Children's BBC presentation
The Broom Cupboard was the name given by the television presenter Philip Schofield to the space from where he presented children's programmes for the BBC. It was part of a wider service known internally at the BBC as Children's BBC Presentation and which 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 voice over. The services for children on BBC One and BBC Two have now ended and similar presentation now takes place on the CBeebies and CBBC channels.
History
In-vision presentation is 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 BBC One or BBC Two branding appearing on screen.
In September 1985 a BBC press release announced the arrival of, "a new package of programmes specially gift-wrapped for children." the afternoon programmes on BBC One were rebranded as Children's BBC, and for the first time had a dedicated Children's BBC logo. These early graphics and idents were generated by a BBC Micro computer, with which the BBC had been increasingly been experimenting with and utilising in their children's programming continuity for a year or so prior to the rebrand.
The most significant change was that the continuity announcer was seen on screen (in-vision). Rather than use the existing BBC One announcer, a new presenter was selected. The launch presenter was Phillip Schofield, presenting the slot for the first time at 15:55 BST on 9th September 1985.
Remaining in the small continuity booth, during the first few days of these broadcasts, Schofield began to refer to the space as "The Broom Cupboard", due to its very small size, and supposedly due to the BBC only sparing a small broom cupboard for him to host from. This quickly became an established name for the space, even appearing in billings as such.
A list of CBBC Presenters shows that many more followed after Schofield. In-vision presentation remains on the CBBC Channel as of 2021.
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 (NC1), 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 their own links by way of vision and sound mixers built into the studio desk.
The NC1 booth became known as 'the Broom Cupboard' due to its small size (the term was first used to refer to a smaller temporary booth, but was later retroactively applied to the main booth). 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 due 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 Cupboards 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 in the Broom Cupboard.
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; 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, whilst 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 TC10 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 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 Friday 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.[1][2] 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 Monday 5 September 2011 as part of the relocation of the BBC's Children's department (incorporating both CBBC and CBeebies).
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.
CBBC Puppets
Early in Schofield's run, he was joined by a make-shift sidekick, "Bobby the Banana", an inanimate plush banana toy; by the end of the year, Bobby the Banana was generally phased out and made way for the more expressive Gordon the Gopher, a hand puppet gopher operated, from under Schofield's continuity desk, by Paul Smith.[3] As Gordon's personality - and costume, gaining a leather biker's jacket - grew, so did his popularity, leading to increasing screen time interactions and 'story lines' with Schofield, and proved so popular that the character was giving his own line of various merchandise, which was branded Gordon T. Gopher. When Schofield departed as host of The Broom Cupboard in 1987 to host the BBC's new Saturday morning programme Going Live!, Gordon the Gopher went with him to the new series.
Schofield's replacement Andy Crane continued to host in much the same vein as Schofield and the format remaining unchanged. With Gordon the Gopher having left with Schofield, Crane quickly gained his own similarly mischievous side-kick in the form of Edd the Duck - a plush duck hand puppet, operated similarly from under the control desk, by assistant producer Christina Mackay-Robinson (now Brown).[4] Whereas Gordon the Gopher was mute, Edd communicated in quacks - of which Crane and guests seemed able to understand. Similarly to Gordon, Edd (originally spelled 'Ed')'s personality and costume swifty developed; originally appearing 'bald', several months in he gained a green woollen mohawk from a Blue Peter make, which became part of his trademark look; Edd's love for Blue Peter, supposed "love" for it's co-presenter Yvette Fielding and longing to become a Blue Peter presenter, all became regular fixture. Introduced a few months later was Wilson the Butler, only visible to viewers as a pair of white gloved arms in a black water's jacket appearing from the side of the screen, who became Edd's co-star and nemesis. As with the popularity of Gordon the Gopher, Edd the Duck similarly received his own line of merchandise. Andy Crane vacated the presenter's chair in 1990, moving to host programmes from rival Children's ITV, and was replaced with Andi Peters, with Edd, Wilson and the overall Broom Cupboard format remaining identical.
With Peters in turn departed in 1993, the role of central host was filled by Toby Anstis, who would remain with the Children's BBC strand after the Broom Cupboard setting was dropped as part of a significant shake-up of the format in 1996-7.
These have appeared either in CBBC continuity or programmes.
Logos and idents
National Presentation
In the 1990s, BBC Scotland introduced Children's BBC Scotland with a mixture of repeats and local programming such as Megamag and Up for It! which was broadcast in the school holidays on BBC One Scotland and then subsequently on BBC Two Scotland. During this time, BBC Scotland opt out of the national presenters to broadcast their local version of the weekday morning breakfast show presented by Grant Stott and Gail Porter.
External links
- ^ "CBBC Autumn 2007". BBC. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
- ^ "BBC announces rebrand and hours extension for CBBC". The TV Room Plus. 18 July 2007. Archived from the original on 27 July 2007. Retrieved 18 July 2007.
- ^ Pelley, Rich (2020-06-14). "Pulling the strings: meet the people who brought puppets to life". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
- ^ "Pulling the strings: meet the people who brought puppets to life". the Guardian. 2020-06-14. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
- ^ "CBBC HQ – You welcomed Bl1nk to CBBC HQ".