Lorraine: Janet Ellis remembers her late husband

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Sophie Ellis-Bextor, 43, is the daughter of former Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis, 67, and TV and film director Robin Bextor, 69, but revealed to Express.co.uk that she never fancied a career on the small screen herself.

When the mother-of-four was asked whether she thinks her own children will seek a career in showbiz, the hitmaker replied: “You know, my parents were both in TV and that really put me off.

“So, music for me felt like my own thing, so probably my kids will want to find their own thing too.

“My dad was a TV director and producer and obviously my mum was always at the studio. I just think I thought that I didn’t really want to be a TV presenter or in TV production like my step-dad and my step-mum, that was their side of things as well.” 

Following Robin and Janet’s divorce in 1984, he went on to marry Polly Mockford and she wed John Leach. Sadly, John died in 2011 following a battle with cancer. 

On why she decided to embark on a career in music, Sophie explained: “Music was a space that was just mine. My parents loved listening to music and going to gigs, but in terms of the behind-the-scenes stuff and playing festivals and that kind of thing, that wasn’t something that they did. 

“I just really loved the fact that that was my own. And funnily enough my little brother [Jackson] ended up doing the same thing. He’s a drummer, so there must have been something in the atmosphere!” 

Janet presented Blue Peter from 1983 before presenting her final show four years later in 1987. 

It was sometimes claimed that Janet was sacked from the BBC show when she became pregnant with Jackson without being married to his father, John.

However, Janet has since denied the claims and explained that it was her decision to leave.

She said, as reported by The Irish News, that she handed in her notice because it would have been difficult to balance presenting the show with caring for a newborn baby.

After leaving Blue Peter, Janet reduced her work commitments but still held a number of presenting gigs.

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She hosted the BBC’s Open Air programme, appeared as a regular panellist on The Wright Stuff and BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House, to name a few.

In a 2018 interview, Janet joked that she “got away with loads” during her stint on the iconic children’s programme.

She also added that it is much harder for TV personalities to keep their private lives private in this day and age.

She told Good Morning Britain: “We were at a time when it wasn’t an age of social media. Our private lives were allowed to be much more private,” she said. 

“The line now is very much blurred. I got away with loads. Of course I did.

“We all did. It is a children’s programme. We’re adults. We had adult lives.” 

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