BBC One Christmas idents 2020

I thought the weekend before Christmas was usually about right, which generally meant they got a day or two earlier every year as they usually launched at the weekend. Ultimately it got to the point where rather than resetting to get closer to the 20th/21st Dec they just continued so it got earlier and earlier until one year they just jumped to the 1st, possibly when Oneness came in.

I'm hoping there is at least one new BBC2 ident too - think they had a collection of 4 last year. IMO if you intend to run your Christmas idents for a month adding to a set of idents every year is the way to do it - and hopefully one day BBC1 will once again have a branding identity where people actually want the Christmas idents to reflect that rather than be a break from their usual presentation.

I think it was earlier than people think. I'm sure I remember seeing 98's bauble the Saturday before Christmas. Which would have been the 19th.

And you get the opposite situation on New Years Day where major festive programming is introduced with the bog standard idents.

I'm pretty sure the Christmas idents didn't debut until Christmas Eve as usual that year - however the stings were pretty similar (and actually more interesting than the idents which I thought were a bit boring).

In fact here's a video from 22nd December 1998 (actually the early hours of the 23rd) which shows the balloon idents were still in use:


2000 was the year that the Christmas idents began to appear earlier than Christmas Eve when the Santa balloon ident was introduced on the evening of 22nd December - however they still went back to the usual idents straight after Christmas. As previously mentioned, 2001 was the first year the festive idents had a much longer run.

When did the idents start going back to normal on New Year’s Day rather than 2nd January?

When Christmas idents first start on December 1st or earlier?

2015 I think with Sprout Boy, although 2016/17 started a day or two later before returning to the 1st in 2018.

I think before 2001, the idents occasionally would be extended to the 27th/28th December depending when the actual Bank Holiday fell.

As for recent years, it’s normally been the first weekend of December, but occasional midweek launches, such as for Sprout Boy, have been utilised.



I think 2007, with the then newly installed circles returning, but they didn’t return until the next morning. Does anyone know what year they were instantly brought back after midnight? I’m guessing it was to launch the Enjoy 2013 idents

You're right, it was 2007 when this practice started, but that hasn't been the case for every subsequent Christmas. For example, the Wallace and Gromit idents of 2008 were still in use on New Years Day 2009. Same with the Dr Who ones the following Christmas- the David Tennant idents remained until the Doctor transformed into Matt Smith, then for the rest of the day, they showed the news-safe version (without David) for each of the remaining NYD junctions.

I think the very last time (to date) that a Christmas ident was actually still being shown on New Years Day was 2012. The "Consider Yourself" ones were shown throughout the morning and afternoon, then the normal ones returned at 7pm.

From 2013 onwards, the Christmas idents get their last airing in the final junction before midnight on New Years Eve.

I had a look back last night on TV Ark at Christmas idents since the balloons. I know it’s been said many a time but christ, the red curtain year, what were they thinking? That frog ident. What the hell is it?

'Vista' of 2017 set got a airing on New Years Day 2018 when they introduced a repeat of A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong, which itself featured the same ident shortly after when the characters 'take over' BBC One. Presumably to make it continue to fit in with the broadcast.

They must've had zero budget that year.