It was a special start to This Morning today as the programme took its viewers on a nostalgic trip back to the 80s with a Blue Peter-inspired opener. Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield were back at the helm of the ITV daytime show.
But as they said their usual hellos and welcomed viewers to the second show of the week, they were quick to point out they had been joined by another TV star - and it was a bit of a reunion. They were joined by Sarah Greene, who presented the show Going Live! with Phillip from 1987 to 1993.
As Holly introduced "Blue Peter legend Sarah Greene", she jokingly said to the two: "Do you know each other?" To which Phillip replied: "We might know each other", and Sarah joked: "It rings a bell..."
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Explaining why Sarah was joining them on the programme, Phillip, 60, revealed that builders had recently discovered a Blue Peter time capsule that had been buried 41 years ago. So Sarah, who co-presenting the children's TV favourite from 1980 until 1983, was there to help him and Holly Willoughby open the box as she was presenting on the day it was buried in 1981.
They were hoping to find tapes of the Blue Peter theme tune, as well as clips from the show and even a script from that very day on Blue Peter. But they were left bitterly disappointed by what was inside.
As they opened the time capsule, Holly, 41, joked: "And a spider comes out of there and...oh look", before Phillip giggled as the capsule was opened and the contents were unidentifiable and almost non-existent.
Sarah then laughed and tried to cover the contents with her hands as she said: "I don't think you need to see." Phillip sprang up to look in the box with a shocked face as he said: "Well, look at that", whilst Sarah exclaimed: "Oh my God... perhaps we should have rushed things up a little more..."
Holly then said: "Did one of the Blue Peter dogs put something inside this?" to which Sarah replied: "Well, I'm not getting close enough to smell that but..."
But mum-of-three Holly tried to remain positive and commented: "Do you know what? I reckon it’s wrapped in plastic and I reckon under there there might be something salvageable. So we’ll have a little rummage." Sarah then said: "We're gonna find out properly a little bit later on aren't we?"
Later on in the show, it was explained that the metal lining in the box had corroded and attacked everything inside, leading to it looking like it did when they opened it up. However, they did manage to rescue some crisp wrappers and sweet wrappers of the day and there was also a disc of a recording of the original theme tune for Blue Peter that was unlikely to be playable.
And while it was a bit of an anti-climax for the presenters, it was also for This Morning viewers who found it a bit 'sad'. @PGUK78 tweeted: "I remember the time capsule being buried in the Blue Peter garden - feels a bit sad @thismorning are opening it already. #ThisMorning."
Another said: "Oh I’m gutted the time capsules not survived @thismorning @RealSarahGreene #ThisMorning," to which Sarah replied: "Me too!!" @JulietMckee shared: "Crikey, this makes me feel old. I remember watching when they buried that time capsule. I bet they thought it would be there longer than 41 years! #ThisMorning."
Meanwhile, others were happy to see Sarah back on screen. @TraylorHolmes said: "The Blue Peter time capsule may not have faired well but Sarah Greene looks great #ThisMorning." @JaneRanderson commented: "#ThisMorning sarah green is so natural she should be full time presenter." @kellymcc5 asked: "Can Sarah Greene come back and present the show along with Craig Doyle #ThisMorning."
But it wasn't all a complete waste of time as Sarah was later joined by and a number of year six students who brought along items to add to a new time capsule, including a Premier League magazine, a playstation controller, a Blue Peter badge, some Beats headphones and "Holly and Phil's mug".
