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Richard Marson (born c.1967) is an English writer, television producer and director, best known as a former editor-in-chief of the

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's children's television programme ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Tel ...

''. In September 2007, Marson was sacked from his post for making an editorial decision on the naming of the new ''Blue Peter'' cat, thus overriding the results of online vote on the programme in January 2006. Despite this, he remains the programme's "unofficial historian". Marson has directed and produced a number of documentaries, including ''Children's TV on Trial'', ''

Upstairs Downstairs Upstairs Downstairs may refer to: Television *Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series), ''Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1971 TV series), a British TV series broadcast on ITV from 1971 to 1975 *Upstairs Downstairs (2010 TV series), ''Upstairs Downstairs'' ...

Remembered'', and ''Tales of Television Centre'' (2012).

Early life and career

Marson was educated at

Felsted School (Keep your Faith) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Chris Townsend , r_head_l ...

followed by

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

, where he read for a degree in English, graduating in 1987. As a student he contributed to ''

Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the followi ...

'' and put on plays as a member of Durham University Sensible Thespians (DUST), which would later evolve into the Durham Revue sketch group. Marson won his first

Blue Peter badge 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. They are awarded to children aged 6 to 15, or to adults who have b ...

in 1972, which influenced him to pursue a career with the BBC in 1988. He worked on many TV programmes, including ''

Going Live ''Going Live!'' was a British children's television series that aired on BBC1 from 26 September 1987 to 17 April 1993. It was presented by Phillip Schofield and Sarah Greene. Other presenters included Trevor and Simon, Annabel Giles, Phillip Hod ...

!'', ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'', and eventually ''Blue Peter''. Between 1983 and 1988, he wrote for ''

''. Following five years as a

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

worker as a producer and director for such companies as

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

Planet 24 Planet 24 is a television production company, which produced ''The Big Breakfast'' and '' The Word'' for Channel 4. It had an animation division called Impossible TV, founded in 1997. History Bob Geldof and Tony Boland (television producer) fou ...

, and

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 unt ...

, Marson returned to the BBC to direct ''

Record Breakers ''Record Breakers'' was a British children's TV show, themed around world records and produced by the BBC. It was broadcast on BBC1 from 15 December 1972 to 21 December 2001. It was originally presented by Roy Castle with Guinness World Record ...

'' and ''

Tomorrow's World ''Tomorrow's World'' is a former British television series about contemporary developments in science and technology. First transmitted on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003. The ''Tomorro ...

'', eventually joining ''Blue Peter'' as a producer in 1998. Marson became first the series producer and then the editor of the show, before being sacked in September 2007.

Competition controversies

In October 2006, ''Blue Peter'' ran a competition called "Whose Shoes?". More than 13,800 people entered, with calls costing 10p each, including 3.25p for a

Unicef UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

charity. Because of technical difficulties, the researcher was unable to access callers' details, and subsequently selected the winner from a guest in the studio without referring the decision to the editor, deputy editor, or producer. Along with this, ''Blue Peter'' staff ignored the result of the online poll to name a new kitten, ignoring the winning name – "Cookie" – and calling the pet "Socks" instead. According to former editor

Biddy Baxter Joan Maureen "Biddy" Baxter, MBE (born 25 May 1933) is a British television producer, best known for editing the long-running BBC TV children's magazine show '' Blue Peter'' from 1965 to 1988. As editor of the programme, Baxter devised much of t ...

's book ''Dear Blue Peter'' (see page 283), Marson "had been so concerned about the accuracy of the online votes he made an editorial decision that the kitten (with its four white paws) should be named 'Socks' rather than 'Cookie'. Richard was an inspired editor. His dismissal was a great blow to the programme." Because of Marson's handling of and failure to report the incident he was sacked from CBBC. He had already left ''Blue Peter'' in July 2007. ''Blue Peter'' was fined £50,000 by

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...

. The BBC subsequently apologized for the error of judgement.

Later career

He has produced and directed a 90-minute documentary about

BBC Television Centre Television Centre (TVC) is a building complex in White City, London, White City, West London, that was the headquarters of BBC Television between 1960 and 2013. After a refurbishment, the complex reopened in 2017 with three studios in use for ...

, called ''Tales of Television Centre'', which was first shown on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

on 17 May 2012. The programme had a preview screening at

BFI Southbank BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Institute. His ...

two days before its first transmission. The documentary was commissioned to commemorate the ending of the Centre's role in the Corporation's activities and the site's likely sale. His biography of the last 'classic' ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' producer ''JNT: The Life and Scandalous Times of

John Nathan-Turner John Nathan-Turner (''né'' Turner; 12 August 1947 – 1 May 2002) was an English television producer. He was the ninth producer of the long-running BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who''. He was also the final producer of the series' first ...

'' was published in 2013 by Miwk Publishing. This work details Nathan-Turner's career, his difficulties with BBC superiors and alleges inappropriate behaviour by the producer. This was followed in 2015 by a biography of ''Doctor Who''s first producer,

Verity Lambert Verity Ann Lambert (27 November 1935 – 22 November 2007) was an English television and film producer. Lambert began working in television in the 1950s. She began her career as a producer at the BBC by becoming the founding producer of ...

Son's death

Richard Marson's son Rupert Marson, 14, died at their

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

home in 2008. Police were called to the house on the morning of 8 June, whereupon Rupert Marson was pronounced dead at the scene. At the inquest a verdict of "accidental death" was declared.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marson, Richard 1960s births Living people Blue Peter English television producers People from St Albans People educated at Felsted School Alumni of St Chad's College, Durham