Simon Thomas (presenter) 2:1 BA Hons degree in history. Having applied for the job three times, Thomas began presenting the children's programme "Blue Peter" on 8 January 1999 replacing the sacked presenter Richard Bacon. Previously he had worked as a runner at Children's BBC and the radio station LBC. During his tenure at "Blue Peter", he ran in the London Marathon twice and two Great North Runs, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and Mont Blanc, completed over 40 solo sky dives with the Royal Air Force, presented a medal at the Commonwealth Games, ran in the 60 metres sprint at the Norwich Union Indoor Athletics
Amnesty International UK Media Awards 1999 and in the arrest of General Pinochet. He also pointed to ongoing issues when he said, "But the reports from Kosovo, from the death cells of the USA, and from Sierra Leone also remind us that it has been an appalling year." The judges for all categories were Andy Blackmore, Romesh Gunesekera, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Mark Lattimer, Jenni Murray, Geoffrey Robertson QC and Mary Ann Sieghart. Amnesty International UK Media Awards 1999 The eighth annual awards were held at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) on 24 June 1999. The awards were hosted by Moira Stuart. The overall