Children's BBC presentation
The BBC's presentation of its programmes for children was the only part of BBC One and BBC Two's television presentation where the continuity announcer appeared on the TV screen rather than as a voiceover. The services for children on BBC One and BBC Two have now ended but similar presentation now takes place on the CBeebies and CBBC channels.
History
In-vision presentation is as old as the first children's programme on the BBC which began on Saturday 24 April 1937. For the Children would go on to be most famously presented live by Annette Mills with her sidekick Muffin the Mule. These early shows were live performances but as the television service became more sophisticated, with the development of pre-recorded programmes and series, children's programmes went on to be introduced by the offscreen continuity announcer announcing the next programme from a small continuity booth with the usual BBC1 or BBC2 branding appearing on screen although some special branding was put in use to reflect better the audience they were serving.In 1984, a BBC Micro B 3D Collage was introduced to generate computer generated stings for the children's strand. Such animations were used to introduce programmes, such as a spider spinning down onto a detonator triggering the words Hello from BBC1, and to link into promotions for further programmes, such as a group of sky divers falling from a plane to spell out a 'Later' caption. However, despite the graphics, programmes were still directly introduced by the BBC1 globe symbol, albeit occasionally accompanied by a choice of two different 14-note synthesized tunes.
In September 1985 a BBC press release announced the arrival of, "a new package of programmes specially gift-wrapped for children." This involved the afternoon programmes on BBC1 being rebranded as Children's BBC, alongside the continuity announcer appearing on screen. Rather than use the existing BBC1 announcer, a new presenter was selected. The launch presenter was Phillip Schofield, presenting the slot for the first time at 3:55 on 9 September 1985.
It was not until 1994 that presentation for children's programming got its own studio space.
In 2002, when BBC Children's divided its services into CBBC and CBeebies, programmes for younger children were rebranded under the name CBeebies and the same production department began CBeebies Presentation.
Presentation across CBBC and CBeebies was suspended temporarily in September 2022 because of the death and state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. Both channels continued to broadcast normal programming without any in-vision presentation in contrast to competitor channel CITV, which opted to simulcast ITV's funeral coverage.
Studios
1985–1994
From its launch in 1985 until 1994, Children's BBC was presented from the regular continuity announcer's booth in the BBC1 network control area, which had a fixed camera so that the presenter could appear in vision; as it remained an operational continuity booth, the presenter would partly direct his or her own links by way of vision and sound mixers built into the studio desk.The NC1 booth became known as "The Broom Cupboard" owing to its small size. The plain booth wall behind the presenter would be livened up with elements of set dressing, VT monitors and pictures sent in by viewers.
Occasionally, when Children's BBC was going out on BBC2 rather than BBC1 owing to events coverage, the presenter would be located in the BBC2 continuity booth, which was not set dressed for Children's BBC, for transmission purposes.
There were two presentation studios – larger than The Broom Cupboard but smaller than full programme studios – known as Pres A and Pres B. It was not initially thought economically viable to use these for daily Children's BBC links, hence the use of The Broom Cupboard. However, by 1987, these studios were being used for the mid-morning "birthday card" slots and weekend and holiday morning strands such as But First This. The main afternoon strand remained The Broom Cupboard.
Initially, Children's BBC Scotland did not have a presentation studio upon launch in 1992; instead, it was presented in various locations across Scotland for the school summer holiday programming block The Ice Cream Van at the beginning. Presentation studios were eventually used for the regional breakfast and mid-morning shows when BBC Scotland opened its kids' department around the mid-1990s before finally reverting to the roof top of BBC Scotland's Queen Margaret Drive headquarters for another summer holiday children's programme, Up for It!, in the late 1990s.
In 1994, Pres A was refurbished and became the regular home for all Children's BBC presentation including the weekday afternoon block; the presenters no longer had to operate the broadcast equipment, although a Broom Cupboard-style area in the corner of Pres A containing its own mixer was used for the birthday slot and weekend mornings to save on crew, and the larger set allowed for more dynamic presentation, with more presenters, characters, features, games and guests. A new 3D version of the then logo of Children's BBC was commissioned to mark the move.
1997 TC9
In 1997, Children's BBC moved again when Pres A was decommissioned and CBBC moved to the purpose-built Studio TC9, adjacent to the Blue Peter garden at BBC Television Centre. The first broadcasts from Studio 9 were in June 1997 and this was followed in October by the launch of the new-look CBBC branding. TC9 continued to be the regular home of CBBC broadcasts on BBC One and Two until 2005 and was also used to record CBBC on Choice links between 2000 and 2002.In 2002, TC2 became the home of CBBC Channel links, plus the channel's XChange and UK Top 40 programmes, while CBeebies operated from the smaller TC0.
In Autumn 2004, the studio arrangements for CBBC were changed again. The CBBC Channel moved from TC2 to TC9, with BBC One / Two links and the UK Top 40 show moving to TC1, located on the sixth floor of TV Centre. BBC One and Two links then moved back into TC9 alongside CBBC Channel in March 2006 as the number of studios available to CBBC was reduced.
In December 2006, there was a further reduction in CBBC facilities. A chroma key set was assembled in studio TC12, becoming the home of all CBBC links on BBC One, BBC Two and CBBC Channel until September 2007. There was also a reduction in the team of on air presenters. The last live CBBC links from TC9 were broadcast on 1 December 2006; the studio was then mothballed but was later brought back into use for individual programmes including TMi and SMart.
2007 TC12
On 3 September 2007, the CSO studio was dropped in a relaunch which saw a small studio set built in TC12. As part of the relaunch, new logos, presenters and idents were introduced. The design of the new "office" set has been compared to the original "Broom Cupboard", though unlike The Broom Cupboard the "office" is not a functioning continuity suite.2011 HQ5
CBBC presentation originated from Studio HQ5 at Dock10, MediaCityUK in Salford Quays for the first time on 5 September 2011 as part of the relocation of the BBC's Children's department.In 2015, the CBBC Office set received a new futuristic look, with much darker colours and tones, the light and dark greens colours replaced with purple and dark grey. Also, a new 'up next' screen was placed behind the presenter, and a post chute was installed in the new set where viewers send post to get read out live on air. There was also a new desk, larger than the previous one with multi-coloured blocks on its front.
In 2016, the CBBC Office became the CBBC HQ, incorporating a mostly orange and blue colour scheme, but later it changed to cyan and blue in 2023.
2023 and 2024
Another reduction in CBBC facilities occurred in December 2023. A temporary Newsround set and a chroma key set were assembled in the CBeebies HQ6 studio, with the HQ5 studio being converted to a general-purpose chroma key studio. The last CBBC studio links from HQ5 were broadcast throughout December 2023 and January 2024 alongside pre-recorded CSO links, culminating in the live launch of the chroma key studio on 12 January 2024.Nations opt-out
The Scottish school holiday opt-outs started on BBC Scotland in the mid-1970s – where the summer holiday children's schedule would be time-shifted to air throughout the first three weeks of the holidays between late June and mid-July to only viewers in Scotland owing to school holiday differences across the UK. Year-long children's programmes were introduced by the offscreen continuity announcer from a small continuity booth with the usual BBC1 or BBC2 branding appearing on screen until this was phased out from the main afternoon block in September 1985.Despite the national Children's BBC being aired on BBC One and BBC Two across the UK since the very beginning in September 1985, BBC Scotland would go on to produce and air its regional version of CBBC in the Scottish school holidays. Those opt-outs were initially aired on BBC One Scotland from the beginning in June 1992 until October 1996, while BBC Two Scotland picked up Scottish school holiday opt-out programming for the first time in October 1994 and continuing in this medium for a further six years, ending altogether in July 2000.