CBBC (UK)

Logo descriptionsMRBEANOFAN2000

Editions by Unnepad

Logo captures by

Video captures courtesy of

Background: CBBC (called Children's BBC from 1985-1997) is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation and is aimed at children under 6 and 12. It originally started on September 9, 1985.

1st Logo
(September 9, 1985-1989)

Nicknames: "B", "Micro B", "Children's BBC"

Logo: On a black background, a red, green and blue BBC comes up, then "CHILDREN'S" pops up too in light yellow.

Trivia: This logo was made on the BBC Micro B computer.

Variants:

Originally "CHILDREN'S" was underneath the BBC text and had no animation except the flickering.
In early days, logo took place on a blue background.
In 1986, there was a later version which BBC is in gold and "CHILDREN'S" is in teal, and the background is either black (for BBC One) or white (for BBC Two).
Sometimes, the colours of the B's would be swapped.

FX/SFX: Wipe transition is used. Also, the first variant uses the similar mistake like the 2nd Delta Video, Scholastic-Lorimar Home Video, the 5th South Carolina ETV, the DHX Media logo, the 1995 Cartoon Network Productions, and the MCA Videocassette, Inc.logos.

Music/Sounds: A high pitched 4 note 8-bit theme.

Availability: Extinct on TV. It is preserved on recording media by many, however.

Editor's Note: The computer graphics are cheesy and the music may bother a few.

2nd Logo
(1987-September 4, 1989)

Nicknames: "Animated forms", "Children's BBC II"

Logo: On a black background, moving trails began to form shapes via their initials, showing the letters of the word "CHILDREN'S". Then, the trails formed the BBC logo.

FX/SFX: The moving trails forming the logo

Music/Sounds: A funk-styled theme song.

Availability:Same as before.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo
(September 4, 1989-September 8, 1991)

Nicknames: "Archimedes", "Children's BBC III"

Logo: On a teal CGI background with copies of the CBBC logo engraved in, a gold BBC fades in like a TV aerial, then "CHILDREN'S" wipes in turquoise.

Trivia: This logo was made on the Acorn Archimedes computer.

FX/SFX: CGI animation.

Music: An electronic jingle, accompanied by a chorus and a 3 note fanfare once the BBC text is formed.

Availability: Same as before.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo
(September 9, 1991-September 25, 1994)

Nicknames: "Fridge Magnet", "Children's BBC IV"

Logo: On a black background, letters in an odd font which spell CH|LD)REN'S forms out and then rotates to it's usual position. The BBC logo from 1988 pops up after that.

FX/SFX: The letters forming, the rotation, the BBC logo appearing suddenly without transition.

Variants:

On the later variant, the BBC logo takes slightly longer to pop up.
An in-credit version of the logo exists.
A variant exists where an explosion occurs, later, a shape-formed face appears distorting in a black background, some shots of the logo can be seen in the middle. After the logo is formed, the 1988 BBC logo appears under the "N" in "Children's", as "... But First This" wipes in below the logo.

Music/Sounds:

September 9, 1991-April 1992: A downbeat electronic theme. This theme was considered to be too dull and was eventually replaced with the next theme.
April 1992-September 26, 1994: A bouncy, upbeat theme with a huge THUD at the end. This was usually followed by a man saying "DOO! DOO! DOO!".

Music/Sounds/Variants:

On occasions when its Christmas, a rendition of Jingle Bells is heard.
Another variant exists where a man can be heard saying "Tell that Aardvark, it's a wrap".

Availability: Same as before.

Editor's Note: None.

5th Logo
(September 26, 1994-October 3, 1997)

Nicknames: "Fridge Magnet II", "Children's BBC V"

Logo: On a gradient background, the same Children's sign from the last logo rendered in 3-D forms itself in chunks. A white 3-D BBC logo later appears.

Variants:

Alien - A farmers field is shown, with an alien spaceship hovering above and a scarecrow standing in the fields. The scarecrow turns around to reveal an alien in its place, and the shot pans out to the field with 'Children's' inscribed in it, and the BBC logo on the spaceship.
Bee - A bumble bee encounters a Venus flytrap, which it then swallows, before turning into the black and yellow BBC logo and the 'Children's' letters falling from above.
Boy - Letters from the 'Children's' jump out from his face in various orders, and when the boy opens his mouth, the 'Children's' can be seen on his uvula, dangling from the roof of his mouth, with the BBC logo on his tongue.
Christmas Rooftop - on a winter's night (with the flashing grey 'Children's' logo in the dark). Father Christmas twists a few times in a chimney (with the 'Children's' logo on the sack next to the chimney.) and boings up high into the sky, the reindeer stands in the chimney a few seconds and then Father Christmas crashes back into the chimney and the BBC logo appears on the grey paving slabs on the roof after the snow slides off the roof and the reindeer has a couple of giggles behind the rooftop.
Christmas Tumble- Father Christmas strolls along the snow and then boings out of sight when letters of the 'Children's' logo [and a couple of presents] fly in all directions, then Father Christmas gasps when he sees the 'Children's' logo electrocuting on the reindeer's antlers while the reindeer hold the BBC logo between his teeth.
Cow - Four cows are seen standing on small balls of grass, the last of which blows a bubble, containing the 'Children's' logo, with the BBC logo contained in three flowers.
Egyptian - In Egypt, a mummy walks past where the lizard sits on the coffin, a lid opens and bandage comes undone one by one the letters of the 'Children's' inside and a lizard dances an Egyptian dance.
Frankenstein - a sad monster looks out of the window, Thunder rumbles and lightning crackles as the machine contains the 'Children's' logo, The monster cheers himself up by pulling every lever of the machine whilst electrocuting himself.
Jazz - The Children's BBC logo is seen split vertically, and stretched directions, against a plain blue background and a jazzy version of the soundtrack.
Mechanical Dogs - Metal, mechanical dogs bark at letters of the 'Children's' raised on metal stilts above them, which come together to form the logo. The BBC logo is on one of the dogs.
Otis the Aardvark Paint- A cartoon version of Children's BBC puppet Otis the Aardvark, paint a picture and the logo is in the middle of the painting.
Otis the Aardvark Toffee - A cartoon version of Children's BBC puppet Otis the Aardvark, eats toffees out of a tin, and gets his nose caught in the tin. The logo is on the bottom of the tin.
Pig - A live piglet roams around an area with numerous 'Children's' imposed on the floor, and just as many BBC logos imposed on the back wall. Various shots of the pig end with the Children's BBC logo on the pigs rear.
Princess & Frog - A princess kisses a frog, turning her into a variety of objects including a cow and a pair of pants, before becoming a frog. Another kiss turns both into the Children's BBC logo, before the changes continue.
Sculptor - A man in a toga sculpts a block of stone with the BBC logo carved into it. However he hits too hard, resulting in the stone crumbling away to reveal the 'Children's'. The man then himself crumbles into a delighted child.
Singing Fish - Two fish sing a short song about how good Children's BBC is, while the other holds up the words. The Children's BBC logo appears on the back wall.
Space - A spaceship flies round planets, before crashing into a moon, leaving the Children's BBC logo to circle to wreckage.
Surfboard - A man surfs on a board, before falling off, sending a large wave into shore, which washes up the Children's BBC logo
Teen's Bedroom - A teenager straggles out of a messy bedroom into the hall. While he is gone, the numerous letters of the logo, the BBC logo, and the logo of the channel it is on all appear in different locations around the room. The same is repeated when he staggers back in.
Underwater - A diver appears inside a fish bowl, only to reveal the bowl is underwater, inhabited by an Elvis fish.
In 1996, the background was changed to a vibrant yellow and a grey 2-D BBC logo appears.

FX/SFX: CGI animation, although some idents are either live-action, hand-drawn or stop-motion.

Music/Sounds: An upbeat theme, with different pitches depending on the variant.

Availability: Same as before.

Editor's Note: None.

6th Logo
(October 4, 1997-February 10, 2002)

Nickname: "Black and Yellow" "CBBC"

Logos:

Blobs - Black blobs, similar to those found in a lava lamp, are seen rising up the screen.
Cat and Bird - A bird pecks around in seeds and crumbs before finding a worm stuck down a hole. Pulling the worm free, the bird finds out it is a cat's tail, who promptly chases after the bird.
Cat and Mouse - The cat chases a mouse into its hole and lies in wait. The mouse emerges disguised under a leaf. The cat, impatient, sticks his head in the hole, allowing the mouse to get away.
Dragon - A dragon scrambles up on to a rock, prepares to take flight, only to fall down to the bottom.
Fish - A shoal of five fish swim across the screen, turn so they are only seen as thin lines emitting bubbles, before turning back across the screen. A longer version of this ident was produced.
Frog - A frog, sat on a lily pad, spots a fly above him, sticks his tongue out to catch the fly, only to be pulled off into the air.
Magician - A magician performs the act of pulling his own shirt off, as he attempts to pull something from his top hat, much to his embarrassment.
Man and Dog - A man walks his fluffy dog on a lead. The dog however gets caught on a rock and unravels into a single line, much to the owners bemusement.
Mole - A mole digging a tunnel comes to the surface to clear his glasses, before continuing on.
Mouse - A mouse (out of breath) arrives on screen and comes up with the idea to take his ears off for wheels, his tail for handlebars and his nose for a seat, becoming a bicycle, then cycles quickly off the screen, the rest of its body looking like a bike racer. A still from this ident was used when they had technical difficulties at the time.
Octopus - An octopus swims into view, spots the viewer, and hides himself in his own ink, allowing him to get away.
Space Girl - A girl flying a spaceship in the Japanese Manga style.
Snail - A snail moves on, checks nobody is looking, and quickly scratches his back by lifting his shell off.
Spiral - Various swirls, spirals and circles all moving towards the screen.
Tiger - A tiger stalks and hides in a jungle environment, and surprises the camera.

FX/SFX: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: Uses a remix of the 5th logo, which depends on the variant.

Availability: Same as before.

Editor's Note: None.

7th Logo

(2002-2005)

Nickname: "The Bugs" "CBBC II"

Logo: TBA!

8th Logo

(September 30, 2005-September 3, 2007)

Nickname: "The Bugs II" "3D Bugs" "CBBC III"

TBA!

9th Logo
(September 3, 2007-2015)

Nickname: "Stylised CBBC""CBBC IV""CBBC!"

TBA!

Music/SFX: Depending on the bit shown, although it's the same jingle. At the end, a voice sings 'C-B-B-C!'

10th Logo

(September 13, 2014-March 14, 2016)

Nickname:"Not Stylised CBBC""CBBC V"

TBA!

11th Logo

(March 14, 2016-)

Nickname:"Just Imagine""CBBC VI"

TBA!

CBBC (UK)

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