BBC One 'Circle' idents


The BBC One 'Circle' idents were a set of on-screen channel identities used on BBC One from 7 October 2006 to 31 December 2016. They also featured on the BBC Worldwide channel, BBC America. The idents contained images of circles being formed by nature, or people and their actions.

Launch

The Circles ident package was announced on 26 September 2006 as the replacement for the 'Rhythm & Movement' idents that had been in use since Easter 2002. When BBC One channel controller changed to Peter Fincham, he hinted in August 2005 that the dancers would be changed soon. He announced at the Edinburgh International Television Festival that "It may well be that the time is coming to look at a new way of doing it. No date or direct decision has been made but it's under review".
The new idents would come into force alongside a revised schedule for the channel. The idents themselves were designed and produced for the BBC by Red Bee Media and marking the end of Lambie-Nairn's time at the BBC after fifteen years. Imran Hanif composed the original music for all idents, having been selected from a shortlist of 12 composers and bands.

Components of look

All the idents revolved around a circular theme and all featured a scene which is revealed to end in a circle formation. The circle symbol was decided upon as a 'symbol of unity', but it was also a 'nod' towards the channel's heritage and in particular, the classic globe icon used in various styles for much of its history. The idents would involve people, plants or animals moving, or whose interaction causes a circular shape, which is revealed at the end of the ident. The circle would then be emphasised by white lines and a red eclipse animating around it and revealing the BBC One logo at the end. The new BBC One logo featured a large lower case 'one' in the centre of the circle, with a smaller BBC logo to the upper left of the 'one'. The channel uses this logo on its idents and promotions, however uses a box logo, similar to the last look, for promotions where the BBC One logo appears alongside other channels. This boxed logo features the BBC logo above the lower case 'one' in a red box. The box closely relates to the logos of BBC Two and BBC Four.
As with the previous look, no clock ident was used, a trend repeated across nearly all other channels in the UK, however the Generic, Helicopter, Capes and Kites idents may also be used for introduction into the news, following criticisms in the previous look that the dancers didn't have an ident suitable for this purpose.
Promotion style featured the BBC One logo appear at the bottom of the screen, similar to the 1997 look, before switching to the centre of a shaded red end-board, with the logo appearing in the centre. Static slides, now very much a rarely seen occurrence, featured the image as a cut out eclipse in the right hand side of the screen.
In July 2008, the Kites, Moon, and Windows idents were dropped, but the Kites ident was reinstated on 2 May 2009.
On 2 May 2009, all the idents were made shorter with new adaptations of the original Imran Hanif music, with the exception of Generic,
Hippos and Surfers.

Idents

TitleAir datesDescription
Bikes7 October 2006 – 4 December 2016A group of three motorcycle stunt riders ride the "wall of death". Filmed at Shepperton Studios and directed by Stuart Douglas, the ident features a lot of fast-paced film work, as well as a slowed down top down shot of the motor cyclists.
Capes24 August 2008 – 4 December 2016Numerous people in colourful rain coats on bikes ride through a rain storm, as people watch, the sun comes out. The final shot shows all the bikers forming a rainbow-like circle at a roundabout. Filmed on public roads in London and a private car park at Earls Court. The Directed by Matt Losasso, This ident was used before all BBC One programmes shown on the BBC iPlayer and is often used to introduce the BBC News.
Despite the "Circles" package being taken out of rotation on 1 January 2017, this ident was still used to introduce Panorama on 9 January at 20:30pm, due to the lack of a suitable ident for the replacement Oneness idents.
Dog Display29 August 2008 – 4 December 2016A pack of dogs doing circles tricks, including jumping through fire hoops, jumping over fences and weaving in and out of sticks laid out in a circle which then produces the 'BBC One' animation. Filmed in the garden of a stately home in Wrotham Park in Hertfordshire and directed by Matt Losasso.
Football7 October 2006 – 4 December 2016Filmed at the Haberdashers Estate in North London and directed by Howard Greenhalgh, a circle of footballers kick their balls in time into the centre, so smaller rings form inside the circle of players. Usually used to introduce sports programming, as well as Weekend News bulletins before the 2009 revamp.
Generic3 December 2007 – 4 December 2016A red arc spins around the BBC One logo on a red background. The music used is a simple version of the six-note counter tune. Only used to introduce the BBC News 90 second bulletin at 8pm. In Northern Ireland, this ident uses the 'Enjoy 2015' ident music from 2015. This ident was also used in the trailer endboards, menus, BBC Action Line slides and breakdown slides.
Helicopter1 January 2008 – 4 December 2016An aerial shot of a helicopter landing on the top of Bishop Rock lighthouse in the Isles of Scilly. Three variations of the ident were launched including slower paced versions and shortened opening films. The soundtrack for this ident was the most sombre when launched, featuring a lone choir singer as its soundtrack, however since May 2009 the soundtrack was changed dramatically to be more upbeat. This ident often precedes BBC News.
Hippos7 October 2006 – 4 December 2016Numerous hippos swim around in a circular formation. Produced using a combination of computer animation and live action backgrounds and directed by Charlie Mawer and Mike McGee, this ident was edited for length in May 2009, but the soundtrack remains the same. This ident was mostly used prior to entertainment or daytime programming.
Kites7 October 2006 – July 2008;
2 May 2009 – 4 December 2016		A group of kite flying enthusiasts gather together to create a circle effect with their kites. Filmed at Ynyslas beach in Wales and directed by Matthias Hoene, it was the first ident from the new package to be aired. This ident was withdrawn around July 2008 but was brought back in May 2009 with a more upbeat soundtrack. This ident is often used to introduce the BBC News.
Lawn Circles14 July 2007 – 4 December 2016A group of suburban housewives each mow a series of crop circles into their lawns using a variety of mowers from different time periods, which form three large circles when viewed from above. Filmed in a residential garden in Netherne-on-the-Hill, near Reigate and Banstead, Surrey.
Magic Forest16 June 2007 – 4 December 2016The natural world and a group of fairies come together to create a circle in the middle of the sunlit woodland. Directed by Matt Losasso. Before the 2009 refresh, a slightly shortened version of this ident was used to introduce the BBC News.
Mission Control16 June 2007 – 4 December 2016A group of British scientists successfully launch a pod to land on a distant planet. Out of the pod emerges a curious rover that begins drawing circles on the face of the planet. Whilst the robot spins, a shadow of a circular spaceship glides into the robot's circle, making a perfect fit, and exits at the same speed not stopping and soon comes off camera. Filmed at Shepperton Studios and directed by Matt Losasso.
Moon7 October 2006 – July 2008;
4 October – 4 December 2016 		People in fishing boats come together to form the moon out of separate sections. Filmed at the Kamenjak peninsula in northern Croatia and directed by Howard Greenhalgh, this ident is one of three idents that have been withdrawn. Was often used to introduce the BBC News, particularly late bulletins. This ident was reintroduced in Northern Ireland on 4 October 2016.
Neon13 October 2007 – 4 December 2016Neon figures come to life, stroll down the centre street and take a ride on a ferris wheel. Shot in Blackpool, the ident was conceived by James Spence and animated by Brand New School, New York. The ident was originally used before programmes during Saturday evenings only, however this became a regular ident when it was edited in May 2009.
Pedal Power3 August 2009 – 5 May 2014Numerous people use pedal power to light up the circle around the BBC One logo, displayed on a red board in the field. Directed by Grant Gee, this ident was launched to coincide with the first programme of Bang Goes the Theory. This ident was withdrawn on 5 May 2014 when the show was cancelled.
Penguins5 February 2008 – 4 December 2016Originally the Christmas ident for 2007, Penguins enter and skate around an ice rink with other skaters. Altered for everyday use, it was aired without Christmas decorations and a new soundtrack based on Imran Hanif's original composition and definitive three note signature counter tune. The 2009 edit saw the music being edited again. It was used frequently, but not exclusively, during the winter period.
Ring-a-Roses7 October 2006 – 4 December 2016Also known as Petals, a group of children are shown playing with the natural flowers in a meadow before joining hands to form a "ring-a-roses" dance. Filmed in Coton, Northamptonshire and directed by Stuart Douglas. This ident was often used to introduce CBBC and CBeebies before they stopped airing on BBC One in 2012, and until 2016, it was commonly used to coincide drama based programmes.
Surfers7 October 2006 – 4 December 2016Carlos 'Coco' Nogales and others ride a huge wave before crashing down after formation of the BBC One logo. Filmed at Puerto Escondido on the west coast of Mexico and directed by Howard Greenhalgh, this ident was edited for time in May 2009, but the music remained the same.
Television Centre20 November 2010 – 22 March 2013Members of the public dance in the circular courtyard of BBC Television Centre. It was launched to introduce Strictly Come Dancing, but has since been used to introduce other programming as well. When Television Centre closed down on 31 March, this ident became out of date and was withdrawn.
Windows7 October 2006 – July 2008Residents on a housing estate use their windows to reflect sunlight into a ring. Filmed at the Greenwich Millennium Village in south east London and directed by Matthias Hoene. This ident was withdrawn in 2008 and was often used to introduce daytime programming.
World Cup11 June 2010 – 4 December 2016Also known as Stadium, spectators at a football match stand up and wave different colour banners in a circle pattern. The ident was introduced for use during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The ident was directed by Matt Losasso, and was used prior to sport programmes.

Despite the Circles packages being taken out of rotation in January 2017, the Kites ident was mistakenly used to introduce Reggie Yates: Hidden Australia on 7 September 2017.

Special idents

In addition to the usual set of idents used throughout the year, numerous other idents have been added for special occasions, both nationally and in the nations and regions. Some of these are included below.

Christmas

In addition to the idents above, some modifications were made to existing idents to promote other programmes. A chameleon, which caught and ate a fairy, was added to the Forest ident to promote Life in Cold Blood in February 2008; and to promote the BBC One Wales series Rolf Harris on Welsh Art, the Forest ident was again modified to have a paint like appearance. In addition to this, red noses were added to some of the hippos in the Hippos ident for Comic Relief programmes in 2007 and 2009, and an animated Pudsey Bear was added to the Ring-a-Roses ident for the BBC Children In Need appeal for 2010. A modified version of Mission Control was made for Doctor Who episode The Bells of Saint John with the end of the ident appearing as if it had been hacked into by the Great Intelligence. In preparation for the 50th Anniversary special of Doctor Who, The Day of the Doctor, various idents throughout November have featured a rewind effect, with the Eleventh Doctor intruding and informing the viewer that "the clock is ticking". A similar modification was made in August 2014, to promote, and which featured, the first episode to involve the Twelfth Doctor.

BBC America

All of the idents were also used on BBC America, the BBC's outlet in the United States. The BBC America versions of the idents featured the words 'One World' in the same font and position as the 'One' in the BBC One logo before animating itself into the current stacked BBC America logo. These idents were cut down compared to the original British versions, however they retained their original soundtrack when the British versions were changed in May 2009.

Replacement

After a little over 10 years in use, the 'Circle' idents ceased at the end of 2016, with their final appearance on 4 December 2016.
The presentation was replaced by the 'Oneness' idents, created by Martin Parr, essentially continuing on from the theme of the Christmas idents from 2016; as such, the Christmas idents that year could have been seen as a preview to the full new look that was revealed in the night on New Year's Day 2017.