A TV producer who spent more than 30 years working on the classic children’s show Blue Peter was the speaker at the Christmas meeting of the East Devon Luncheon Club.

Alex Leger started out working with Blue Peter legends John Noakes, Peter Purves and Lesley Judd, and subsequently worked with every one of the 30 or so presenters who followed them until his retirement.

He has written a book called 'Blue Peter: Behind The Badge', covering the 36 years during which Alex was often responsible for the show’s most iconic reports from around the world.

Alex is based in Topsham, where he lived as a child. He served as an Army officer before moving into television, and returned to Topsham after retiring.

Simon Card, chairman of the East Devon Luncheon Club, said: "Alex, joined by his wife Lynne, entertained us wonderfully following our lunch - he could have talked to us for ages, all our members and guests really enjoyed his story-telling.

"He was a most amusing and interesting speaker and his talk was much enjoyed by nearly 70 members and guests present at the Victoria Hotel for the last meeting of 2023.

"One famous scene he spoke of was the cleaning undertaken by John Noakes at the top of Nelson’s Column. He enthralled everybody with the background of how the production team put the iconic scene together for Blue Peter …  although a great deal of care was taken, particularly as Noakes was a very well-known TV presenter, the rules about Health and Safety in those days were not like they are today!"