Inside Blue Peter presenter’s tragic death aged 28 as tributes paid to former child star

Michael Sundin was a Blue Peter presenter in 1984 who also starred as Tik-Tok in Return to Oz before his tragic death aged 28 in 1989

A Blue Peter presenter has been remembered three decades after his death.

At the tender age of 12, Michael Sundin had already become a trampolining champion, a skill that played a crucial role in him landing a spot as a Blue Peter presenter in 1984.

Before joining the cherished children’s programme, Michael had showcased his talents in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s renowned musical Cats and later portrayed Tik-Tok in Disney’s Return To Oz.

He caught the eye of Blue Peter producers during an interview with Janet Ellis, the show’s presenter at the time, which led to him being hired alongside her and Simon Groom.

Stepping into the shoes of the show’s esteemed presenter Peter Duncan, Michael quickly became known for his adventurous escapades on Blue Peter, visiting film sets and even dropping by Elton John’s home, reports the Mirror.

However, despite his natural charisma on screen, Michael’s tenure on Blue Peter was short-lived; he left the show after less than a year when his contract was reportedly not renewed. Tragically, he died from an Aids-related illness at the young age of 28 in 1989.

Michael, affectionately remembered by those close to him as a “blond, outgoing, gregarious ball of fun”, was harshly outed as gay by the press during his brief stint on Blue Peter.

While then-Editor Biddy Baxter attributed his departure to lack of viewer appeal, his exit was shrouded in controversy as multiple sources suggested it was due to his sexuality, according to OK! reports.

In a 2007 telly interview, Baxter brushed off these accusations, asserting: “It was his leaving the programme because children didn’t like him – nothing to do with his sexual proclivities”.

After his stint on Blue Peter, Michael ventured into acting, starring in the 1987 film Lionheart. He graced the stage in touring productions such as Seven Brides For Seven Brothers and Starlight Express, and even popped up in Rick Astley’s 1988 music video for She Wants To Dance With Me.

Sadly, that same year, Michael fell ill. He died at Newcastle General Hospital at the tender age of 28, with early reports indicating liver cancer as the cause.

This week, The Elstree Project paid a touching tribute to Michael’s talents as they reminisced about his role as Tik-Tok. They penned: “Michael Sundin was the performer inside Tik-Tok in Return to Oz (1985). His contribution was not animatronic control or puppetry, but full-body suit performance: movement, balance, timing and physical character, carried out under extreme physical and technical constraints.

“Tik-Tok was a hybrid creation. His head, eyes and facial details were operated externally by puppeteer Tim Rose using mechanical and radio-controlled systems, while the voice was added later in post-production. But the character’s weight, rhythm and locomotion came entirely from Sundin. He was responsible for making a rigid, four-foot copper robot feel grounded, deliberate and alive.

“The physical challenge was extraordinary. Sundin was folded double inside a small Kevlar suit, arms crossed, head tucked between his legs, walking backwards throughout filming. To navigate the set, he relied on a small internal monitor relaying an external camera feed – upside-down and reversed. This demanded constant recalibration, spatial intelligence and muscular control.”

Meanwhile, Walter Murch, the programme’s oral history director, revealed: “When Michael Sundin died in 1989 from an AIDS-related illness, aged just 28, there was only a small on-air acknowledgement of his passing on Blue Peter with no retrospective of his work in the way other presenters have been respected. In an era marked by stigma and silence, much of his contribution was quietly erased, and he was notably absent from anniversary clips and montages until the 60th anniversary.

“Sundin’s work on Return to Oz deserves to be understood clearly. He was not an animatronics operator or a puppeteer, but a suit performer whose body performed in a complex system of mechanical, electronic and human collaboration. Without his performance, Tik-Tok would not move as he does on screen. As we celebrate the technical innovations that took shape at Elstree, it’s worth remembering how many depended on performers willing to endure extraordinary conditions to make new forms of cinema possible.”

After Michael’s death, Blue Peter presenter Yvette Fielding, along with colleagues John Leslie and Caron Keating, paid tribute. She stated: “We had one piece of very sad news during the summer. As many people may have heard, Michael Sundin – who presented Blue Peter five years ago – tragically died at the very young age of 28. Michael had been ill for a little while but the news of his death came as a great shock to all of us.”