Blue Peter – Helen's Amazing Amazon Adventure BBC1, 4.35pm

THOSE of us of a certain age remember when Blue Peter presenters were Blue Peter presenters, climbing Nelson's Column, hurtling down the Cresta Run, and desperately trying to resuscitate the show's resident tortoise when it was plucked, lifeless, from its hibernation box.

In recent years there's been little such derring-do. Gumption is singularly lacking in the modern Blue Peter presenter. Most of them refuse even to make the traditional advent crown for fear they might get a dab of glue on their jumper.

Helen Skelton, however, is a bit different. This is the story of Helen's incredible record-breaking kayak down the mighty Amazon in aid of Sport Relief. Her epic journey was conducted at a gruelling pace, paddling up to 14 hours a day to average the 60 miles needed to complete her target of 2010 miles in six weeks.

By the midway point, Helen, pictured, tripled the previous Guinness World Record for the longest solo kayak and broke the record for the longest kayak in 24 hours by a woman on flowing water by paddling an impressive 75 miles in one day.

The first of two programmes follows her as she begins her training, arriving in Peru for the start of her odyssey, visiting Proceso Social, a project which uses Sport Relief cash to reduce child labour.