Tortoises

Back in the 1970s, people were becoming bored of cats and dogs and craved more exotic pets. Birds like toucans, parrots and cockatoos became very popular. But the most unlikely new fashionable pet was, without doubt, the tortoise.

The reason for the surge in popularity of the slow-moving, greenery-munching creature was twofold: firstly, the shell was perfect for painting (your name, his name, a swastika . . .), and secondly, Blue Peter! 

The show's first tortoise was called Fred. His name was emblazoned on his shell and the world fell in love with him. Well, kids in the UK did anyway. Then it was discovered that he was a she, and children across the country tuned in to see an "a" being painted on the end of his name. It was the world's first televised gender reassignment.

After Freda came Maggie and Jim, then geriatric George and finally Shelley (can you see what they did there?). The names may have changed, but their role on the show never did. Typically they would be brought out in front of the cameras once a year, only to be placed in a cardboard box and forced to hibernate.

Tortoises generally live as long as people, but few in the 1970s did. A diet of lettuce leaves, fish fingers and Space Dust, coupled with enforced and extended hibernation meant that 90% of the poor creatures died within two years.

It got so bad that eventually the government stepped in and banned their importation in 1984.