an item for the show about the making of the film St Trinians. She played a small role in the film, as a non-speaking extra. Salmon left the show in June 2008 at the start of the summer break, at the same time as Gethin Jones. Shortly after making her first appearance on Blue Peter, the BBC received complaints after it was alleged that her job was only advertised in Northern Ireland and Scotland, meaning they were potentially discriminating against people with certain regional accents. The BBC, however, denied any discrimination, and insisted the advertisement had been placed in newspapers throughout the UK. Other media reports at the time "suggested she had been chosen to 'sex up' the programme and boost ratings in the competitive children’s marketplace. It is an idea denied by the producers of Blue Peter." In January 2006, novelist Kate Figes further criticised Salmon in an article in The Guardian, writing that Salmon "rarely seems comfortable around children and talks to them in slow, patronising tones. She comes over as insincere and fatuous and my daughters don't like her any more than I do." Figes claimed that Salmon was "encouraged by the programme editors to present herself as a sexual bimbo", and that the show was being "sexed up or dumbed down". Richard Marson, Blue Peter'''s editor, characterised the article as 'character assassination', and denied that the show was "being sexed up or dumbed down". Salmon faced criticism when she chose a symbol for a 'Best of British' logo, to be used by British Airways to decorate a Boeing 757. She said 'I'm from Ulster, and I'd like to cover a plane with the Red Hand of Ulster: that is our proud symbol.' The symbol is frequently used by loyalists and paramilitaries, though it is also used by Republicans and nationalists and is emblazoned on the nine-county flag for the province of Ulster, as well as the old Northern Ireland flag, and by the GAA (including the Tyrone GAA's crest).. Salmon caused more controversy a week later by selecting a map of Ireland covered in the Union Jack as one of her favourites. In 2012 using her Twitter account, Salmon spoke out against the removal of the Union flag from Belfast City Hall after Belfast City Council passed a vote stating it should only be flown on designated days. Television and film appearances One of her earliest