History Newsroom South East BBC London News page 1 BBC London News page 2 South East Today South Today

The South East editorial region as it was from 1993-2000. The Oxfordshire area transferred into the South region in October 2000; the Kent area into the new South East region in September 2001. The remaining central area became the BBC London region.

One of the biggest, and easily the most populated, regions in the UK, the BBC South East region traditionally stretched from Dover in the south east to Banbury in the north west, taking in Kent, Surrey, Essex, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, the Luton area of Bedfordshire and the Crawley/East Grinstead area of West Sussex. (It used to include East Sussex as well until 1993). But sadly, all of these counties have routinely been ignored by the region's news programmes, because of one thing - London. Need I say more?

The region no longer exists as a single entity - the programmes serving the region now are South East Today which covers Kent and East Sussex; South Today which serves the Oxfordshire area with its own opt-out bulletins; and BBC London News which covers the remaining portion (still the majority of the region).

Unlike most other regional programmes which have retained the same titles for decades, like Look East, Look North, Midlands Today and so on, the South East's regional news has endured through several different identities. Below are the programmes which covered the region in the past:

Town and Around (1960s)

The BBC's first regional news programme for the South East which started around 1959 or 1960. Some of its presenters were Michael Aspel, Corbet Woodall, Richard Baker and Zena Skinner. The programme was produced by the BBC's News Division at Alexandra Palace.

It appears that Town and Around was dropped sometime early in 1969, and the regional news slot from 6.00-6.25 in the South East was given over to non-news programmes, such as the American sitcom Get Smart. Can anyone confirm this - and does anyone remember Town and Around?

Nationwide (9 Sep 1969-23 Dec 1981)

Throughout this period South East news came from the Nationwide team, with little differentiation between it and the national part of the programme. In the early 70s, when Nationwide only ran from Tuesday-Thursday, there was a programme called London This Week which aired on Mondays and Fridays; and around 1976 the Friday slot was taken by Young Nation, dedicated to teenagers. South East regional news was non-existent at all other times - daytime, weekends, bank holidays, and even the entire Christmas and New Year period.

In 1982, the BBC started to take the South East more seriously as a region...

South East at Six (4 Jan 1982-Oct 1983)

Presented by Laurie Mayer (top right), Sue Cook (bottom left), and Fran Morrison (bottom middle), the short-lived South East at Six was the first attempt to separate the regional news from Nationwide -
although the theme tune was the same as its parent, and the beige and red set was very similiar. The Friday editions, however, had a more relaxed, 'weekend' feel, and a different set (bottom right).

South East at Six continued for around two months after Nationwide's demise in August 1983, albeit with a new look (I seem to remember the big red six turned blue); it then ended in early October. For the next two weeks, leading up to the launch of Sixty Minutes, South East news came from the South Today team in Southampton, in an unusual link-up between the two regions. This was presumably while the Lime Grove studio was being set up for Sixty Minutes.

Sixty Minutes South East (24 Oct 1983-27 Jul 1984)

Right back to the Nationwide situation - South East was not a programme as such, it was merely an integral part of Sixty Minutes, and was presented by the national team of Nick Ross, Sarah Kennedy, Sally Magnusson and others.

After the hugely unpopular Sixty Minutes was dropped in July 1984, there was another gap - and South East at Six made a surprise comeback! But a very brief one - the Sixty Minutes team stayed around to present the show from 5.55-6.15 for just two weeks. For the remaining weeks of August there was another link-up with South Today, just as in the previous year.

Then in September, the South East got its first separate news programme since the 1960s...

London Plus (3 Sep 1984-23 Mar 1989)

Don't be deceived by the title, London Plus still covered the entire South East region. However, it wasn't technically a 'regional' production at all; it was produced by the BBC Current Affairs department, and used the former Nationwide/Sixty Minutes facilities at Lime Grove.

The original London Plus theme tune, used from September 1984 to July 1985 was without doubt the best regional news theme ever! Sadly, its replacement (July 1985 to February 1986) was a hideous re-recording of the same music. In fact, despite its relatively short life, London Plus managed to get through three different theme tunes, three sets, four opening title sequences and umpteen presenters.

The original team was made up of Guy Michelmore, Sally Magnusson and Bob Wellings. But they quickly moved on, and were followed by a long succession of presenters, including Jeremy Paxman, Deborah Hall, John Stapleton, Penny Bustin, Caroline Righton, Rob Curling, Lucy Meacock, Richard Bath and Steve Clarke (the latter three shown here).

In September 1985, short bulletins at lunchtime and mid-afternoon were introduced, which had been a feature of other regions for years before, although these were not branded as London Plus.

London Plus theme tunes: Sep 1984-Feb 1985 Feb-Jul 1985
Jul 1985-Feb 1986 Feb 1986-Mar 1989

Newsroom South East (28 Mar 1989-30 Sep 2001)

In 1989 a 'proper' BBC South East region was finally created, and its base was to be
at the BBC's Elstree centre in Hertfordshire. This was deliberately chosen because it wasn't in London, emphasising that there was more to the South East than London. Fine in concept - but in practice it did little to stop the new news programme for the region, Newsroom South East, from remaining very London-centric.

Newsroom South East launched with Guy Michelmore in charge once again (left - he also composed the theme tune!), but this time he managed to hang around for over four years. Other presenters over the programme's twelve year life included Jacqui Harper, Sharon Doughty, Gwenan Edwards, Mike Embley, Charley Figgis and Gillian Joseph.

Above: Guy Michelmore and Louise Bachelor presenting the programme in the early days when it actually used the newsroom as its backdrop.

However by the time Tim Ewart had taken over as main presenter in 1993 (left), a sound-proof curtain had been built to hide the newsroom. The title sequence and logo changed in 1995 (middle). Right: Gargy Patel reads a Sunday bulletin on 5th October 1997, just a few days before this look was withdrawn.

Click here for more on Newsroom South East post 1997.

Newsroom South East's fate was sealed when the region was split up at the start of the 21st century, and there was not one, but three replacements...

Theme tunes: Mar 1989-1992 Jan 1993-Oct 1997

BBC London News (1 Oct 2001-date)

The current programme for London and the South East presented a radical break from the past, coming from BBC London's Marylebone High Street newsroom...

South East Today (3 Sep 2001-date)

...while viewers in Kent and East Sussex receive their own programme, with a more traditional format...

South Today Oxford (16 Oct 2000-date)

...and those in Oxfordshire can now catch up with all the news from the South Coast.

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