Anglia knight to return

It remains an instantly recognisable image to people across East Anglia.

Despite disappearing from our screens nearly 20 years ago, the Anglia Knight remains a fond favourite of thousands of viewers of Anglia News who welcomed it into their living rooms every night for almost 30 years.

And now it is set to return to our screens.

Anglia Television's 6pm news programme will incorporate the metre- high horseman into its new titles showing it being painted by a Suffolk primary school art class.

Neil Thompson, ITV Anglia's controller of programmes and regional news, came up with the idea.

He said: "The mesmerising appeal of this elegant statue is extraordinary. When it was still on display in Anglia House, people would travel to Norwich simply to take a look at the real thing, often commenting that it was far bigger than they had imagined.

"Even the primary school children we filmed in their art class recognised it, despite its departure from our screens a decade before they were even a twinkle in their mums' and dads' eyes."

In 1988 the programme stopped using the knight as ITV looked to strengthen its corporate image with one dominant symbol. But Mr Thompson said: "Embedding the knight within our brand-new ITV news titles means we can put a much-loved symbol back on to the region's television screens.

"And making it the subject of a primary school art class is a respectful way of putting a historic and distinguished prince of the realm into a modern and youthful context.

"I hope it brings a little nostalgic sparkle back into the lives of the up to half a million viewers who tune into Anglia Tonight at 6pm every evening and the half million more who watch our other daily bulletins."

More than a century old, the knight was originally commissioned by the King of the Netherlands as a hunting trophy for his society, the Falcon Club.

It was won by an Englishman and brought to this country, where it remained in the victor's family until the year Anglia went on air in 1959.

The figure was discovered in the shop window of Asprey's, jewellers to the Royal Family, and after a few minor modifications it became the symbol of Anglia Television. The silver horseman is modelled on the statue of Richard the Lionheart at the Palace of Westminster.

Well I ment, the Link doesn't work for me...

Sounds interesting, I cannot wait to see the titles, and perhaps if it is done well, we may see cakes and chevrons in titles, as for LWT, don't bother ITV London...

Sounds interesting, I cannot wait to see the titles, and perhaps if it is done well, we may see cakes and chevrons in titles, as for LWT, don't bother ITV London...

Anglia Television's 6pm news programme will incorporate the metre- high horseman into its new titles showing it being painted by a Suffolk primary school art class.

As they are Suffolk school children, does that mean the West sub-region will not be having the knight in it's title sequence?

I doubt schoolchildren look significanly different in Suffolk to anywhere else.