'My Blue Peter dragon slide was fit for the Queen'

A schoolboy who won a competition on the BBC's flagship Blue Peter show in 1984 said he was "gobsmacked" when his dragon-themed garden dream came true.

The then 13-year-old Theo Gay Anderson's painting of a dragon-themed slide impressed judges so much that it formed the centrepiece of the International Garden Festival in Liverpool's Blue Peter section.

"I had always been into art and thought I would try something," said Theo. "The idea of doing something dragon-inspired appealed to me.

"A group of us were invited to appear live on the programme, saying we were runners-up, and then all of a sudden they announced I had won - I was gobsmacked!"

More than four decades on, Theo told the BBC: "Blue Peter was a big deal at the time.

"When I got to school everyone wanted to talk to me - it was my 15 minutes of fame!"

The Blue Peter production team took Theo to see the dragon's construction and how the garden was arranged around it.

"They did a perfect job," he remembered.

On the festival's opening day - the biggest UK exhibition since the Festival of Britain in 1951 - Theo said he felt totally overwhelmed.

"Going to the site was incredible as there was so much to see."

He remembered seeing the late Queen Elizabeth II riding on a model railway that ran through part of the sprawling 90-acre (36-hectare) site.

"It was amazing - it looked like she was arriving on a toy train," said Theo.

"I can't remember our exact conversation but I told her it would be a good place to bring Prince William - he was two at the time.

"I had a truly amazing time."

Theo said the experience was a glimpse into his future as he now works in an art-related job conserving sculptures and religious buildings.

"There is hardly a cathedral in the UK I haven't worked on," he said.

Theo said he was not only proud that the dragon slide was popular with generations of Liverpool children, but surprised that there had been a campaign to preserve it.

Last week, after several aborted attempts to sustain its legacy, a new vision to turn Festival Gardens into housing and a new public space was announced.

Sadly for Theo, it has come too late to save the dragon slide.

"Around two years ago I got a call from Liverpool Council telling me they had some bad news - I couldn't imagine what it was," he said.

"The council told me the dragon was set on fire by vandals and there was no way the melted fibreglass could be restored.

"It was a sad end to such a happy story."

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