Where's Richard and Judy Then Love?

Scottish Television in-vision continuity & closedown - 1987

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRyXvVGCEWo

One of the more memorable continuity videos I've seen on Youtube. Read on, and you'll find out what I mean by the title...

This is from the Scottish ITV (or rather STV) for the Scotland Central region, including Glasgow and Edinburgh. We have some of static idents at the beginning of the video, but hold tight, there's an in-vision announcer to come, introducing the TV schedule for the next day (Tuesday). In-vision announcing was a staple of British TV from the beginning, but became phased out gradually region-to-region in the 1990s.

In this video, Scottish keeps a firm identity in it's idents, with a block 80s-style 3D graphic of a thistle, an icon of Scotand. 1987 is the year the region celebrates 30 years of broadcasting. Then we have a clock ident, which was a mainstay in it's many forms for BBC and Channel 4, but these style of idents have all dissappeared now. So we turn to Liz Kristiansen, who tells us the main highlights of tomorrow. Taking from the fact, Liz is discussing a programme about the "Fringe Festival" in Edinburgh, this must be August, and the shedule look summer holiday-ish, with children's programmes running in the morning like "Rainbow" and "Captain Scarlet", and not at lunchtimes. So it's basically, your highlights, then the schedule in full with some nice luminous 80s pink/blue graphics, then reminders of catching your local radio stations tomorrow, Radio Clyde for the west, Radio Forth for the east. However, what is strange about this clip?

Yes, over a year before "This Morning" reached our screens with Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan, here is a prototype to the "This Morning" theme song, which sounds even more dated and 80s than the future one. The song comes in, when the full schedule is announced. No over-the-top saxophone here I'm afraid, but there is a little sax, and it gets a solo too. It doesn't sound like the theme at first, but you hear a little more, and a little light comes on, and aha! So...

Anyone for Netball World Championship on the box?

Scottish Television got rid of in-vision announcer in October 1991. If you don't live in the Ulster region, then the only sort of in-vision announcers you will be see, will be for children's programmes like CBBC and "yoof" TV in the form of "T4" on channel 4.

Liz Kristiansen remained on Scottish as an off-screen announcer after 1991. Her career on Scottish spanned from the mid-80s to 1994.

And how could I forget! At the end of the video is our Queen Liz, still-frame, and our prestigious national anthem is played, as the channel is over and out!