Helen Skelton: The things people do for a Blue Peter badge
IF anyone deserves a Blue Peter badge it’s the show’s presenter Helen Skelton.
Yesterday she became the first person to walk a tightrope between Battersea Power Station’s chimneys.
The daredevil 27-year-old took 14 minutes to complete the 500ft walk between two of the building’s iconic towers to raise money for Comic Relief.
With a safety harness attached and battling blustery winds, she navigated the 18mm-thick wire 213ft above the London landmark as part of Red Nose Day 2011.
She said: “I’m so proud of myself for managing to keep my nerves in check and not wobbling on the wire. There were a few hairy moments when I had to stop myself looking down. I can’t lie, I was incredibly nervous staring over the edge waiting to begin but as soon as I stepped off it was an amazing rush.
“The training has been tough and I have never had so many bruises but it has been worth it.”
She was inspired by the Oscar-winning 2008 documentary Man On Wire, which shows Frenchman Philippe Petit walking a tightrope between the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center in 1974.