Anthea Turner woolly vision for Big Issue

Former GMTV and Blue Peter personality Anthea Turner is leading a knitathon for The Big Issue.

“Whether you’ve been knitting for years or just picked up your needles you can get involved and maybe even help break a world record! You can knit a 6” square to be made into a giant quilt, or hats and scarves and we’re aiming for the world record for the largest number of people knitting simultaneously.” A spokesperson for the organisation says.

With less than a week to go until the ‘big event’ Turner, the face of ‘Get Britain Crafting’ started the seven day countdown to the fundraising knitting session on Saturday at the NEC Hobbycraft Show.

The Big Knitathon is a new Big Issue Foundation sponsored event for this year.

The knitting event is supported by Get Britain Crafting and Deramores. More details can be found at The Big Issue website and Get Britain Crafting.

Coverage will also be screened on the Create and Craft channel which airs on Freeview 36, Sky 671 and Freesat 813. Anthea is best known for her spell with Children’s BBC magazine series Blue Peter in the early 1990s (pictured below) where she famously recreated Tracy Island from Thunderbirds. It became one of Blue Peter’s most popular ‘makes’ in the history of the show.

Turner is also well remembered for her time with ITV breakfast show GMTV, co-hosting the morning live news and features series alongside Eammon Holmes.

“The Big Issue Foundation aims to help homeless people to help themselves, and The Big Issue magazine provides a way for them to make a living, as well as access to healthcare, financial advice, housing and training. The average cost of a positive outcome for a homeless person is just £150.” A spokesperson for the organisation said.