Thames (1968-2006)

This article is about the production logos used by Thames as an ITV franchise from 1968-1992 and as a production company from 1993 onwards. For Thames' TV idents, see Thames Television.

Credits

Compiled by
RSX-798

Editions by
Michael Kenchington, Camenati and TheRealMarcel2000

Background

The Thames production company was originally the production arm of Thames Television, formed from a merger of the separate previous units ABC Television Productions and Rediffusion London Productions. Even after Thames had lost its ITV franchise in 1992 to Carlton, it continued on as a production company, which was acquired by Pearson Television in mid-1993 (itself sold to CLT-UFA in July 2000, merged to become the RTL Group, and rebranded as FremantleMedia in 2001).

On 10 February 2003, Thames was merged with another Fremantle subsidiary, Talkback to form Talkback Thames, which was then split in 2012 into four production companies, resurrecting the Thames brand to focus on entertainment shows.

1st Logo (July 30, 1968-1969)

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Visuals:

• Opening: Same as the station ID of the era.
• Closing: Essentially a still version of the 1968 logo, with "FROM" on the top left of the logo.

Variants:

• On some programmes, a still variant of the black background version is used.
• On the Do Not Adjust Your TV Set Christmas special Do Not Adjust Your Stocking, the closing Thames logo is on a woman's skirt, her backside specifically. This was the first Do Not Adjust Your TV Set to be produced by Thames.

Technique:

• Opening: Live-action effects.
• Closing: It appears to be a freeze-frame.

Audio:

• Opening: Same as the station ID of the era.
• Closing: The ending theme of the programme or none.

Availability: Seen on programmes by Thames from the time-period until 1969.

• Many Thames shows had kept the logo, like General Franco and Special Branch, among others.
• The still variant was also seen at the end of an August 19, 2023 airing of S01E03 of Cribbins on That's TV.
• The still variant of the black background version of this logo was also seen at the end of a July 19, 2022 airing of S01E02 of The Mind of Mr J.G. Reeder on Talking Pictures TV, which is then followed by the 2018 Fremantle logo.

2nd Logo (November 15, 1969-September 1, 1989)

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Visuals:

• Opening: Same as the station ID of the era.
• Closing: This is a still version of the 1969 logo, but with the text reading "COLOUR PRODUCTION" which appears below the logo.

Variants:

• A still version of the 1969 logo without the "COLOUR PRODUCTION" text exists.
• A zoomed-in version of the "COLOUR PRODUCTION" variant of this logo also exists, which is seen at the end of Count Duckula and on a later print of Oh! Mr Toad!, respectively.
• A 16:9 cropped version of the "COLOUR PRODUCTION" variant of this logo also exists, which is seen on UKTV Yesterday airings of The World at War.
• During the 1970 ITV strike, a black-and-white version exists, where the logo reads only as "THAMES PRODUCTION".
• Other versions of the logo exist, reading as "FROM THAMES" or "FROM THAMES IN COLOUR", the latter of which was seen at the end of movies and imported programmes.
• Prior to 1985, the last of these variants also included the text "© UK (year in Roman numerals)" below "PRODUCTION".
• Another version read "Produced for THAMES TELEVISION", with "Produced for" and "Television" added above and below the Thames text, respectively, which is seen on Jack the Ripper (1988 miniseries).
• In 1982, Thames added a new closing logo without the reflections for its Channel Four programmes. Against a black or blue background was a box with a blue/white outline of the buildings, a blue/purple gradient background and the word "THAMES" inside. Underneath are the words "A THAMES TELEVISION PRODUCTION FOR CHANNEL FOUR" (an early version lacked the box).
• On Waldheim, the text is reworded to "A Thames Television Production in association with Home Box Office for Channel Four" with a copyright notice reading "© THAMES TELEVISION PLC (year)" appearing below.
• The TV show Pauline's Quirkes (1976) has a variant that had a kaiju (played by Pauline Quirke) rise from the river and eat the logo, as well as the building domes.
• The late-night mystery series Armchair Thriller (1978-81) uses a variant of the logo set at night.
• One episode of The Kenny Everett Video Show (1978-81) has the building domes in the logo replaced with women's breasts.
• One edition of the Morecambe and Wise Christmas comedy sketch shows produced by Thames uses a choral version of the Thames logo jingle: "Here they are now, Morecambe and Wi-i-i-i-i-ise!"

Technique:

• Opening: Live-action effects. The Pauline's Quirkes variant uses stop-motion.
• Closing: It appears to be a freeze-frame. The Channel Four closing variants are a digital graphic.

Audio:

• Opening: Same as the station ID of the era.
• Closing: The ending theme of the programme or none.

Audio Variants:

• Beginning in 1971, the re-arranged version of the fanfare was used more often for the opening variant.
• A low tone variant of the re-arranged version of the "Salute to Thames" fanfare also exists for the opening variant, which can be found on the 4:3 print of the 2017 UK Network Blu-ray release of Jack the Ripper (1988 miniseries).

Availability: Seen on programmes by Thames from the time-period until 1989.

• These include The Bill, Danger Mouse, The Wind in the Willows, Count Duckula, Rainbow, Cockleshell Bay, The Sooty Show, Rumpole of the Bailey, The Sweeney, The World at War, and Armchair Theatre, the 1970s UK version of The Tomorrow People, Love Thy Neighbor, George and Mildred, Man About the House, season 1 of Everybody's Equal, Des O'Connor Tonight, Stig of the Dump, Rock 'N' The Dock, The Agatha Christie Hour, James Capel Speed Chess Challenge, The TV Times Top 10 Awards, Ruth Ellis and the Mystery Lover, the first four seasons of Strike It Lucky, and the first eight seasons of Never the Twain, among many others.
• The opening variant was used on all networked programmes by Thames until ITV abolished frontcaps starting on January 1, 1988.
• The opening variant is also intact at the start of all programmes by Thames on most home media releases, such as the 2000 UK VHS releases of The Original Sooty Show: Wet and Wild Water Fun and Chorlton and the Wheelies: Chorlton Gets His Wheels, the 2003 UK VHS release of The Tomorrow People: The Doomsday Men: The Complete Story, and the 4:3 print of the 2017 UK Network Blu-ray release of Jack the Ripper (1988 miniseries), among many others.
• The closing variant with the "COLOUR PRODUCTION" text also makes a surprise appearance at the end of the French dubbing prints of the first three Mr. Bean episodes "Mr. Bean", "The Return of Mr. Bean", and "The Curse of Mr. Bean", respectively, which is then followed by the 2001 FremantleMedia International logo.
• The closing variant with the "COLOUR PRODUCTION" text was also strangely seen at the end of a May 11, 2023 airing of the Never the Twain episode "The Best Laid Plans" on ITV3, instead of the 4th logo, due to a plastering error.

3rd Logo (September 4, 1989-August 31, 1990)

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Visuals: On a blue spotlight background, there is a still version of the Thames XXI logo, except the bottom triangle is wordless. Below it the text reads "THAMES TELEVISION PRODUCTION".

Variants:

• Sometimes, "Production" would be reworded to either "Programme" or "Presentation" (the latter of which was seen at the end of movies and imported programmes).
• The 1989 ITV logo also appears below either the "THAMES TELEVISION PRODUCTION FOR" or "THAMES TELEVISION PROGRAMME FOR" on networked programmes.
• For programmes produced for Channel 4, the text is reworded to "THAMES TELEVISION PRODUCTION FOR CHANNEL FOUR".
  • A B&W variant of the above also exists, which was seen at the end of a TCM airing of the 1921 film The Blot.

Technique: A still CGI render.

Audio: The ending theme of the programme or none.

Audio Variant: On the DVD print of the Mr. Bean episode "The Trouble with Mr. Bean", the tiger growling sound from the 1989 Tiger Television logo plays over this endcap, continuing from the said logo.

Availability: Seen on programmes by Thames from the time-period until 1990.

• These include The Bill, This Is Your Life, Wish You Were Here, Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius, episodes of both The Sooty Show and Rainbow from 1989 to 1990, Des O'Connor Tonight, T-Bag's Christmas Carol, T-Bag and the Pearls of Wisdom, The Courier, and the fifth season of Strike It Lucky, among many others.
• It was also originally seen on season 3 (1989-90) episodes of Count Duckula, however it does not appear on the DVD release for unknown reasons, and also does not appear on VHS releases as they are often deleted out, or are plastered over by either Thames Video's first logo or Cosgrove Hall Productions' second logo (which is extended on the DVD release).
• It is also seen on 1989 episodes of Never The Twain and was intact whenever Forces TV aired this.
• Season 1 episodes of French Fields also kept this intact on UKTV Play and whenever UKTV Drama decides to air it.
• The B&W variant of the "THAMES TELEVISION PRODUCTION FOR CHANNEL FOUR" endcap was also seen on a TCM airing of the 1921 film The Blot.
• The version with the 1989 ITV logo was also seen on the original airing of the first episode of Mr. Bean (and also appears intact on the DVD print thereof).
• It is also strangely seen on the DVD print of the Mr. Bean episode "The Trouble with Mr. Bean", instead of the next logo, due to an editing error.
• It was also seen at the end of the 1989 TV movie Darlings of the Gods.
• It was also seen at the end of an October 20, 2020 UK airing of the French Fields episode "A Moving Experience" on UKTV Drama, which is then followed by the 2018 Fremantle logo.

4th Logo (September 3, 1990-1997)

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Visuals: Against a medium blue background is a blue and gold version of the triangular Thames logo with the words "THAMES TELEVISION" appearing on the triangle in a Friz Quadrata font. Below that is the text reading "THAMES TELEVISION PRODUCTION".

Byline: Beginning in mid-1996, the byline "A Pearson Television Company" was added below the triangle, and "PRODUCTION" was moved on to it, now also in the same font as the rest of the logo. The copyright text "© Thames Television Limited (year in Roman numerals)" was also added at the bottom of the screen, as it was previously on the credits.

Variants:

• Sometimes, "Production" would be reworded to either "Programme" or "Presentation" (the latter of which was seen at the end of movies and imported programmes such as Home and Away and Prisoner, Cell Block H, among many others).
• The 1989 ITV logo also appears below either the "THAMES TELEVISION PRODUCTION FOR", "THAMES TELEVISION PROGRAMME FOR" or "THAMES TELEVISION PRESENTATION FOR" text on networked programmes by Thames until December 31, 1992. However, after 1992, this became the primary logo and the 1989 ITV logo was removed.
• For Thames' Channel Four-produced programmes, either the text "A THAMES TELEVISION PRODUCTION FOR CHANNEL FOUR" or "THAMES TELEVISION PRODUCTION FOR CHANNEL FOUR" would be displayed.
• From 1993 to 1997, there were also three variants for Thames' Yorkshire, Central and UK Gold-produced programmes, with the text "THAMES TELEVISION PRODUCTION FOR YORKSHIRE TELEVISION/CENTRAL/UKGOLD".
• On programmes produced for Sky such as Great Escapes, the logo is seen with the text reading "A THAMES TELEVISION PRODUCTION FOR SKY TELEVISION ©(year)" which appears below.
• In 1994, Thames' then-parent company Pearson remastered the 1973-75 documentary series The World At War, with the following plastered over the original "From THAMES" and "THAMES Colour Production" ending: Following a quick montage of black and white photographs, the 1990 Thames Triangle logo (with the colour removed) appears on the screen on a black background, with the copyright date under it reading "© Thames Television Ltd. (year in Roman numerals)" in a Futura Bold font.
  • A variant of the above also exists where the 1990 Thames Triangle logo changes from black and white to colour, which is seen on at least one episode of the remastered version of The World At War as well.
• On the 1992 remake of The Tomorrow People, this logo appears in a split-screen alongside the Nickelodeon and 1990 Reeves Entertainment logos. It then zooms in towards the screen and the copyright notice reading "© Thames Television MCMXCII" fades in at the bottom of the screen afterwards.
• Variants of this logo for Thames Video, Euston Films, and Cosgrove Hall Productions were also used.
• A version with "INTERNATIONAL" replacing "TELEVISION" also exists. The name is put on a separate bar, and the logo also takes up more of the screen with no other words around it. Oddly enough, this version was seen on Avenger Penguins (the first show produced by Cosgrove Hall after Thames had lost their broadcasting license at the end of 1992). However, it was not seen on the original airings, instead featuring Granada's 1992 "stripe" end board.
  • This is also seen on the Arena Home Entertainment VHS release of Lorna Doone and a DVD print of the Mr. Bean episode "Goodnight Mr. Bean" (plastering the 1995 A Central Presentation endcap).
• A variant with just the 1990 Thames triangle logo also exists, which is seen on an early 2000s print of the second season of Avenger Penguins.
• A print version of the logo also exists, which is seen on prints of Cold Comfort Farm, and also shares the screen with the 1988 BBC logo.
• On episodes of This Is Your Life on BBC One from 1994 to 1997, this logo appears with the 1988 BBC logo.
• On Call Red, the logo is smaller with the words "THAMES TELEVISION" and "FILM AND GENERAL PRODUCTIONS" both appearing below.
• Sometimes, on the mid-1996 production variant:
  • The Pearson byline would appear on the triangle instead of "PRODUCTION".
  • The Thames Television copyright notice would be omitted.

Technique: A digital graphic.

Audio: The ending theme of the programme or none.

Availability: Seen on Thames programmes from the time-period until 1997.

• These include Executive Stress, the later French Fields (second season onward), both season 6 (1990) of Danger Mouse and season 3 (1990-1991) of Count Duckula (original airings only), episodes of The Sooty Show, T-Bag and Rainbow from 1990 to 1992, all episodes of Truckers and Victor and Hugo: Bunglers in Crime, the 1992 remake of The Tomorrow People, later Rumpole of the Bailey episodes, This Is Your Life, Mr. Bean (from "The Return of Mr. Bean" to "Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean"), Wish You Were Here...?, the first five seasons of The Bill, the first four seasons of Take Your Pick!, Strike It Lucky, Des O'Connor Tonight, Time Riders, Hope It Rains, The City Programme (1990-1991), Sports World Extra (1990-1992), Video View, season 8 of Minder, and the final two seasons of Never the Twain, among many others.
• The production variant with the 1989 ITV logo was also originally seen on the original 1992 UK airing and public TV rerun prints of the Mr. Bean episode "Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean", however, it has since been removed for current broadcasts and is also omitted from both the 1998 UK VHS release and the DVD print thereof.
• The monochrome version is also seen on The World At War after its "remastering" in 1994 and has also been aired on BBC Two during December 2002.
• The production variant with the 1989 ITV logo was also seen on a Drama airing of the French Fields episode "Make for the Hills", which is then followed by the 2018 Fremantle logo.
• The production variant without the 1989 ITV logo also plasters the 2nd logo on programmes on UK Gold such as The Upchat Line, The Bill, Danger UXB, Give Us A Clue, The Sweeney, and George and Mildred, among others, and on a Talking Pictures TV airing of a 1979 episode of Quatermass.
• The production variant without the 1989 ITV logo was also seen at the end of a September 14, 2022 airing of The Sweeney episode "Bad Apple" on ITV4, plastering the 2nd logo.
• The "Thames Television Programme" variant without the 1989 ITV logo was also seen at the end of the 1992 remake of The Tomorrow People episode "A Bad Dream Gets Real" as part of CITV's Old Skool Weekend in January 2013, which is then followed by the 2001 FremantleMedia Enterprises logo.
• The "Thames Television Production for Yorkshire Television" variant of this logo was also seen at the end of season 2 of The Best of Tommy Cooper, which is then followed by the 1989 A Yorkshire Television Programme for ITV endcap.
• The Film and General Productions variant of this logo was seen at the end of Call Red, which is then followed by the 1995 A Meridian Presentation for ITV endcap.
• The mid-1996 production variant is seen on the later prints of the Minder episodes "Him Indoors" and "The Greatest Show in Willesden", and a mid-1990s print of the 1983 adaptation of The Wind in the Willows, and was also seen on The Bill, season 10 of Michael Barrymore's Strike It Rich, Des O'Connor's Christmas with the Stars (which is then followed by the 1995 A Central Presentation for ITV endcap), and a September 22, 2022 airing of the Callan episode "Call Me Sir!" on Talking Pictures TV (which is then followed by the 2018 Fremantle logo), respectively, among others.
• The mid-1996 production variant of this logo is also intact at the end of a UKTV Play streaming print of the premiere episode of season 13 of The Bill, which is then followed by both the "Presentation for ITV" variant of the original version of the 1996 Carlton endcap and 2018 Fremantle logo.

5th Logo (March 30, 1997-2002)

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Visuals: Against a black background is a tall blue box with a whitish silhouette of the Tower Bridge. Under that are the words "THAMES" in the Copperplate Gothic font and the respective company byline.

Variants:

• On co-productions, the name of the station (e.g. "For Channel Four") would be seen under the byline.
• A copyright byline is sometimes seen below.
• On some shows, like reprints of The Sweeney, the show's URL appears below the logo.
• On the original airings of The Bill from 1998 to 2000, the ITV URL reading "www.itv.co.uk" appears below the logo.
• On Des O'Connor Tonight at Christmas, the URL reading "itv.virtualchristmas.co.uk" appears below the 1998 copyright notice.
• Sometimes, this logo shares the screen with other logos (including the 1988 and 1997 BBC logos).
• On Hard Labour, this logo is seen with the 2000 Bravo Television logo and the copyright notice also reads "(C) Flextech Rights Ltd 2000" which appears below.
• Starting in 1999 on shows produced for Channel 4, the 1999 Channel 4 "Square" logo appears on the right of the 1997 Thames logo.

Bylines:

• 1997-2001: "A Pearson Television Company"
• 2001-2002: "A FremantleMedia Company"

Technique: A digital graphic.

Audio: The ending theme of the programme or none.

Availability: Seen on Thames shows from the time period until 2002.

• These include Family Affairs, The Bill, later seasons of Michael Barrymore's Strike It Rich, Wish You Were Here, and the final series of Take Your Pick!, among many others.
• This logo was mainly used to plaster over older Thames logos, primarily on British cable TV, but also on both VHS and DVD releases by Pearson Television Video and FremantleMedia, respectively.
• Recent Thames productions have rarely aired on PBS.
• This logo was also seen on early episodes of the 4th season of the UK version of Fort Boyard, with the remaining episodes of that season using the next logo.
• Recent reruns of season 7 of Strike it Lucky on Challenge also feature this logo with the Pearson byline, followed by the 2001 FremantleMedia logo.
• It is also seen on a UK 4:3 DVD release of Jack the Ripper (1988 mini-series), plastering the 2nd logo.
• It was also seen at the end of a late 2019 UK airing of the French Fields episode "Inside Story" on Drama, which is then followed by the 2018 Fremantle logo.
• It was also seen at the end of a June 29, 2020 airing of the Bless This House episode "A Touch of the Unknown" on ITV3, which is then followed by the 2018 Fremantle logo.
• It was also seen at the end of a June 15, 2023 airing of S01E02 of Rumpole of the Bailey on Talking Pictures TV, which is then followed by the 1996 Pearson Television International and 2018 Fremantle logos.
• It was also seen at the end of a June 25, 2019 airing of The Sweeney episode "Messenger of the Gods" on ITV4, which is then followed by the still version of the 1996 Pearson Television logo.
• The FremantleMedia byline version is rare, due to it only being used for a short-time.

6th Logo (2001-2003)

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Visuals: As the waves on the surface of a river are seen, the name "THAMES" in a white sans-serif font is seen in the centre of the screen. Like the "Rising Buildings", there is a reflection given to the Thames name (in a sky-bluish shade). The byline "A FremantleMedia Company" is under this.

Variants:

• For older shows and movies, it plasters older Thames logos like the 5th logo, and there is also a copyright disclaimer appearing below relating to the year it first commissioned.
• On co-productions with the BBC (such as the long-running UK edition of This Is Your Life), the Thames logo is seen on a black background with the 1997 BBC logo under it. Copyright notices for both are seen under the 1997 BBC logo.
• On Pop Idol, the 19 Television logo is seen below the Thames logo.
• Just like the last logo, shows produced for Channel 4 have the 1999 Channel 4 "Square" logo on the right of the 2001 Thames logo.
• On shows co-produced with Channel 5 such as Open House with Gloria Hunniford, the logo and the background are on the right side of the Channel 5 logo with the copyright disclaimer below.

Technique: A still CGI render.

Audio: The ending theme of the programme or none.

Availability: Seen on Thames shows from the time period until 2003.

• These include Pop Idol, The Bill, and Play Your Cards Right, among others.
• Just like the fifth logo, most Thames productions and episodes of Take Your Pick that air on Challenge currently have this plaster over older Thames logos, usually adding in a copyright byline dated the year the series was originally transmitted/aired.
• A few episodes of the 4th season of the UK version of Fort Boyard when aired on Challenge end with this logo.
• This logo is also seen on a UK 16:9 widescreen DVD release of Jack the Ripper (1988 mini-series), plastering the 2nd logo.
• It was also seen at the end of Challenge airings of Lily Savage's Blankety Blank, which is then followed by the 2001 FremantleMedia logo.
• This logo with the 1974 copyright notice was also seen at the end of a July 10, 2020 airing of the Bless This House episode "They Don't Write Songs Like That Anymore" on ITV3, which is then followed by the 2018 Fremantle logo.

7th Logo (2003-2006)

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Visuals: Against a bluish/whitish background with many dots and lines is the word "THAMES"; below that is the "talkbackTHAMES" logo. The byline "Part of the FremantleMedia Group" (or "A FremantleMedia Company") is shown underneath it in a smaller font. Sometimes, a FremantleMedia copyright date is at the bottom.

Trivia: This logo was used during the Talkback Thames era before the company had its own logo in 2006.

Variants:

• This logo was sometimes shared with the 19 Entertainment or Syco TV logos.
• As per the previous logo, the logo and the background are on the right side of the Channel 5 logo with the copyright disclaimer below on shows co-produced with Channel 5.
• On Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon, the logo is white and on the same background as the 2004 Granada logo.

Technique: A digital graphic.

Audio: Just the ending theme from the programme or none.

Availability: Seen on shows by Thames from the time-period until 2006.

• These include Pop Idol, The Bill, Play Your Cards Right, Idols!, early episodes of The X Factor, and Hardware, among other shows from the era.
• It was also seen at the end of an October 29, 2022 airing of S21E27 of The Bill on W.

◄ Rediffusion London Productions ABC Television Productions Reeves Entertainment

Thames (1968-2006)

Talkback Thames ►