Abby Cook (television presenter)
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Abby Cook (born 2002 or 2003)[1] is a Scottish television presenter and wheelchair racer. In March 2023, she became the 42nd presenter of CBBC programme Blue Peter.
Cook was diagnosed at birth with Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (EDS).[1] She was active in competitive swimming and cross country running until age 12, when her condition made it impossible to continue.[1] She attended St Bernadette's Primary in Stenhousemuir and Grangemouth High School, and then studied applied biological science at Forth Valley College.[2] Cook said that she stayed at home for six months and missed two years of school due to her diagnosis, and later began wheelchair racing.[1]
Cook worked with Forth Valley Disability Sport and as a mental health project administrator for Disability Sport Scotland, as well as uploading videos to TikTok as "hotwheels007".[2] As of March 2023, she was training with Paralympians twice weekly for the club Forth Valley Flyers.[3]
Television work
On 6 March 2023, 20-year-old Cook – then based in Falkirk – was announced as the 42nd presenter of Blue Peter, the magazine show that first aired in 1958 and was airing on CBBC at the time.[3] She was its first wheelchair-using presenter.[4] She made her debut on 10 March, and her first challenge was to abseil down Millers Dale viaduct in the Peak District national park.[3]
In 2024, Cook appeared on Would I Lie to You?, as a contestant.[5] Later that year she won an episode of Celebrity Mastermind, with her specialist subject being the BBC series Sherlock.[6] She was a contestant on Do You Know Your Place? in 2026.[7]