BBC Productions

Background

BBC Productions is the production arm of the BBC.

Contents

1st Logo (1960-1972, October 12, 1987-1990)	2nd Logo (Late 1960s?)	3rd Logo (1971-1993)	4th Logo (March 5, 1988-1997, 2001)	5th Logo (October 4, 1997-)


6th Logo (2007-2010s)	7th Logo (2008-August 2, 2016)	8th Logo (August 5, 2013)	9th Logo (September 7, 2018)	10th Logo (October 31, 2021-)

1st Logo (1960-1972, October 12, 1987-1990)

Doctor Who
An Evening with Ethel Merman
The Magic Roundabout (1970-1977)
Steptoe and Son
An Evening With Nat King Cole
Maigret pilot
Going for Gold

Visuals: Superimposed into the end credits is the BBC logo at the time (either the 1958, 1963 or 1971 designs) with "tv" in a wide white rhombus underneath the producer/director's credit.

Variants:

On Mary, Mungo and Midge, the notice in red appears on a card.
An on-screen variant of this logo has it in black on a brink pink background. Appears on Mr Benn.
A promotions variant has "A" next to the logo and "PROMOTIONS RELEASE" underneath.
On An Evening With Nat King Cole, the logo appears scrolling across the screen alongside the end credits.
On Going for Gold, the 1971 logo appears at the top of the screen and is also in gold.

Technique: A still, printed image.

Audio: The ending theme of the show.

Availability: Seen on BBC shows from the time-period, despite the BBC's infamous practices of taping over old tapes back in the day.

Like many in-credit notices, it is seen at the end of BBC-produced shows from this period such as the original Doctor Who series, seasons 1-4 of Dad's Army, and Steptoe and Son, among others.
It also made a return on the game show Going for Gold, and was used for its first three seasons before replacing it with the 5th logo beginning in season 4.

2nd Logo (Late 1960s?)

Steptoe and Son
The Epic That Never Was

Visuals: On a black background, three vertical bars are drawn: the left and right bar going upwards and the centre moving down. They become slanted and shrinks to become three slanted squares. Then "A" and "PRODUCTION" appear above and below them respectively and "BBC" in black is over the three squares.

Variant: On The Epic That Never Was, the BBC text appears to be more blocky and thicker.

Technique: Traditional animation.

Audio: The ending theme of the show.

Availability: It was so far spotted on a few programmes, which includes Steptoe and Son and The Epic That Never Was.

3rd Logo (1971-1993)

Are You Being Served: A Change Is As Good As A Rest
Are You Being Served: Founder's Day
Are You Being Served: Goodbye Mr. Grainger
Are You Being Served: It Pays To Advertise
Are You Being Served: A Bliss Girl
Are You Being Served: Anything You Can Do
The Rock 'n' Roll Years 1962
The Rock 'n' Roll Years 1977
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Doctor Who
'Allo 'Allo!
John Lydon That Was Then This is Now
Biology
Going to Work
Math Topics
Mahavishnu Orchestra
Happy Ever After
The Fight Against Slavery
Fawlty Towers
Les Dawson's Blankety Blank

Visuals: The 1971 BBC logo appears within a copyright notice with the copyright symbol to the left and the year in roman numerals to the right.

Variants:

On colour programmes such as Blake's 7, Fawlty Towers, Steptoe and Son, and Are You Being Served?, among others, "COLOUR" would be added next to the 1971 BBC logo. However, this would later be phased out towards the end of the 1970s with the regular version on later colour programmes after the 1970s.
- On The Fight Against Slavery, the 1971 logo is in a sand colour and the copyright info is separate from the logo itself.
  - Fawlty Towers and some episodes of Last of the Summer Wine would have this variant in yellow.
On Les Dawson's Blankety Blank, the notice is in pink with a white outline.
On John Lydon: That Was Then This is Now, the copyright notice is black.

Technique: A still, computerized graphic.

Audio: The ending theme of the programme or none.

Availability: Seen on BBC programmes from the time-period until 1993, even being used in tandem with the next one. In its first year of use, it would be used in tandem with the previous one.

As with the 1st logo, it was seen on programmes produced by the BBC during this period such as Top of the Pops (until 1989), Doctor Who, Blake's 7, Fawlty Towers, Are You Being Served?, Steptoe and Son, Last of the Summer Wine, Bruce and Ronnie, Making Sense, EastEnders, The Young Ones, the first two seasons of Hearts of Gold, Only Fools and Horses, seasons 5-9 of Dad's Army, The Hollywood Greats, Iris in the Traffic, Ruby in the Rain, A Romantic Imagination, The Interview Game, Under Sail, Shadow Of The Noose, Fatal Attraction of Adolf Hitler, season 1 of One Foot in the Grave, and seasons 1-3 of The Rock 'n' Roll Years, among many others.
It also makes some surprise appearances on some programmes after 1990, such as the third season of Maid Marian and Her Merry Men and some episodes of Playdays, thus causing it to be used in tandem with the next logo.

4th Logo (March 5, 1988-1997, 2001)

The Great War
The Mill on the Floss
Teletubbies
Muppets Tonight
Noddy's Toyland Adventures
Teletubbies
Hogarth's Progress
The Waste Land

Room 101
Sister Wendy's Odyssey
The Belles
Through African Eyes
The Electronic Frontier
Playdays
Murder Most Horrid
Murder Most Horrid
The Day Today
Keeping Up Appearances
In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great
Bottom
Driving School
Absolutely Fabulous
Bottom
Def II Theatre Challenge

Walden on Heroes
Redemption Song
Bite Back
Who's Crying Now
Bite Back
The Alphabet Game
This is Your Life
University Challenge
The Detectives
Going Underground - The Great Escape
Naked City 4: The Day of Reckoning
Timekeepers
How to Be Happy
Small Talk
Modern Times
The Bullion Boys

Visuals: It's simply a shortened version of the BBC Video logo from the era, only it is smaller.

Variants:

On The Big One, a ghostly copy of the 1988 BBC logo from the era, after the logo animates as usual.
An in-credit version exists from 1988 to 1992, containing the print version of the 1988 BBC logo and the copyright info below structured the same way as the 3rd logo.
Top text may be placed above the logo such as "For" and "Production for".
- On As Times Goes By, the text is capitalised.
From 1988 to 1992, only the copyright notice would be included.
- On Bottom, the copyright symbol and the logo appears to be drawn with the whole notice in black. The logo becomes inverted when the silhouette of a man overlaps with it.
- Like the 3rd logo, some episodes of Last of the Summer Wine would have this logo in yellow.
- On Holiday Outings, the logo is coloured light green.
On some rare instances, the bars underneath the BBC boxes are colourised like in the standard logo.
- On one yet-to-be identified game show, the logo is black and the bars are still colourised albeit in very dark colours.
On the Moving Pictures episode "Who's Crying Now", the copyright notice is on the same row as the BBC logo.
On season 5 of As Time Goes By, the copyright notice is aligned to the right and in a less thicker stroke.
On This is Your Life, "PRODUCTION FOR THE" appears above the BBC notice. Not only that, but the logo is also within Thames Television's 1990 on-screen logo.
A variant exists where the notice simply consists of an outline of the logo with no fill, which can be seen alongside the 1993 Tiger Aspect Productions logo.
- Within the same Tiger Aspect logo, one variant has the logo with a black fill. This appears on all episodes of the second and final season of The Thin Blue Line, like a 1997 Oregon Public Broadcasting airing of the episode "Road Rage".
On some shows, the BBC logo in the copyright notice is the same regular font as the rest of the text.
On Sister Wendy's Odyssey, the logo has an outline.
On Birds of a Feather, the logo (excluding the copyright notice) is coloured blue.
On The Electronic Frontier, the notice is gold.
On Through African Eyes, the logo is in a British tan colour. The 1988 BBC logo can also be seen above the text reading "A BBC/RM Arts co-production".
Occasionally, the in-credit logo is placed on top rather than on the bottom.
On Great Railway Journeys, the text "FOR BBC TELEVISION" is within the Triple Echo Productions logo and the PBS notice. The copyright also adds "NORTH" after the 1988 BBC logo.
On Murder Most Horrid, the notice fully reads "for BBC Television" with a shadow effect.
- On the first episode of the series, "Overkill", only the BBC notice was more wider and missing its shadow.
- Starting with season 3, the full notice is stacked.
The Day Today has the same wording as the Murder Most Horrid variant except the logo is smaller.
On The Peacock Spring, appearing before the BBC logo is Zed Ltd's notice, reading "A ZED Ltd production for"
On In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great, the logo appears side by side with the Maryland Public Television print logo. "British Broadcasting Corporation" is also placed above the logo.
On Playdays, the notice is in blue.
- On one episode from 1995, the copyright notice is strangely the previous one while the BBC logo is still in its 1988 form.
A low-budget version of the 1988 logo where the text is in a normal, italicised font and the boxes are less slanted and bigger exists.
On Latin Spanish prints of season 1 of Teletubbies, the words "Una produccion de Ragdoll para" precede the notice with the logo also in the same row as "para".
On The Great War, the normal logo is grouped with KCET's in-credit notice; both are separated by a dash.
On some episodes of Last of the Summer Wine, the notice is in yellow.
On Men Behaving Badly, this logo appears as a byline for the Hartswood Films logo. Since said logo is coloured green, so is the BBC notice. The top text also reads "FOR BBC TELEVISION".
- Similarly, on Timekeepers, the BBC logo is blue like how the Action Time Productions is in the same colour.
On Small Talk, the copyright notice adds "UK" before the BBC logo.
On How Do They Do That?, appearing before the 1988 BBC logo is Reg Grundy Productions' notice, reading "A REG GRUNDY PRODUCTION for". The copyright notice is also positioned to the left side.
On Muppets Tonight, the top text reads "FOR THE".
On Naked City 4: The Day of Reckoning, the text is black and the rest of the logo is white with the whole thing having a shadow effect.
On Arena, the logo is maroon and is in a rippling effect.
On Horizons, the logo appears above said show's logo, has the bars colourised, and is in a stone texture.
On University Challenge, The BBC logo is coloured in the same colours as the 1988 logo.
On Bob Says Opportunity Knocks seasons 2 and 3 from 1988 and 1989, respectively, the 1988 BBC logo is in the colours of the underlines.
On Rough Justice, the logo is dark teal.
On the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, the logo is in a gold texture.
On Driving School, the logo appears on the top left.
On the BBC's Last Chance to See award-winning shorts, (see BBC Worldwide's logo description for more).
On season 3 of Noddy's Toyland Adventures', the logo appears on the top of the screen and the words "Produced for" and "ENTERPRISES" are added next to the logo. Similarly, the copyright notice includes "ENTERPRISES" between the 1988 BBC logo and the copyright year.
On Over Here, the logo and copyright notice appear above and below the Over Here logo, respectively.
On an old TLC airing of The Storm From The East episode "The Last of the Khans", the logo appears within the text reading An NHK BBC Co-Production and the copyright notice which reads © BBC (in its 1988 print logo)/NHK MCMXCIII appearing at the bottom of the screen, which is then followed by the 1991 BBC Lionheart Television logo afterwards.
On the UK version of U2: A Year in Pop, the 1988 BBC logo appears with the Dreamchaser Productions logo.

Technique: Either a still, computerized graphic, or same as the shortened 1991 BBC Video logo.

Audio: A shortened version of the 1989 BBC theme. The ending theme of the programme or none for the in-credit logo.

Availability: Seen on programmes by the BBC during the 1988 BBC logo's time-period until 1997.

These include Top of the Pops (starting in 1990), Auntie's New Bloomers, EastEnders, Bottom, Last of the Summer Wine, Howard's Way, Playdays (starting in 1992), Teletubbies, Cold Enough for Snow, Multi-Coloured Saturdays, States of Mind, Hearts of Gold (season 3 onwards), Sum Chance, Trivial Pursuit, The Brittas Empire, Only Fools and Horses (starting in 1990), One Foot in the Grave (season 2 onwards), the UK version of U2: A Year in Pop, and Birds of a Feather, among many others.
One of the first shows to contain the standard logo is season 4 of Birds of a Feather.
Shows that have the logo superimposed into the credits includes season 4 of The Rock 'n' Roll Years, Sister Wendy's Odyssey, and Footsteps of Alexander the Great, among many others.
The version with just the copyright notice is seen on season 1 of the original Absolutely Fabulous series and Bottom, and was also seen Bob Says Opportunity Knocks (seasons 2 and 3), Drowning In The Shallow End (1989), Hearts of Gold, Sum Chance, and Trivial Pursuit, among many others.
The Tiger Aspect variants which appear on The Thin Blue Line are plastered over by the 1998 Tiger Aspect logo on current prints of the show, but it is still retained on older prints (like the PAL format 2001 DVD release thereof).
The 1988-1992 version of the copyright notice also makes a surprise appearance on Jools's Hootenanny and some of the last episodes of Playdays, all from late 1996 to early 1997, respectively.
The 1992-1997 version of the copyright notice also makes a surprise appearance on the Italian VHS releases of Teletubbies from DeAgostini, with Ragdoll's 2000-present logo, likely due to the early 1997 Teletubbies variant being modified to remove Ragdoll's 1995-2000 logo, but forgot to replace the 1988 BBC logo with the 1997 one.
As for the standard logo, it was seen on TV Nation, and The Big One.

5th Logo (October 4, 1997-)

Visuals: The notice now includes the 1997 logo, consisting of three normal white squares with the company's name in Gill Sans. Text may appear on top of the logo, reading "FOR", "FOR BBC", or "PRODUCTION FOR".

Variants:

Several shows may lack a top text for the notice.
The font of the text may vary on several shows.
Some shows would have "In association with" above the BBC notice.
A few shows would add "the" to the "production for" notice.
A variant exists where only the BBC logo is displayed.
Sometimes, the BBC notice simply appears before the other co-producer fades in.
- Shows such as A Very British Scandal would add the BBC name next to the "IAW" notice.
On The Crimson Petal and the White, the top text reads "A Co-Production for".
On The Capture, the top text is capitalised.
Sometimes, the background may be a custom colour or pattern different from the end credits.
On one show, "Television" is placed underneath the logo.
This logo may be superimposed into the other logos' backgrounds on most shows.
The logo may be superimposed into the ending shots of various shows.
- On The Woman in White, the notice, alongside the Origin Pictures logo, is small and appears on the bottom centre of the screen.
Alongside the PBS logo and sometimes BBC Studios, the notice, either in white or black, appears within the compressed credits of some shows.
- Rise of the Nazis uses this variant but with the 72 Films logo.
- On Koko, The Gorilla that Talked, the BBC production notice is first rather than last, reading "A BBC Production with PBS".
Several shows would have the logo in black.
- On season 3 of People Just Do Nothing, this variant has the text in white.
On Fingersmith, the top notice includes Sally Head Productions' name, reading "A Sally Head Production for"
On Vexed, "A Greenlit Rights Production" is added on top of "for BBC".
A few shows would have the BBC logo appear on top of its co-producer.
On Swimming with Killer Wales, the BBC logo is next to Animal Planet's notice with an "&" in between.
On QI, the drawings of the equations in the background overlaps with the logo.
Early variants of the copyright notice is similar to the one from last time but with the 1997 BBC logo at the time after the copyright symbol. This was used from 1997-1998.
- Later season 1 episodes of Teletubbies has the copyright's font exactly like the one from before. Beginning around the middle of season 2, the copyright font uses the font used by the 1997 logo.
- Original PBS airings of Teletubbies season 1 would have the BBC copyright notice shared with Ragdoll's.
Much like the previous logos, the logo may only be included in the copyright info.
The website link would change depending on the show, topic, or genre. For example, on Teletubbies, the website link includes said show's name after the slash.
- Some drama programmes would simply have "drama" added to the link.
- Some history programmes would simply have "history" added to the link.
Sometimes, the notice would appear within other logos.
On programmes co-produced with the Discovery Channel, the BBC logo is to the left of said company's notice and is slowly zooming in.
- There is another variant of said version but with the Animal Planet logo as well as a different background.
- On early PBS airings of Teletubbies seasons 3 and 4, the logo is to the right of the Ragdoll logo.
The logo may appear on the same row as other logos. Occasionally, extra text such as "&" may separate the two logos.
- On The Real T-Rex with Chris Packham, the logo would not only appear to the right of the CBC Docs logo but copies of both company's names would appear above each of them.
- The Children in Time for Masterpiece would not only have this logo alongside the Masterpiece logo, but both notices are separated with text reading "in co-production with".
  - Similarly, on Normal People, "AND" would separate the BBC and Hulu logos.
- On the 20th anniversary specials of Absolutely Fabulous, the notice would be shared with Saunders & French's, reading "A BBC SAUNDERS & FRENCH Production".
On The Roly Mo Show, the logo alongside the Novel Entertainment logo appears within a yellow box with a white fill. The website and copyright information are seen underneath the box.
On Dolphins Spy in the Pool, the BBC logo also appears in the "for" portion, alongside the Discovery Channel notice.
On Touched by Auschwitz, the top notice adds "BBC Worldwide" to the mix.
Similar to last time, the logo would appear within the ending title card for a certain series.
- On one episode of BBC Travel Show, the Twitter account for the show briefly fades in before suddenly cutting to its website link as well as the copyright notice appearing below the BBC logo.
On Microsoap, the logo, positioned on the top half of the screen, reads "A BBC Production in Association with" in a stacked format.
On Further Back in Time for Dinner, Wall to Wall Production's bottom text notice includes the BBC's text notice.
On The World's Most Extraordinary Homes, the top text adds "the BBC" to the IAW notice.
On Operation Stone Henge: What Lies Beneath, the top notice reads "Produced by October Films, Lightship Entertainment and Interspot Film for the".
On Inside British Vogue, the top text reads "A Lightbox production in association with platform productions for".
On Taboo, the logo is in beige.
On late '90s episodes of Watchdog, the logo is on the bottom left with all the other credit info on every side of the screen.
On Rock Profile, the logo is alongside the UKTV notice within a black box on the bottom with a shot from or the logo of said show.
On In My Skin, the notice adds "An Expectation Production" above "for".
On Emmeline Pankhurst: The Making of a Militant, the top text describes the logo as a BBC North West production.
On Lost Worlds and Hidden Treasures, there is a bottom text reading "An Alleycats Production for the BBC".
On A Perfect Planet, the text inbetween the Silverback and BBC logos read "A Silverback Films Production for BBC and Discovery".
On David Attenborough: Life in Colour, the screen simply consists of the BBC logo and top text reading:

A Humble Bee Films and SeaLight Films co-production
in association with Netflix and Screen Australia for BBC

On Cold War, Dirty Science, the logo is within an old film reel.

Technique: A still, computerized graphic.

Audio: The ending theme of the programme or none.

Availability: Seen on BBC shows since after replacing the previous one. It was also used in tandem with the next four logos.

The notice with just "For" on top is the easiest to find.
- Examples includes Teletubbies beginning with season 2, Have I Got News For You, New Tricks, and many more.
As for the "For BBC" notice, it can be spotted on Battle of Britain: The Real Story and John Denver: Country Boy, among others.
Shows that has the BBC logo appear on the top rather than the bottom includes older shows from the early 2000s such as The Mitchell and Webb Situation, Living with Louis, and the 2002 Auf Wiedersehen, Pet revival.
The superimposed variant usually appears on non-fiction programmes such as The Lost Elephants of Timbuktu, John Denver: Country Boy, and the 2004 D-Day documentary.
- Other real-life shows includes QI where it appears alongside the Talkback logo and Shaun the Sheep: The Farmer's Llamas where the logo is in black.
The compressed credits variant usually appears on PBS co-productions such as The Amazing Human Body, Great Performances: The Hollow Crown, and The Rockies: Kingdoms of the Sky.
The variant with just the 1997 BBC logo is preserved on early seasons of the UK version of The Weakest Link, and the One Foot in the Grave 1997 Christmas special titled "Endgame" and on the sixth and final season of the aforementioned show, and was also seen on original airings of older episodes of Dog Eat Dog, Under The Wire, Korea: The Never Ending War, There's Only One Madonna, and the beginning of The A List.
- It was also seen on all episodes of the U.S. version of The Weakest Link.
The title card variant was seen on shows from the late 1990s to around 2000, which includes Omnibus and QED, neither of which exist through home media releases or television reruns.
Despite the BBC debuting a new logo in 2021, this logo is still widely being used.
- Recent programmes include Mood, A Very British Scandal, and season 6 of Peaky Blinders, among others.
- Currently, it is used in tandem with said logo.

6th Logo (2007-2010s)

Visuals: Over a dark background, the logo starts with several light blue reflections of the BBC letters in light blue and glass blocks. Zooming out, the letters turn out and line up with each other while the background becomes dark blue with normal blue light wandering around. In the middle of this, "A BBC Television Programme" fades in and deblurs.

Variants:

Sometimes, the text at the bottom is absent.
An extended version exists that shows off more of the cubes rotating.
At the end of a BBC Weather broadcast and used as a filler if the BBC has some technical problems, only the shots with the reflections of the BBC letters are shown.

Technique: CGI by Red Bee Media.

Audio: A soothing electronic rock piece that has five chimes play when the logo forms, which is longer on the extended version. The music was composed by Adelphoi.

Availability: Seen on some shows such as current prints of North & South on Netflix UK.

This is also seen appears on modern reprints of Fawlty Towers.
It is also seen on some BBC DVD releases from the era.

7th Logo (2008-August 2, 2016)

Visuals: Three 3D cubes containing the 1997 BBC logo rotate to the left to face the screen. "Productions" then fade in below. Much like the 6th logo, a copyright notice is usually seen underneath.

Variants:

Starting in 2012, "PRODUCTIONS" is removed.
On The Weakest Link, the BBC text is in black and the logo itself is superimposed into the end credits.
On Miranda, the show's title card appears above the logo. The copyright notice is also stacked.
On Extreme Apprentice Slum Survivors, the logo appears underneath the show producer's credit.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: The ending theme of the programme or none.

Availability: Seen on later seasons of current and then-current shows produced by the BBC such as The Weakest Link, Miranda, Luther, and Extreme Apprentice Slum Survivors, among others.

The variant without "PRODUCTIONS" is seen on An Hour to Save Your Life and Remember Me, among others.
One of the last programmes to use this logo was Hyper Evolution: Rise of the Robots.

8th Logo (August 5, 2013)

Visuals: Simply the 1997 logo in black fading in and out on a white background.

Technique: A still, digital graphic.

Audio: The ending theme of the show.

Availability: Only seen on Tales from the Royal Bedchamber.

9th Logo (September 7, 2018)

Visuals: Just the 1997 BBC logo slowly zooming in on a black background.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: The opening theme of the show.

Availability: Seen on Under the Wire.

10th Logo (October 31, 2021-)

Visuals: Same as the 5th logo, but with the 2021 logo, now in BBC Reith Sans Bold.

Variants:

Starting in 2022, an animated variant exists where the three BBC blocks move into a bar of the multicoloured background and the middle part zooms in before it fades out.
- An alternate variant of the animated logo also exists, where a family (father, son, mother, in order) looking at the logo on the TV screen at their living room. The colours illuminate the room. This was found in the case study video.
- This variant also sometimes animates in reverse.
- A 100th anniversary variant also exists.
- Three regional variants exist, which include Scotland (blue), Northern Island (green) and Cymru Wales (red).
On BBC Three x Radio 1 The Launch Party, the screen glitches to this logo as well as the Strawberry Blond TV and BBC Radio 1 logos.

Technique: A still, digital graphic. The animated variant uses 2D computer animation created by SR Partners.

Audio: The ending theme of the programme or none.

Audio Variants:

For the animated variant, a three-beat rhythm tune (composed by Zelig) is used. The official onomatopoeia for the soundtrack is "Daphne", named after the former co-founder of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop from 1958 to 1959, Daphne Oram. A case study video can be found on their YouTube channel here and on Zelig's website here.
On a 2023 print of a 1974 Doctor Who episode and Tubi prints of the pilot episode of Boarders, the animated logo's music sounds slightly distorted.

Availability: Seen on more recent programmes such as Dodger, Fergal Keane: Living with PTSD and the 2023 revival of Total Drama Island (which serves as the sixth season of Total Drama), respectively.

As of now, it is currently used in tandem with the 5th logo.
The animated variant is seen on The Green Planet, the live coverage of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, among others.