Blue Peter legends Simon, Konnie and Matt reunite - and they've barely aged
Blue Peter's Simon Thomas, Konnie Huq and Matt Baker have reunited two decades after they rose to fame presenting the iconic children's show together.
Simon, 50, showed how the trio had barely aged a day as they got together over the weekend.
Simon featured his co-stars Konnie, 47, and Matt, 45, on his Twitter with an image of the old friends beaming as he held his new baby in his arms.
Alongside the snap, Simon wrote: “Nice to meet up for lunch with some old friends today.”
The face of his new child was blurred but the pals could be seen smiling at the camera as they huddled close for the picture.
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Simon and Matt presented the BBC children's TV programme from 1999 until 2005, while Konnie is the third-longest serving presenter after presenting it from 1997 until 2008.
The reunion came just weeks after Simon bravely opened about his secret struggle with alcoholism, which at one point saw him down a litre of vodka a day.
Simon, 50, showed how the trio had barely aged a day as they got together over the weekend (@SimonThomasTV/Twitter)He explained that he had always used alcohol as his "social mask" as he found it difficult to cope with TV fame.
However, he revealed that following the tragic death of his wife Gemma Thomas in 2017, he "broke" and his addiction took hold. After the brief moments of "numbing the pain", Simon recalled descending into a "darker, more fear filled place".
At one harrowing point, Simon said that he was "on the precipice of ending it all" as he felt "trapped" by his addiction.
"As friends & family became ever more worried, I was often finding ways to hide my drinking; but of course as intoxication took hold, deception became impossible," he explained in a heart-breaking Instagram post.
Blue Peter's Simon Thomas, Konnie Huq and Matt Baker have reunited two decades after they rose to fame (BBC)"For months on end every single night was a battle not to drink," he said. "Occasionally I would win; mostly I lost. Before I had even really realised what was happening I would think nothing of sinking a litre of Vodka in an evening, disguised in a Diet Coke can."
Revealing that over the last few years, his battle with the bottle lessened in its intensity, Simon admitted that it had never really gone away.
"That voice in my head was still saying 'go on, you deserve this'," he said. "In social situations where I felt more paranoid than I had ever done before; it became an even bigger mask. It was a destructive cycle that I felt powerless to ever break.
The trio all presented the show during the early 00s (BBC)"Nearly all of my biggest mistakes & biggest regrets in life had the same common denominator - drink. On more than one occasion it had taken me to the precipice of ending it all; & yet, despite having a beautiful wife, an amazing son & family who loved me I felt trapped. I had tried giving up before but it had always ended it failure. Why? Because in truth I was doing it for others, the worried friends & family; but not really for myself..."
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Thankfully, in January 2022, Simon had a chat with his friend who had decided to lead a sober life as "enough was enough" and he was "on the verge of losing everything".
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