Over several years of the 1970s, Blackburn was a co-presenter on the BBC's summer programme Seaside Special, alongside other well-known names from BBC Radio, such as Dave Lee Travis and David Hamilton. On 16 August 1975 he appeared singing "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree", with a lion tamer, in a cage of lions.[20]
In November 1977 he took over the weekday afternoon show and from September 1979 until December 1981 he presented the Sunday Top 40 show on Radio 1.
With Maggie Philbin at a Radio 1 Roadshow in the early 1980s At the start of 1980 he took over from Ed Stewart as the presenter of Junior Choice, broadcast on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 8 am to 10 am, while continuing to present the Sunday chart show until the end of 1981. He was succeeded by Tommy Vance. During 1982, BBC Radio 1 dropped the name Junior Choice and the show became the Tony Blackburn's Saturday Show and Tony Blackburn's Sunday Show.
