BBC Test Card F (1978)

Test Card F is a test card that was created by the BBC and used on television in the United Kingdom and in countries elsewhere in the world for more than four decades. Like other test cards, it was usually shown while no programmes were being broadcast, but was the first to be transmitted in colour in the UK and the first to feature a person,[1] and has become an iconic British image and is regularly subject to parody.

The central image on the card shows an eight-year-old girl, Carole Hersee, playing noughts and crosses with a clown doll Bubbles the Clown, surrounded by various greyscales and colour test signals needed to ensure a correct picture. It was first broadcast on 2nd July 1967 (the day after the first colour pictures appeared to the public on television) on BBC2.

The card was developed by a BBC engineer, George Hersee, father of Carole Hersee, the girl in the central image. It was frequently broadcast during downtime on BBC1 until that channel went fully 24 hours in 1997, and on BBC Two until its downtime was replaced entirely by Pages from Ceefax in 1998, after which it was only seen during engineering work, and was last seen in this role in 1999. Test Card J and Test Card W, which are digitally enhanced and widescreen versions respectively, have replaced it, although they are very infrequently broadcast due to the fact that the BBC now broadcasts BBC News 24 and Ceefax pages on its terrestrial channels during downtime.



This is Test Card F, but has also been called BBC TC and Testcard 1 elsewhere on Youtube.

• Category

  Entertainment

[wildphoenix1984]

The staring, that's what got me. Creepy little girl! Even her clown I could put up with, but her STARING! *shudder*

I was terrified of her for a very long time, even after they got rid of her, if I heard the beeeeeep-beeeeep-beeeeeeeeeeee­eeeeeep that was enough to bring it all back!

[MilkyWhiskers00]

Rock Paper Shotgun brought me here leel

[JFredUK]

This is one of the very few genuine afternoon closedowns, inadvertently captured, that exists. Something which, back in its day, was a routine, almost mundane ocurrance. So much so that purposely recording it, (especially on a video recorder), would have seemed totally pointless at the time. In retrospect, such clips are viewed by some as TV gold. An enduring event which sadly, now, is gone forever.

[jen mctavish]

seems like good idea now

[Steve Breagan]

THIS GAVE ME NIGHTMARES

[Steve Breagan]

The story of why im scared of this photo

I was at black parks spooky park search in 2012

I saw a clown and it just looked at me

I dont blame if ur scared

[Steve Breagan]

THIS GAVE ME NIGHTMARES AGHHHHHHHHH

[Steve Breagan]

I HAD A HEART ATTACK AHHHHHHHHHHHHH I HAVE A PHOBIA OF CLOWNS

[MilkyWhiskers00]

:D

[Joshua Marx]

Yay hugs

[AlexVixgeck]

Well, the cross indicates the screen center. Just my two cents!