Blue Peter: Bangor man Joel Mawhinney to become 41st presenter

Bangor-born Joel Mawhinney is to become the newest presenter of long-running children's TV show Blue Peter.

The 25-year-old is a magician and content creator who first appeared on the show in 2018 as a guest.

Joel is the 41st Blue Peter presenter and will co-host alongside Richie Driss, Mwaksy Mudenda and Henry the dog.

His first live show airs on Friday 11 November on CBBC and BBC iPlayer at 17:00 GMT.

Joel attended Bangor Grammar before going on to pursue his career in entertainment at age 18.

"Becoming the 41st Blue Peter presenter is a surreal - and dare I say it - magical experience," he said.

"I've always loved making people smile with my magic and I want to do the same for the Blue Peter audience.

"They have high expectations and I'll do my best to live up to them, I can't wait to get started."

Joel guest presented the show over summer 2022 when he taught some of his co-presenters magic tricks.

His interest in magic started age five and he began performing at the age of 11.

He is best known for his illusions on social media where he has a huge following, with over 16.5m on one platform alone. He also starred in his own BBC NI TV series "Life is Magic" in 2020.

Joel will be thrown in at the deep end in true Blue Peter style with a road trip to Scotland, which will involve cliff jumping into the cold waters of Loch Ard.

Blue Peter editor Ellen Evans said: "I think that our Blue Peter audience will love the energy and fun he'll bring to the show."

Joel follows in the footsteps of fellow Northern Ireland presenters Adam Beales, who left the show earlier this year, the late Caron Keating, and Zoe Salmon.

Blue Peter is on CBBC every Friday at 17:00 and is available on BBC iPlayer.