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Peter Purves | |
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.jpg) Purves in 2010 | |
| Born | Peter John Purves (1939-02-10)10 February 1939 (age 86) New Longton,Lancashire, England |
| Occupation(s) | Television presenter, actor |
| Years active | 1965–present |
| Notable work | Steven Taylor inDoctor Who (1965–1966) Blue Peter Presenter (1967–1978) |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | www |
Peter John Purves (/ˈpɜːvɪs/; born 10 February 1939) is an English television presenter and actor. Beginning his career as an actor, he joinedDoctor Who to playSteven Taylor, a companion of theFirst Doctor, which he played from 1965 until 1966. In 1967, he became a presenter on the children's programmeBlue Peter, where he remained for eleven years. He has continued to make regular television appearances, including coverage of theCrufts dog show.
Purves was born inNew Longton, Lancashire. His father was a tailor who also ran a hotel inBlackpool for a short period. He was educated at the independentArnold School in Blackpool and in the sixth form atBarrow-in-Furness Grammar School for Boys for a year, where he tookA-levels and gained a pass in mathematics.[1] He originally planned to go into teaching, training atAlsager College of Education, but began to act with theBarrow-in-FurnessRepertory Company instead.
At 26 years old in 1965, Purves first appeared inDoctor Who in the role of Morton Dill, an American tourist, inThe Chase after being cast by directorRichard Martin.[2]
Purves then appeared later in the same story as space pilotSteven Taylor, and became well known to television audiences in that role, as one of the early time-travelling companions in the programme, whenthe Doctor was played byWilliam Hartnell.[3] He has provided DVD commentaries for many of the survivingDoctor Who episodes he appeared in and documents the making of each of hisDoctor Who stories in his autobiography,Here's One I Wrote Earlier. He was also a good friend of the actorJon Pertwee, who played theThird Doctor.[4]
Purves has said that he prefers the historical stories on the show, such asThe Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve andThe Myth Makers.[2]
In 2007, Purves returned to the role of Steven Taylor in the audio dramaMother Russia and has portrayed him in several additional audio dramas in the years since.
In 2023, Purves reprised his role as Steven in the seriesTales of the TARDIS.[5]
After leavingDoctor Who, Purves became a regular presenter on the children's magazine programmeBlue Peter from 1967 to 1978.[6] He co-presentedBlue Peter first withJohn Noakes andValerie Singleton which created the "Val, John and Pete" line up and are often referred to as "the dream team" and then with Noakes andLesley Judd, during the programme's perceived golden age. After Noakes, Purves is the longest-serving maleBlue Peter presenter.
Purves maintained his connection toDoctor Who throughout his time onBlue Peter, often hosting special features on the programme and interviewing the actors. These included clips from episodeswhich are otherwise now lost, includingThe Daleks' Master Plan, in which Purves himself had appeared.
Dogs have featured in Purves's career since hisBlue Peter days when he was given charge of one of the "Blue Peter Pets",Petra, a German Shepherd cross. Purves also presented the spin-offBlue Peter Special Assignment.
After leavingBlue Peter, Purves presentedStopwatch andWe're Going Places, then had spells as the front man for darts events on the BBC[4] and as presenter of the long-running BBC1 motorcycle trials seriesKick Start.[7]
Purves's later TV career has included cameo appearances in episodes of the soap operaEastEnders and sitcomThe Office. InThe Office episode "Training Day" Purves played himself in a customer care training video that David Brent and his staff were being shown (Purves is in fact a qualified business trainer and a motivational speaker).
Purves has had a 40-year association with television coverage of majordog shows such asCrufts and his 2007 appearance as a judge on the reality TV programmeThe Underdog Show. He also writes for the dog press and regularly presents at dog award shows. Marking his 70th birthday, his 2009 autobiographyHere's One I Wrote Earlier was released atThe Kennel Club.
Purves has worked as apantomime director and has directed over 30 pantomime productions.[7] In December 2012, he portrayed Alderman Fitzwarren inDick Whittington at Harpenden Public Halls: this was the first time he performed in pantomime since 1985. He is also anafter-dinner speaker.[7]
In 2024 he appeared asCharles Dickens in a live radio play ofA Christmas Carol at theHawth Theatre in Crawley. He performed the same role in 2025.[8]
Purves lived for a time in theBilton area of Rugby, Warwickshire,[9] and then Northamptonshire. He now lives in the Suffolk village ofSibton with his wife, the West End actressKathryn Evans.[10] He was previously married from 1962 to 1982 to a Leeds-born playwright, Gilly Fraser (actual name Gillian Emmett).[11] In 2008, Valerie Singleton revealed she had enjoyed a "brief fling" with Purves when he was "between marriages".[12]
Purves is a supporter ofTottenham Hotspurfootball club, having attended his first game atWhite Hart Lane in 1959.[13] Purves is an atheist.[14]
In December 2022 Purves received an honorary fellowship from theUniversity of Central Lancashire. A university spokesman said his "inspirational career" had shown "a significant contribution in services to television, in acting and presenting".[15]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Doctor Who:Mother Russia[18] | Steven Taylor |
| 2010 | Doctor Who:The Suffering[19] | |
| 2011 | Doctor Who:The Perpetual Bond[20] | |
| Doctor Who:The Cold Equations[21] | ||
| Doctor Who:Tales from the Vault[22] | ||
| Doctor Who:The First Wave[23] | ||
| Doctor Who:The Five Companions[24] | ||
| 2012 | Doctor Who:The Anachronauts[25] | |
| Doctor Who:The Burning Prince[26] | ||
| Doctor Who:Return of the Rocket Men[27] | ||
| 2013 | Doctor Who:Upstairs[28] | |
| Doctor Who:The Light at the End[29] | ||
| 2014 | Doctor Who:The War to End All Wars[30] | |
| Doctor Who:The Bounty of Ceres[31] | ||
| Doctor Who:An Ordinary Life[32] | ||
| 2015 | Doctor Who:Flywheel Revolution[33] | |
| Doctor Who:The Secret History[34] | ||
| Doctor Who:The First Doctor Volume One[35] | ||
| Doctor Who:Etheria[36] | ||
| 2016 | Doctor Who:This Sporting Life[37] | |
| Doctor Who:The Ravelli Conspiracy[38] | ||
| Doctor Who:The Sontarans[39] | ||
| 2017 | Doctor Who:The First Doctor Volume Two[40] | |
| Doctor Who:Short Trips: O Tannenbaum[41] | ||
| 2018 | Doctor Who:The Dalek Occupation of Winter[42] | |
| Doctor Who:An Ideal World[43] | ||
| Doctor Who:Entanglement[44] | ||
| Doctor Who:The Crash of the UK-201[45] | ||
| 2019 | Doctor Who:The First Doctor Volume 03[46] | |
| Doctor Who:Daughter of the Gods[47] | ||
| Doctor Who:Peace in Our Time[48] | ||
| 2020 | Doctor Who:Out of the Deep[49] | |
| 2021 | Doctor Who:The Secrets of Det-Sen[50] |
| International | |
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| Artists | |
