BBC News nostalgia, including BBC World

Where was the set that Aaron was using based?

I could be completely wrong but I think it's a separate part of N9. When the News Channel decamped there at Christmas 2009, ISTR that's where the network BBC One bulletins came from. It's also where George Alagiah hosted World News Today from in 2007:

Yes, that's the one I meant. That launched in about autumn of 2001 and the music was updated in April 2002.

That particular set was right opposite the main news desk in N9. So, it was what the presenter would have seen had they looked beyond the cameras in front of them. It started off as the BBC Four News set and was then updated for The World in 2004. I think it got another refresh for World News Today in 2007. To the left of that set was the Sport Today set - so all three sets, including the main news set, were in a fairly small area with shared cameras.

Goodness, that tiny space went through more desks, sets than the main set! Lol

It feels odd watching that Aaron Heslehurst edition of World Business Report - much prefer his presenting style in it. It's noticably calmer than he is these days where his style seems to be more 'had 3 or 4 double espressos before going on air'.
While I get that maybe broadcasters don't watch business news to be too stuffy, I do sometimes worry at some stage it went too far the other way.

Yeah, I remember when he first started presenting business news on World in 2002 and he was completely different back then - pretty understated really. At some point either he, or the powers that be, obviously decided to out-Quest Richard Quest and the rest is history. I'd certainly like to see a programme presented by both Quest and Heslehurst at the same time - I think that would have the potential to break my TV set!

Quest seems positively calm these days compared to some business presenters. He's arguably not even the most dramatic business anchor on CNN - I'd say Julia Chatterley and Zain Asher challenge him in that department.
Not sure if you've seen the advert for Chatterley's CNNI show but it's utterly ridiculous - slo-mo camera shots from head to toe of her prancing around New York/Wall Street and special effects that look more suited to a movie trailer. Certainly not the sort of thing you'd have seen Nik Gowing or David Eades doing I'm sure.

Since we're going nostalgic, one thing I never particularly minded but seemed to see mentioned a lot was Alice Baxter's windmill arms.

Julia Chatterly, JOURNALIST! Bold deals! Winning trades! In the WORLD!

I have distinct memories of Stephen Cole at that set - either during this conflict or the 1998 UK/US bombing of Iraq - ending an extended bulletin with a rather excitable and jingoistic summary of "we're beating them".

This clip also has a brief reverse shot showing the two sets in relation to each other, including a poorly-spaced backlit BBC logo on the second set. The dividing wall between the newsroom and studio looks like it might slide back out of the way too - was that just there to conceal cameras at the opening?


It's got a bit more subtle over times (especially since the addition of the strings) but I like how the World countdown has hung on to the same little audio motif that was in the 1999 ident. I wonder if that's a decision from someone high up at the channel, or just a wee Easter egg from David Lowe?

Agreed, although unfortunately they haven't managed to maintain its appearance in other aspects of the package, ie the World continuity ident, that now just uses music originally created for the News Channel, without that two note motif. But then again, this is the same ident which was just created by moving the original centred globe loop off to the right, complete with a hard crop on the image on the left side, so a bit unrealistic to expect a subtle music brandmark to get noticed.

Yeah. It was a versatile little area, I guess. Interestingly, in that clip when Anya Sitaram hands over to WBR with Aaron, she says “that’s all from BBC World News”. When, in fact, the channel was still BBC World (not news) at that time.

I always imagined the silhouetted lady in the Shell sponsor intro to be Tanya Beckett!

Thanks for all the clips, folks. You’ve made my day!