 At a time when most BBC presenters spoke with Received Pronunciation (RP), Noakes's Yorkshire accent was a novelty.As a "Blue Peter" presenter, Noakes usually fulfilled the role of action man in the series.Highlights included changing the billboard name for the 1971 premier of "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" in London's Leicester Square, free-fall parachuting with the RAF's Flying Falcons display team and bobsleighing (his sled hit a hole in the ice and turned over, injuring him).