Richard Marson

Richard Marson (born c.1967) is an English writer, television producer and director, best known as a former editor in chief of the BBC's children's television programme Blue Peter. 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 Remembered, and Tales of Television Centre (2012).

Marson won his first Blue Peter badge in 1972, which influenced him to pursue a career with the BBC in 1988. He worked on many TV programmes, including Going Live!, Top of the Pops, and eventually Blue Peter. Between 1983 and 1988, he wrote for Doctor Who Magazine.

Following five years as a freelance worker as a producer and director for such companies as Disney, Planet 24, and London Weekend Television, Marson returned to the BBC to direct Record Breakers and Tomorrow's World, 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.

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 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.

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