BBC One launches new (socially-distanced) idents

BBC One ident
Image caption The new idents began airing over the weekend

The groups of people who appear on TV before BBC One programmes have been replaced by a new set of channel idents reflecting life under lockdown.

The first three to be revealed show an "isolation disco", a separated football team, and a montage of cups of tea.

Previously, gatherings of people doing activities like swimming, dancing and cycling appeared between programmes.

The BBC's Charlotte Moore said: "BBC One's new idents have been created to reflect what we're all going through."

Instead of the groups together, each ident has been filmed by the contributors doing their activity on their own at home.

Eight new idents will be introduced over the next few weeks. The first three show:

TV journalist Scott Bryan welcomed the new idents on Twitter, writing: "I always found it a bit jarring when the [previous] idents kept showing groups, even though we like escapism to make us feel more normal."

The previous set of "Oneness" idents were created by artist Martin Parr. They have been shown since 2017 and were intended to show people around the UK with shared interests coming together.

Moore, who is BBC director of content, said: "Responding to the mood of the nation is what BBC One can uniquely do and we hope these idents which reflect social distancing will help bring audiences together to unwind, relax and escape through this crisis."

Image copyright PA Media
Image caption The previous idents showed groups of people, such as the Ospreys wheelchair rugby team

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