• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Clean Feed

Clean Feed

  • Timeline
  • News
  • Opinion
  • PresWatch
  • Bloopers
  • News+
  • Resources
  • Other Pages
    • About This Site
    • Contact Us
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Our Other Websites
    • Rewind
    • Showreel
  • Related External Websites
    • Pres Café
    • TV Pres

Presentation changes during Easter Weekend

Posted on 16th April 2022 by Andrew Nairn
Last updated on 16th April 2022 Filed under Opinion

Easter Weekend might revive memories of a couple of mysteries from long ago.

The first is the mysterious revamp of the weekend BBC News bulletins in 1985. On Easter Saturday, the bulletins received what would now be called a “brand refresh”.

The background colour on the titles changed from burgundy to blue and a new set was introduced. The astons were also modified to include the BBC News logo.

It wasn’t a radical change but it was no bad thing to freshen up the look of the bulletins after three-and-a-half years.

RELATED ARTICLE: BBC One continuity followed by BBC News opening titles (25th December 1986).

The timing seemed strange though. The burgundy look was still in use on Good Friday.

Come Tuesday, you might have expected News After Noon and the Nine o’Clock News to have had similar revamps but it was very much business as usual. The Six had, of course, started the previous autumn and had its own visual style.

So what was going on?

At a guess, the decision to refresh the look of the bulletins might have been taken before the decision to give the Nine an overhaul later in the year. There would have been no point playing around with the set and titles five months before a radical change.

Following on from this, the decision was taken to temporarily keep News After Noon as it was.

In September the Nine received a radical makeover with two presenters, computer graphics and its own music and titles. News After Noon then adopted the same blue generic look as the weekends.

RELATED ARTICLE: BBC One continuity followed by BBC Nine o’Clock News opening titles (20th January 1987).

The other little mystery concerns Easter 1986. The new BBC Two “TWO” ident was introduced that day. But clips have recently appeared which show the previous ident in use that afternoon.

VIDEO: the 1986 – 1991 BBC Two ident. COPYRIGHT: BBC.

It seems the new ident was introduced at some point during the day – maybe in the 7.15pm junction?

It was not unusual for the BBC to change idents like this – it happened on BBC One in 1981, 1985 and – er – earlier this month.

But can anyone solve the mystery from 1986?

Related

Acknowledgements

Related

FEATURE IMAGE:

PICTURED: BBC News opening titles (1986). COPYRIGHT: BBC.

Related

Related

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Sidebar

Tags: BBC, BBC News, BBC Two, On-Screen Presentation

Dates for the Diary

6th/7th February: BBC One West Midlands HD, BBC One East Yorkshire/Lincolnshire HD and BBC Alba HD launch on satellite. BBC One/Two Wales SD services close on satellite.

13th/14th February: BBC One West HD, BBC One South West HD, BBC One Channel Islands HD, BBC One London HD and BBC RB1 HD launch on satellite.

20th/21st February: BBC One North East and Cumbria HD, BBC One North West HD, BBC One Yorkshire HD and BBC Parliament HD launch on satellite. BBC One Scotland SD and BBC Scotland SD services close on satellite.

22nd/23rd February: BBC One South East HD launches on satellite.

February 2023: new set for BBC Midlands Today goes live.

13th February 2023: Sky Kids launches.

Q1 2023: BBC Chameleon branding introduced on air for BBC Weather, CBBC and CBeebies.

April 2023: BBC News Channel and BBC World News merge.

November/December 2023: World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC-23).

Q1 2024: SD versions of BBC channels close on satellite.

2024: BBC Four and CBBC go online-only.

2024: BBC Radio 4 Extra goes online-only.

Don’t Miss Out – Follow Us on Twitter

Our Twitter account will usually report the latest broadcast-related events shortly after they've happened and ahead of the website. You'll also catch a variety of items there that will not be covered on the website.
Clean Feed on Twitter.

© 2023 The TV Room. This site is not affiliated with any broadcaster, production company or design/marketing/talent agency.

Back to top