noakes and meet major stars including Kevin Keegan and Pele.

But he decided to step down as a main presenter in 1986 to be replaced by flame-haired Mark Curry.

The focus now is on production and documentary-making although he still presents the occasional 大象传媒 programme to 'pay the rent!'

He explained: "It was a marvellous, unique job on Blue Peter - you could argue it's possibly the best job in broadcasting.

"But of course you have to move on and for me it was a natural progression to want to know more about how film works and learn about producing and directing.

"I'm working with a famous film-maker from Derby called Doug Smith who actually directed Roxy Muxic's first video!

"So like myself he's a Derby lad who went up to London to further his career and has now come back to his roots.

"We both love living and working in Derbyshire and it's an exciting time to be in Derby and I'm pleased to say we're very busy!"