Richard Bacon says the most painful consequence of his 1998 Blue Peter cocaine scandal was learning that his father had hidden in the shower to cry after the story became public.
The broadcaster revisited his dismissal during the July 15 episode of Elizabeth Day’s How to Fail podcast. Bacon said his mother told him the story some time later because his father, a criminal defense lawyer, rarely displayed emotion.
Bacon has not denied taking the drug. During the new interview, he acknowledged that he had used cocaine on multiple occasions and said he understood that his conduct was incompatible with the responsibility and public image attached to presenting Blue Peter.
His Father Hid His Tears After the Story Broke
The News of the World published its report on a Sunday in October 1998. Bacon recalled that his father had to return to court the following morning and went into the shower so that his wife would not hear him crying.
His mother did not tell Bacon immediately. When she eventually explained that it was the only time she had heard his father cry, Bacon said the discovery intensified his shame over the effect the scandal had on his family.
“Even to this day,” he said, the memory remains difficult. Bacon was 22 and had spent approximately 20 months presenting Blue Peter alongside Katy Hill, Konnie Huq, Stuart Miles and Romana D’Annunzio.
The BBC terminated his contract after he admitted taking cocaine. Lorraine Heggessey, then head of Children’s BBC, appeared on television to explain the decision to young viewers, telling them Bacon had let himself, the Blue Peter team and the audience down.
Bacon Says His Best Friend Sold the Story
Bacon told Day that the source of the exposé had been a close friend from his earlier days at BBC Radio Nottingham. He said the friend called him, recorded their conversation and passed the material to the newspaper.
He described the experience as a betrayal and suggested that jealousy over his television success may have motivated the friend. Bacon did not name him.
Bacon has given a similar account in previous interviews. In 2009, he said a best friend had taped their phone conversation, sold it to the News of the World and that he never saw him again.
He Said He Was Made to Hand Back His Blue Peter Badge
Along with losing his presenting job, Bacon said he was instructed to surrender his Blue Peter badge. He joked on the podcast that the process felt like leaving a police department and handing over an official badge.
Bacon went on to work on The Big Breakfast and Top of the Pops, as well as programs for Capital FM, Xfm and BBC Radio 5 Live.
He was welcomed back for Blue Peter’s 60th-anniversary celebration in 2018. Bacon said former presenter Peter Purves pinned a replacement badge on him in front of other alumni, told him “all is forgiven,” and received applause from the group.
The Scandal Still Follows His Career
In a 2021 interview, he said the first line of his obituary would probably still identify him as the presenter fired from Blue Peter.
His full conversation with Day also covers his ADHD diagnosis, alcohol addiction, move to the United States and the 2018 illness that left him in a medically induced coma.