Blue Peter time capsule accidentally dug up

  • Published
Katy Hill and Richard Bacon

A time capsule buried 19 years ago by children's TV programme Blue Peter has been accidentally dug up by work men.

Presenters Katy Hill and Richard Bacon buried The Millennium Time Capsule under the Millennium Dome, now the O2 Arena, in 1998.

A time capsule is a collection of things put in sealed container, with the aim of giving people in the future an idea of what life was like in the year it was buried. The Blue Peter time capsule was created to mark the end of the last Millennium.

Image caption,

A Tellytubby, a Blue Peter badge, and a Tamagochi were in the capsule

In a competition, viewers had been asked to asked to send in ideas for things they would like to put inside.

The winning entries included roller blade wheels, an asthma inhaler, Tellytubby dolls, a France 1998 World Cup football and a Roald Dahl book.

Other items included:

  • Toy Car

  • A Grandad's letter about how life has changed during his life-time

  • A video of a kids walk to school

  • Various stamps

  • Set of British coins

  • Cubs scarf and toggle

  • Roller blade wheels

  • Insulin pen

  • Photographs of Oblivion ride in Alton Towers

  • Spice Girls CD

  • Photographs of Princess Diana

A spokesperson for the O2 Arena said that the capsule was "accidently damaged during excavations. The capsule and its contents are safely stored in our office and we've let the team at Blue Peter know.

"We're going to work with them to either repair or replace the capsule and bury it again for the future."

A BBC spokesperson said: "Although a little earlier than anticipated, we're looking forward to sharing these memories with our viewers and making new ones as we return the capsule to the earth so that it can be reopened in 2050 as originally planned."