Peter Jackson Earns Rare Blue Peter Gold Badge

Sir Peter Jackson has received Blue Peter’s highest accolade – a gold badge. The Oscar-winning director, who is best known for The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit films, joins just a select group of adult winners of the UK prize, including Steven Spielberg, JK Rowling, the Queen and Roald Dahl.

A Blue Peter badge is an award for Blue Peter viewers, given by the BBC children’s television programme for those appearing on the show, or in recognition of achievement.

Jackson was given the honour for being an inspiration to young children, the show said.

Accepting the prize, the 57-year-old New Zealander, said he had become “very good” at “pretending I have all the answers”.

“The first thing I ever won when I was young was a film competition on a TV show that was very much the same as Blue Peter and that actually gave me the confidence to carry on,” he told presenter Radzi Chinyanganya.

“Every time you make a film you are scared, but you should never let fear concern you because you should be scared. Being scared is the best motivational tool you can have.

“Every time I drive to set I know the second I stop and get out of the car I will have the responsibility for shooting a scene and all these people are going to be expecting me to have all the answers and I don’t have the answers, but I get very good at acting and pretending I do.

“So don’t be worried if you are scared.”

Presenting his latest award, Chinyanganya said: “On Blue Peter we are all about one word – inspiration – and we think you personify that.

“Your favourite film when you were younger was King Kong and you went on to actually direct this yourself.

“You have personified creativity, you have been entertaining and inspiring, and on behalf of the show we would like to award you our highest possible accolade, the Blue Peter gold badge.”

Only “extraordinary” adults can be awarded a gold badge.

Original article by Sky News, December 13, 2018.