National continuity and national branding were introduced on 28 October 2002. The new, personality led idents were a big improvement on the previous ITV1 hearts, but then this wasn’t particularly saying much.
Over 70 of the idents were initially created, with more being added later. In October 2003, a second set replaced the originals, featuring different backgrounds. All the idents featured ITV ‘stars’.
One common theme with all the idents was the lack of any Tyne Tees branding. A few idents with ITV1 Tyne Tees were created, using celebrities associated with the region like Ant and Dec, but they quickly fell out of use - banished into history.
Not long after their initial introduction, news bulletins were no longer introduced by an ident. Regional idents remained for other regional programmes, but not for much longer. Slowly, and quietly, Tyne Tees slipped off the screen completely…
It’s too early to say it won’t come back, but it seems unlikely - even if stranger things have happened.
Regional idents have all but disappeared from our screens. Even the regional news is introduced by a generically branded ident. Which is why you won’t find any more pages of idents on this site after this one. Because there is simply nothing more to say. The generic look of ITV post 2002 is for another site…
So long Tyne Tees idents…
