Launch BBC One North

[Roger Darthwell]

If they’re not going to add a ‘North’ identifier to the ident, or even acknowledge ‘BBC One North’ in the announcement, why bother? Or is ‘Eh up’ at the start of the announcement what we’re to expect?

Is this an exercise purely about giving the north announcers with regional accents, or just ensuring that viewers in the south don’t have to put up with them?

I’m quick to defend the BBC, but this seems totally unnecessary in an era when the corporation is cutting back so much.

Exactly, even when the BBC is closing regional news in parts of England

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The thing is, it’s not just about how northern they can make it sound, it’s also about how un-southern too. Part of my issue I’ve long had with the BBC is how southern it feels, and that’s not just about accents. They’ve done some good things to move production out of London in many instances but I still don’t think that comes through on screen. I’m not saying southern = bad by the way but more that it is assumed south = everywhere.

I think this is a brilliant move. If I was to take it one step further, I’d do a northern One Show too, a show that for me sums up everything I’ve said above.

I think this is a horrific move, to me it feels like northern announcers are being ghettoized by the BBC, instead of having their talents showcased in the wider network. Heck, I have absolutely no issues whatsoever in hearing annoucers in Northern (or any different) accents on BBC One!