Edward Campbell Barnes (8 October 1928 – 8 September 2021)[1] was a British television executive, and producer at the BBC.
It was Barnes, with colleague Biddy Baxter, who in late 1962 toured London pet shops after the show's mongrel puppy died and a clandestine substitute (soon known as Petra) was needed so as not to needlessly upset young viewers.
[3] Newsround was created to explain stories to children that would not be comprehended equally well on the main news.
[3] Newsround was the first to bring the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster to British television on 28 January 1986.
Barnes' wife was the writer Dorothy Smith, who was a contributor to Blue Peter.