The wholesome reputation of Blue Peter, the world's longest-running children's TV show, has been frequently marred by the off-screen behaviour of its presenters. From Richard Bacon's cocaine scandal in the '90s to John Leslie's leaked sex tape and sexual assault allegations; Konnie Huq's phone-in controversies and the failure of TV executives to shield their youngest host, Yvette Fielding, from convicted paedophile Rolf Harris, the show has occasionally hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons since its inception in 1958.

But what became of the hosts after they bid farewell to the show? Let's take a look at the very varied fortunes of some of Blue Peter's most beloved presenters....

Arguably one of the show's most notorious former presenters, Richard has since carved out a successful career as a US TV producer in LA, where he generates new concepts for game shows. However, nearly three decades on, Bacon, now 47, remains best known for his dismissal from Blue Peter following a cocaine incident at a London nightclub.

Axed in October 1998, the then 22 year old became the first presenter on the children's programme to have his contract terminated mid-series when he confessed to using the Class A drug after a Sunday tabloid exposed the story. Despite this setback, Bacon's television career managed to weather the storm, and he went on to host The Big Breakfast and Top of The Pops, as well as securing an afternoon slot on BBC Radio 5 Live.

In 2014, Bacon took his career stateside to host a daytime TV show and has since been open about his struggles with addiction, particularly with alcohol. Speaking to The Guardian, he revealed, "My wife would like me to do AA all the time, and I just don't, but I have said I will spend more time with our therapist examining my relationship to drink."

During a visit back to Britain in 2018, Bacon was rushed to A&E at Lewisham hospital after falling ill, where he was so critically sick with pneumonia that doctors placed him into an induced coma. Reflecting on the traumatic event, he recounted what medics told him: "You were lying on the hospital trolley, you were crashing. You turned blue. We thought you were going to go into cardiac arrest and die."

Bacon woke up from a nine-day coma to learn the ICU team had performed a tracheotomy to save him.

Now based in LA with his spouse Rebecca McFarlane and their children Arthur, 14, and Ivy, 11, Bacon humorously notes, "I could bring peace to the Middle East and still, when I die, the top line of the obituary will be 'fired from Blue Peter'."

Turning back the pages, before Bacon's tenure, Scottish host John Leslie graced 'Blue Peter' alongside the late Caron Keating and Anthea Turner from 1989 until 1994. Leslie, who once dated silver screen star Catherine Zeta-Jones, garnered even greater notoriety through his liaison with nurse and model Abi Titmuss, particularly after a video Leslie recorded of her engaged in a sexual encounter with another woman surfaced publicly.

However, Leslie's successful career co-hosting This Morning with Fern Britton took a dramatic turn in 2002 when Swedish TV presenter Ulrika Johnson disclosed in her autobiography that she had been raped at 19 by "an acquaintance", and Leslie's name was inadvertently mentioned on live TV by Matthew Wright.

Despite being cleared of all charges, he revealed to the Scottish Mail, "I lost everything overnight. I'd gone from earning over £300,000 to not a single penny coming in. And I spent about £500,000 on legal costs.Forced to sell his £3.5m mansion and move back to his native Edinburgh, Leslie survived on royalties and DJing. Having fought his way back from being a ".

Forced to sell his £3.5m mansion and return to his hometown of Edinburgh, Leslie managed to survive on royalties and DJing. Having battled his way back from being a "depressed and suicidal" recluse, Leslie, now 60, has reinvented himself as a property developer and resides with his girlfriend Kate Moore.

However, Leslie continues to be plagued by historical assault allegations. A woman claimed he groped her breasts at a celebrity party in 2008, and again in 2017, he was accused of sliding his hand down the back of a woman's trousers while dancing.

Leslie has consistently denied both allegations and was acquitted in both cases.

Rolf Harris, a convicted paedophile, was a frequent guest on many BBC programmes. However, Yvette Fielding, who joined as a co-presenter alongside Mark Curry and Caron Keating at the age of 18 in 1987, disclosed that she was molested by the disgraced entertainer after being left alone with him in a TV studio.

Fielding, now 56, previously criticised the BBC for neglecting its duty of care towards her. Speaking to The Sun, she recounted: "It was bizarre to think Rolf Harris was squeezing and patting my bottom and I am standing there, thinking, 'I don't know what to do.' Other people in the industry must have known what he was like and (they) left me alone in the studio with him. That shouldn't have happened. I think a lot of them did know'."

She is best recognised for co-creating and hosting the paranormal TV show Most Haunted with her husband Karl Beattie, who also serves as the cameraman and producer.

Konnie Huq, Richard Bacon's co-host and the longest-serving female presenter on Blue Peter from 1997 to 2008, had to issue an on-air apology following a phone-in scandal that resulted in the BBC being fined a record £50,000 by Ofcom.

The corporation confessed to faking the results of a competition to identify a celebrity's shoes when technical issues prevented real calls from reaching the studio, leading to a child visitor posing as a caller. Huq was later implicated in a cat-naming controversy on the show.

Reflecting on the incidents, she said, "I was horrified. I couldn't believe it was allowed to happen. It was partly because of the scam I made the decision to leave."

Tied in matrimony to the mastermind behind Black Mirror, Charlie Brooker, the 49 year old London-based mother of two exchanged her TV hosting and celebrity quiz show stints for a writer's retreat where she now thrives as a celebrated children's book author.

Blue Peter, the beloved kid's show, didn't shy away from mischief, engaging in its first pet-related incident back in 1962. It emerged after many years that Petra, the program's inaugural pup, was hurriedly substituted due to the unfortunate passing of the original dog from distemper just a mere two days before making her debut.

Biddy Baxter, the veteran editor of Blue Peter who hung up her hat in 1988, exposed in her tell-all, 'The Woman Who Made Blue Peter', "It was unthinkable to traumatise our youngest viewers, so we had to trawl London for the dead pup's lookalike."

Further drama unfolded with a controversial tussle over ownership of the show's beloved dog Shep following the exit of iconic presenter John Noakes. After a memorable 12-year stint on screen alongside Valerie Singleton and Peter Purves in Blue Peter's heyday, Noakes grudgingly disclosed, "I thought Shep was mine - they told me I could keep him, but they went back on their word."

Now 91, Leicester's own Biddy Baxter shed light in her manuscript on how, indeed, Noakes did hold onto Shep until he, along with his wife Vicky, embarked on a global sailing voyage in 1982, which led to Shep eventually finding a new home with the series' animal carer, Edith Menezes. The year 2017 marked the end of an era with the passing of Noakes.

In 1980, Noakes was succeeded by actor Peter Duncan, who had previously appeared nude in a risque film titled The Lifetaker.

Despite the ensuing controversy, Duncan, who co-hosted alongside Simon Groom, Sarah Greene and Janet Ellis, retained his position. Reflecting on the incident, he stated, "They called me a soft porn star and it was nonsense. Yes, there was a little soft-focus nudity, but it wasn't salacious."

Duncan even made light of the situation in 2014 when he tweeted, "For your pleasure on my 60th trailer from my 1973 'porn' film that caused trauma and headlines."

In the early 2000s, Duncan and his wife Annie produced a series of family holiday documentaries featuring their four children. Now aged 71, the former chief scout remains active every Christmas with his Jack and the Beanstalk panto production.

The show has also seen its share of premature departures.

When Duncan left his initial tenure on the show in 1984, he was replaced by Michael Sundin, whose controversial dismissal followed rumours about his homosexuality in the press. Tragically, Michael passed away at the age of 28 from an Aids-related illness in 1989, although it was reported as "liver cancer" at the time.

Another presenter taken too soon was Gloria Hunniford's daughter Caron Keating, who succumbed to breast cancer in April 2004 after a seven-year battle. She was just 41 and left behind two young sons.

Blue Peter's most enduring male presenter, Peter Purves, remains a vibrant figure at 86. Joining the iconic children's show in 1967 and staying until 1978, Purves is known for his brief romantic encounter with fellow presenter Valerie Singleton during his marriage.

Reflecting on the past, the seasoned presenter confessed, "It was only one night. We remained great friends."

Purves also revealed that his extensive travels for the show led to skin cancer, as he disclosed to The Mail on Sunday: "I travelled to 27 countries with Blue Peter in the 1960s and early 70s."

Both having sidestepped the so-called Blue Peter curse, Purves now enjoys a tranquil life in Suffolk with his wife Kathryn Evans and their beloved dogs. Meanwhile, Singleton, aged 88, chose a life without marriage or children and, after a stint in radio post-Blue Peter, has settled into retirement in Somerset.