Peter Duncan was born on 3 May 1954 in Chelsea, London. Born into a touring theatrical family, he joined Laurence Olivier’s National Theatre as a sixteen-year-old and spent the 1970s working as an actor. His parents’ names are not publicly documented. Duncan was a student at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, an independent stage school in London, and completed his secondary education at Hawes Down School for Boys in West Wickham, Bromley.

Unusually, Duncan did two stints with Blue Peter, being on the team from 1980 until 1984, and again from 1985 to 1986. During his stay with the programme, he became associated with the kind of daredevil stunts previously popularised by John Noakes, and these continued in his own spin-off series called Duncan Dares. One of his most memorable moments was cleaning the face of the Big Ben Clock Tower on a rope swing without a safety harness.

Duncan was appointed as the Scout Association’s Chief Scout for a five-year tenure from 5 September 2004 to July 2009. He also used his filming skills to follow a Scout expedition up Mount Everest and was fortunate enough to meet and film Sir Edmund Hillary just before he died.

In 2009, Duncan co-founded The Natural Adventure, an adventure company specialising in self-guided walking and cycling holidays. As co-founder and director, Duncan remains actively involved as an instructor and ambassador, personally testing routes and frequently leading or participating in trips with his wife Annie. He continues to act in theatre and pantomime productions across the UK