Blue Peter to help MI5 recruit 'spies of the future'

Security service MI5 is teaming up with an unlikely partner to help find spies of the future - the children's television show Blue Peter.

The long-running show is launching Project Petra which will test a number of candidates to see if they have the mental and physical skills required to be a future intelligence officer.

But the chosen youngsters will not be placed in the line of duty just yet.

Instead, the winners will be offered the chance to tour MI5's Thames House headquarters in London.

Their visit will be filmed by the CBBC show - the first time TV cameras have been allowed into the building.

Blue Peter is offering its viewers a unique opportunity to explore the world of intelligence. Credit: BBC/Blue Peter

Viewers - aged between eight and 14 - can apply through the Blue Peter website and eight will then be chosen to attend a "spy school".

The three youngsters who demonstrate the highest level of physical and mental skills will be selected to visit the MI5 building.

Bestselling author Anthony Horowitz, who has written the Alex Rider series of books about a teenage agent, will help find the CBBC Intelligence Officers.

CBBC controller Cheryl Taylor said the "once in a lifetime" opportunity would help children discover more about the "mysterious world of intelligence".