BBC Two '1991–2001' idents

Paint, the first of this series to be broadcast and the last to be broadcast during their first run.

The BBC Two '1991–2001' idents were broadcast from 16 February 1991 until 19 November 2001, and again since 9 July 2014, on BBC Two in the United Kingdom. The idents, which consist of a sans-serif '2', accompanied by the colour viridian, were created by branding agency Lambie-Nairn (and later, BBC Animation & Design), who also created the Channel 4 logo.

The ident package was retained following the corporate rebrand of the BBC in 1997 with a new logo and new idents commissioned. They were taken out of service in November 2001, and were later revived in July 2014, to commemorate the 50th birthday of BBC Two.

Conception

The newly recruited BBC2 controller, Alan Yentob, noticed that the then-logo for the channel, which featured the word 'TWO' in red, green and blue within a white background and the 'O' being white, was affecting the reputation of BBC2. Surveys commissioned realised that most viewers thought the branding was "dull" and "worthy". He then decided to commission a worthy successor capable of displaying the personality of the channel, revealing his thoughts in the How Do They Do That? episode - about the idents.

I realised there was a problem almost as soon as I took over the channel [BBC2]. It was obvious that the logo [TWO] made absolutely no impact. In fact, it was something anyone could have told you. It was singularly unmemorable, and told you nothing about the personality of the channel. So we decided to commission a corporate design company to do some research.

— Alan Yentob

The idents were designed by branding expert Martin Lambie-Nairn, and first aired on the same day as the BBC1 virtual globe ident, also designed by Lambie-Nairn as part of a corporate rebrand of both channels.

We took this '2', actually, and you think to yourself "Well, there's nothing special about this". But there is something special about this, actually. It's a very distinctive '2'. It has very sharp bits on it and it's rather nice and fat. The reason we wanted that particular '2' is because we wanted to do things with it. So, you need lots of '2', lots of body on the '2' in order to achieve that.

— Martin Lambie-Nairn

Idents

The idents featured a sans-serif '2' in a variety of different forms and environments usually accompanied by an element of the colour viridian and accompanied by a static corporate logo DOG below the '2'. Another DOG often used with the look was a small '888' legend in the top right of the screen. This meant that subtitles were available to accompany the programme on Ceefax page 888. Following the 1997 rebrand, the BBC logo was changed, with the word TWO added after the logo at the bottom of the screen. The '888' legend was also phased out in 1999, to be replaced with 'Subtitles' following the uptake in digital television and the increased use of the new BBC Text service. A section of the TV programme How Do They Do That? that was broadcast on 15 February 1995 described how the graphics and sound of some of the idents were created.

The clock idents had been changed through years and were mainly used for closedowns and news. The first clock ident was used in February until late 1991, the second was used in late 1991 until October 1997. The clock was edited in October 1997 with the new logo. This was the last BBC TWO logo to use the clock ident.

The new idents commissioned after 1997 placed less emphasis on the use of the colour viridian and the bell/harp music. Later on, as the Internet began to grow, the URL of BBC's website (www.bbc.co.uk) was included in idents on-screen from January 2000. Two of the idents from this set, Predator and Christmas 2000, were put back in use in 2006 but were withdrawn in February 2007 due to a rebrand. From July 2014, due to the 50th birthday of the channel, multiple idents from the series were put back in use. They replaced the main Window on the World package, initially in tandem with the 50th Birthday idents.

Regular

1991–1997

Title	Air Dates	Description
Paint		Paint featured a white polystyrene '2' on a black & white background, splashed by a blob of viridian paint which hurtles in horizontally from the right side of the screen.
Water		This ident featured an aqua-coloured '2' on a background of the same colour, half submerged in a pool of water at a 45-degree angle.
Blade		One of the four idents to last the entire run, Blade featured a sharp, metal '2' falling into a viridian-coloured block and impaling it on its edge, standing and wobbling.
Neon		Also known as Sign, it had a '2' on a black background with seven viridian neon lights attached to it, flashing in random sequences.
Copper Cut-Out		As the title suggests, it featured a copper cut-out of a '2' off of which sparks flew, as the figure glowed at its edges.
Glass		Featured a glass-cut '2', which reflected light – with some noticeable viridian colour – in various directions. Soundtrack consists of a resonant bell-like chime, between lighter bells paired with breathy sounds, giving a relaxing feel.
Silk		This ident included a swathe of viridian silk literally drifting over the top of a '2' shape, as if they were ocean waves.
Paper Cut-Out		Paper Cut-Out featured a completely grey, paper-like foreground, with a '2'-shaped cut-out in the middle.
Black & White Copper Cut-Out		This ident was the black-&-white equivalent of the original Copper Cut Out with viridian sparks flying off the '2'.
Shadow		A simple ident, showing the cast shadow of a slowly rotating '2' on a viridian wall.
Water Reflection		A subtle variation on Water, the light was altered in such a way that it cast a reflection of the water line onto the top half of the '2'.
Garden		Garden depicted a circular patch of grass in the middle, from which sprouted several white flowers that formed the shape of the '2'.
Powder		Also known as Chalk. This featured a birds-eye view of the '2' falling onto a bed of white powder, revealing a layer of viridian powder beneath it, left streaked around the '2' as the stray particles clear away. This ident made a 2014 comeback on BBC Two Northern Ireland in February 2014 for the Afternoon Classics strand.
Optics		Optics included many optical fibres of mainly viridian and green colour, swaying from side to side, initially with great momentum but slowly and eventually settling into the shape of the '2' symbol.
Car		Also known as "Toy Car". One of a new series of idents introduced in 1993, it featured a viridian '2' with an aerial moving about on wheels in a yellow studio, in the same manner as a remote-controlled car. Two variations were made: one with the car coming from the left hand side (the more common version) and one coming from the right hand side. The former variation made a 2014 comeback on BBC Two Northern Ireland in April 2014 for the Afternoon Classics strand.
Dog		Also known as "Fluffy Dog". This ident included a fluffy mint green '2' whirring, yapping and doing back flips in the manner of a toy mechanical dog on the same mint green table against the shaded-red background.
Balloon		Another of the more simple idents, Balloon featured a silver, helium-filled balloon in the shape of a '2' bobbing around gently in a fixed spot.
Crystal Ball		Also known simply as "Ball", this was rarely seen ident that was introduced as one of the 1993 idents, Crystal Ball was inexplicably dropped after just two months before Christmas.
Firecracker		Also known as "Firework", this ident featured a viridian '2' on a rusty-looking brown desk, with live firecrackers attached to it.
Diary		This ident featured a white '2' on a black background, with paper layers peeling off and drifting away. This ident made a 2014 comeback on BBC Two Northern Ireland in March 2014 for the Afternoon Classics strand.
Steam		This featured a viridian-coloured, metallic '2' of extremely hot temperature, as a ring of syringes dispensed water droplets which fell onto and around the figure. This ident made a 2014 comeback on BBC Two Northern Ireland in March 2014 for the Afternoon Classics strand.

1997–2001

Title	Air Dates	Description
Aerial		Aerial featured a dark green '2' with aerials attached to it in a red studio, appearing in random places between flashes of static, before finally appearing in the centre of the screen.
Duck		This ident depicted a soapy setting, from which a yellow '2' which looks like the background from the personality idents.
Paint Pot		In a parody of the original Paint ident, a silver paint pot is bombarded by lots of little viridian '2's, once again falling sideways.
Zapper		This featured a fly zapper in the shape of a '2' upon a wall.
Gorilla		There were two variations on this ident. A gorilla stands up a yellow '2' in one ident, named Gorilla Shadow and knocks it over in the other, named Gorilla Tantrum.
Swan		Introduced at the start of 1998, it featured three grey '2's, resembling cygnets, swimming past a clearly bemused swan, which shakes its head shortly after.This ident made a 2014 comeback on BBC Two Northern Ireland in February 2014 for the Afternoon Classics strand (with the 1991–1997 logo); five months later, this ident was the first of two (alongside Predator/Venus Fly Trap) to have been brought back in July 2014 for the channel's 50th anniversary. As of the 2014 comeback, it is the one aired most often. A sting exists where the swan 2s swim away from the swan.
Dalek		Originally a special ident for Doctor Who Night, its popularity meant it went on to join the roster of regular idents. It featured black & white Daleks in the shape of '2's moving between a grey corridor. Th
Excalibur		One of six new idents to be introduced at early 2000, Excalibur featured a cerulean-blue '2' rising from a pool of water sideways, à la Paint.
Catalyst		Catalyst features a turquoise polystyrene '2' on a black & dark teal background, in this ident, a bunch of liquid droplets fly in from the top right corner of the screen and cause flames to flare up around the '2' on contact.
Wave Day		Originally called Wave, this featured a dark cyan '2' within a shaded-white background and a sheet of blue liquid that splashes around it throughout.
Predator		Predator begins centered on a '2'-shaped butterfly sitting within a jungle environment. The camera then zooms out, and the '2' is gobbled up by a larger green '2' in the form of a Venus flytrap. This ident was the first of two (alongside Swan) to have been brought back in July 2014 for the channel's 50th anniversary thus making this the only ident to be revived twice in 2 different sets.
Kebab		Kebab has a '2' made of meat on a kebab spinning.
Woodpecker		This ident depicted five metal poles, of varying distance, against an orange background.
Wave Night		Introduced in the last half of the year, it was a retake on the original Wave (Day) ident. It now featured a darker background and liquid pool, with a bright cyan '2'.

Special

Since 1974, BBC Two has aired special idents for use at national celebrations such as Christmas. The Christmas idents were changed annually throughout this period (except for 2001 where the channel would have rebranded prior to Christmas of 2001), and were seen as a Christmas tradition for BBC's 1 and 2 to produce a new Christmas package on an annual basis (This tradition was broken in 2003 when BBC One reused the previous year's ident, and in recent times when the same ident was used alongside BBC Two for 4 Christmases consecutively). In contrast, Halloween and St. Valentine's Day idents were only produced between 1991 and 1997. As well as the Holiday idents, many other special idents were produced, mainly to introduce themed nights of programming on the channel, or specific programmes.

1991–1997

Title	Air Dates	Description
Made in Japan		The animation starts with a Japanese "2". A smoke effect billows out, and the Japanese "2" dissolves through to the usual "2".
Pop Art		Apparently, pop art animation, at the end, the "2" zooms in.
English		A tea-cosy appears in the centre of the screen which is removed to reveal the "2" as a teapot.
A Perfect Christmas		A series of one-off idents introducing a selection of archive programmes.
Christmas 1991		A reference to Georges Méliès' A Trip to the Moon featuring a wrapped-up 2 set against a cloudy night sky with stars and the moon interacting and looking.
Rembrandt Week		The "2" is part of the eye in a self-portrait of Rembrandt.
One World		The globe is a flat disk which starts the sequence side-on, rotating 90 degrees along its vertical axis, until it faces the camera.
Wet and Windy		This ident was used for weather programmes during Saturday evenings of May 1992.
Billboard		In time-lapse, a man on a ladder pastes the advertising billboard with sheets of paper, finally revealing the complete picture - a large "2".
Edinburgh Nights		This ident was used for programmes during the 1992 Edinburgh Festival.
War and Peace		A "2" made of barbed-wire forms around a single poppy.
Halloween Night		The Halloween Night special consists of three idents.
Christmas 1992		A red 2 appears as fairy lights on a Christmas tree.
A Night of Love		The "2" symbol rose out of the water, with its reflection making the shape of a heart.
Birth Night		The "2" is in form of a baby inside the body. All this is on the doctors' body electronic system.
Crime and Punishment		The "2" is in form of a light with the shadows of the jail cells in it.
One Day in the Sixties		The ident had 1960s style music to accompany it, as the various small squares alternated randomly between 60s imagery and the familiar "2".
After Margaret		A "2" is fixed to the door of Number 10 Downing Street after it slams the door.
Animated 2		This special ident was introduced in 1993 before animated and cartoon programmes, a black "2" with a piano falls from the sky accompanied by piano music and crashes to the floor before displaying the 2 in its place and the Animated letter being formed above on the top left hand side.
Christmas 1993		A metallic coloured 2 is hoisted up atop a Christmas tree by hobbit-like creatures.
30th Anniversary		This appropriately named ident was used on 16 April 1994 to celebrate BBC2's 30th Birthday. A "2" falls and lands on a cake, in the style of Powder.
Goal TV		This ident is used only for coincide the greatest football world cup fevers in Goal TV for bank holiday Monday before the World Cup 94 kicks off on 17 June, the following month.
Moon		Another appropriately named ident was used between 28 June and 9 July 1994 to celebrate Neil Armstrong's landing on the moon for 25th Anniversary.
Shakespeare		This special ident is used for a month of seasonal Bard on the Box programmes. A potato-shaped "2" suddenly appears from the black cauldron after 5 seconds of magical myth.
Berlin Wall		Another special ident was used to coincide with the season on the Tales from Berlin and the collapse of the Berlin Wall.
Christmas 1994		A large yellow 2 in a dome against a tundra landscape.
Centenary		This ident was used in 1995 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of cinema and film. The "2" plunged down from a great height onto a bed of film and cinema tapes.
Learning Zone		This ident features the technologic numbers and flowers in blue and white etc.
Christmas 1995	Christmas 1995	Wallace and Gromit accompany a 2 covered in fairy lights while sat at Christmas dinner. As with Neon, the music plays in time with the fairy lights flashing.
Christmas 1996	Christmas 1996	A wizard walks on clouds in the sky, before spinning and turning into a 2 made of stars.
Tug of War		This special ident is used on St. David's Day only on BBC Two Wales, a "2" made of rope of tug is pulled to and fro by using the ropes.
The Comedy Zone		A disco ident based version of the Seeing Stars sting.
Mars Weekend		It starts in close-up on the "2" Martian surface, then zooms out to reveal the full scene, with the flying saucer blipping in and out of view.

1997–2001

Title	Air Dates	Description
Christmas 1997	24 December 1997	A white 2 in a snowglobe, accompanied by an angelic-sounding choir soundtrack.
Red Dwarf Night		To celebrate 10 years of the sci-fi comedy series Red Dwarf, a series of five idents, each used on "Red Dwarf Night" from 14 February 1998.
Evolution Weekend		The single ident was animated by starting with the still image of a "2" in clear water.
Christmas 1998		A green fairy moves back to reveal the 2 atop a Christmas tree with surreal white and green colours.
Millennium		A camera zooming down on an hourglass reveals that many little 2's are falling instead of sand, counting down to the new millennium.
Monty Python Night		BBC Two celebrates the 30th anniversary of Monty Python and Monty Python's Flying Circus.
Christmas 1999		A similar theme to last year, and the first ident to feature the bbc.co.uk URL.
It's Scary Out There		The ident features an empty graveyard. The camera then zooms further into the graveyard until a giant '2' pops out of nowhere, and the camera zooms back.
Simpsons Night		Two idents that were produced for Simpsons night. The first one was a parody of the show's opening titles, showing a yellow coloured '2' cracking the camera recording it. The second shows a power cut in the Simpsons household. The Simpsons family are all '2's.
I Love 1970's		A blood–orange '2' appears in a lava lamp before disappearing moments later.
X-Files Night		3 idents were created for use throughout X-Files night, two joined the regular roster of idents (Camcorder and Super 8) however the third was only used on the night.
Christmas 2000		Two small white 2's skate on top of, and fall off, a huge ice-covered 2 against a blue background. This ident was reused for the 2006 Winter Olympics and sporting programmes.
I Love 1980's		In the first ident, the '2' would be seen dancing to a song of Don't You Want Me by The Human League from the late 1981 ident.
Comedy Night		A series of three idents with a caricature of Anne Robinson behind a blue, techno-like background with 2s behind her.
Star Trek Night		Also known as Teleporter. This ident was originally a sting, the yellow '2' can be seen teleporting. This was the last ever ident used for one of BBC 2's themed nights.

2014–present

Title	Air Dates	Description
Commonwealth Games 2014		TBA
The Wrong Mans Series 2		Special ident for the second season of The Wrong Mans.
Meet The Super Rich Season		This special ident was used between 5 and 15 January 2015 to promote the Super-rich season, a helicopter lands slowly then a helicopter door opens to reveal a golden 2 who sits comfortably in the chair.
We Know Food		Introduced to be usually used for programs about cooking.
Cue Rest		Introduced for the 2015 World Snooker Championships, this ident featured a 2-shaped cue rest was tickled by a snooker cue as it laughs.
Tennis Ball		This ident, featuring a tennis ball in the shape of the iconic '2', was introduced to coincide with tennis coverage.
Sundays Don't Stop		This ident, used on Sunday nights, is an edited version of the regular Dog ident, featuring the fluffy '2' dancing to "You Make It Hard" by JM 118.
India Season		This ident was introduced to coincide with a season of cross-channel programming known as the 'India Season'.
Silk Surprise		This one-off ident was used to introduce the first episode of In Case You Missed It.
Christmas 2015		Various previous Christmas 2 idents were shown, each to a different Christmas carol with the word "Two" repeatedly sung.
China Season		This ident was introduced to coincide with season of Chinese-based programming known as the 'China Season'.
Silk Explosion		This one-off ident was used to Newsnight.
Euro 2016		To coincide the BBC's coverage of Euro 2016 tournament.
Dragons' Den		The ident features the cast of Dragons' Den watching a 2 pitch objects based on previous idents (a neon sign 2, several woodpecker 2 stands, several toy car 2s, several 2s with helicopter rotors, a fluffy dog 2, several balloon 2s, etc.).
Darts		This special ident was introduced to coincide the coverage of the PDC's Champions League of Darts for the BBC in 2016.
Black and British Season
Artsnight
Christmas 2016		Same as previous year, except with pop-style versions of various Christmas carols (such as a Barry White-style version of Ding Dong Merrily on High).

Stings

During the run of the idents, there were also quick, usually humorous short animations shown before the trailers known as 'Stings'. Examples included a 2-shaped pancake landing in a frying pan, a '2' performing stunts on a bicycle, or a set of spinning plates in the form of the '2'. These were sometimes themed to suit a particular event, such as sport coverage; for instance, a set of snooker balls racked in the '2' shape. Animations were also created to match the theme of a year's Christmas symbol. During the 1995 Christmas period, for example, a set of short animations featuring Wallace and Gromit were used, along with a similarly themed ident.

These 'sting' animations were usually only a few seconds long and, particularly from 22 March 1993 onwards, the '2' would become a character as well as merely a symbol, an idea that was carried on for the BBC Two yellow idents from 2001.

Below is a complete list in short summary of BBC Two Stings.

Toaster	Two slices of bread come out and drop onto a plate upon a '2' logo appears on the left side of the screen. First aired 1991 and withdrawn soon after.
Cactus	A cactus in a desert blooms '2' logo on the left side of the screen coming out. First aired 1991 and withdrawn soon after.
Chameleon	A grey chameleon stands on the rocks to change the colour from plain grey to colourful green as a '2' logo appears on the left side of the screen. First aired 1991 and withdrawn soon after.
Ostrich	An ostrich sticks its head out of the ground upon the '2' logo on the left side of the screen as it appeared. First aired 1991 and withdrawn soon after.
Bungy	A gelatin (jelly) '2' jumps over the floor in a room. The room and the 2 are both black and yellow. First aired 1993.
Cliffhanger	A '2' is hanging on the top of the dark-wooden mantelpiece, possibly about to fall off. First aired 1993.
Crane	A '2' made of metal is picked up by a hook. First aired 1993.
Alien	An egg cracks, revealing a black '2' which seems like a reptile. First aired 1993.
Edge	A grey '2' chips a wooden floor that leaves the wood carved trail behind as it goes. There was a variation where it was viewed from a top-down angle. First aired 1993.
Op Art	A '2' coloured white and black stripes blends on a same coloured background. There were total of eight random variations in this sting. First aired 1993.
Loudspeaker	A '2' gets blown away by a Loudspeaker from a right-hand side. There was a variation whereas a 2 gets shaked & vibrated violently by a loudspeaker from a left-hand slide.
Hangover	A glass of water (or some other type of transparent liquid), with two '2'-shaped Alka-Seltzer tablets being dropped into the water and dissolving. First aired 1992.
Cheese	A mouse eats all the cheese to reveal a hole of a '2', then a mouse scutters off. First aired 1992.
Wacky	A saw makes a circle around the '2', do a classic cartoon gag, then the 2 causes to fall. First aired 1993 and usually used as a closing ident in early 1994 (currently and rarely used today, but only in Northern Ireland since 2015).
Carrot	A donkey in the field is eating a '2'-shaped carrot by pulling off its tail. First aired 1992.
Football	A '2' slides down the banisters and kicks the circular grip representing a "ball" into the fireplace which represents the "goal". First aired 1993.
Ski Jump	A snow version of Football where the '2' slides down the banisters and does the ski jump. First aired 1993.
Stay-Puft	A giant white '2' is rampaging in New York City which represents Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters. First aired 1994 (currently and rarely used today since 2015).
Teleleporter	A '2' transports via a Star Trek like device. First aired 1993.
Hair Curlers	A hair drying machine opens to reveal a '2'-shaped hair curlers in the woman's hair. There were three stings and three menu end boards. First aired 1992.
Chewing Gum	A chewing gum-shaped '2' on the pedestrian road was squashed by a man's left foot. First aired 1992.
Dead Body	A man is showing a dead body of a '2' where has examined by police investigators. There were four stings and two menu end boards. First aired 1992.
Pancake	A frying pan is holding by a cookery man by using to land a '2'-shaped pancake on a frying pan, spot on target. First aired 1992.
Snowshoes	A man is using snowshoes to walk like a mountain climber. Both '2'-shaped snowshoes are made off footwear to tread the snow during winter. First aired 1992.
Parking Meter	A red arrow-shaped '2' suddenly appears above the parking meter after two seconds of disappearing the black arrow. There were seven stings and three menu end boards. First aired 1992.
Snooker Balls	A '2' is made from snooker balls with two variations. First one, a white ball hits the 2, then splits apart as the crowd cheers, then a second variation, a group of snooker balls forms back into a 2, the crowd gasps in shock. First aired 1992.
Trap Door	A red '2' with a waiting woman presses a button, activates the trap door, send a 2 falling down and pops out of nowhere to see the animated hall room with windows, floors and entry door is hiding behind the 2. First aired 1992.
Traffic Lights	A traffic light stops by red, ready by yellow and now go by green as a yellow '2' appears below inside the green light. There were five stings and one menu end board. First aired 1992.
Chimney Sweep	One of the two Christmas stings in 1992. The houses are covered in snow made of chimneys as the Chimney sweep wipes a dirty soot off in a puff of smoke to be appeared by a '2'-shaped broomstick. There were versions for this sting. Aired in December 1992.
Clown	A clown flies towards the screen, then smiles nicely and winks as the '2' on the left eye around the face-paint. First aired 1992.
Pantomime Season	The last of the two Christmas stings in 1992. A funny old horse costume immediately rips them off in both half during the pantomime season as the red '2' (complete with white wings) draws the curtains down. Aired in December 1992.
Spaghetti	A bowl of 2-shaped spaghetti pieces in a tomato sauce. There were five stings and four menu end boards. First aired 1992.
Cows	A couple of cows are mooing in the field, cows are made of black and white 2 above the skin. There were four stings and two menu end boards. First aired 1992.
Polaroid	A polaroid camera, printing off a photograph with a 2 on. The colour of the 2, and the angle of the camera, were changed from time to time. First aired 1992.
Test Card F	The test card girl, or Carole Hersee replaces Bubbles the Clown with a viridian toy shaped in a 2. There were three opening stings and two closings. First aired 1992.
Dalmatian Dog	The woman is walking in the park with a Dalmatian dog, both women's black tight socks made of white 2-shaped spots and a Dalmatian dog with white coat made of black 2-shaped spots albeit with barking Hip Hop music sounds. First aired 1992.
Plummet	A 2 jumps from the high diving board into a pool of water inside the circus tent. First aired 1994.
Rope	A white 2 cuts the tent supports off from a guy rope outside the capri tent area as it zooms close to the 2 after it cuts off. First aired 1994.
Ballet	A gold 2 dances by spinning a la ballet in a ballet classroom, then stops. First aired 1993 (currently used today since 2015).
Animated Film	An ivory 2 in the garden with 14:9 picture comes closer and closer to the screen (as the Jaws theme played), then stops. First aired 1993.
Demolition	A wrecking ball hits a giant 2 made of rock but cracks on impact. First aired 1993.
Sneeze	A white 2 in the dark attic was dropped by a feather, then sneezes to send the 2 flying out of the attic. First aired 1993.
Slinky	A Slinky-shaped 2 rolls down some stairs after it presumably "sneezes". First aired 1993 (currently used today, but only in Northern Ireland since 2015).
Magnet	A 2 magnet gets everything and the camera attached next to it. There was a variation with no music at all. First aired 1993 (currently used today, but only in Northern Ireland since 2015).
Pump	An inflatable 2 pumps on a patio inside the greenhouse, accompanied by a deep trombone piece. There was a variation where the 2 is pumped too big, and the music ends differently. First aired 1993 (currently used today since 2015).
Sub	One of three animated shorts featuring a duck 2, who also starred in its own ident. The 2 pops up from underneath the bubbles, and like a submarine periscope, looks around in different directions, before sinking below surface again. First aired 1997 (both parts currently used today, but only in Northern Ireland since 2014).
Ducks	The second in this family of shorts. A 2 is crowded by hundreds of rubber ducks. First aired 1997 (currently used today since 2014).
Jaws	The third in this family of shorts. This one features the duck 2 swimming through the bubble bath squeaking the theme from Jaws. First aired 1997 (currently used today, but only in Northern Ireland since 2014).
Swan Change Mind	The shorter version of its own ident. Two little grey 2s, resembling cygnets, swim passes the clearly bemused swan, then third little grey 2 gets timid, then goes right at the wrong way after swims away from the swan. First aired 1998 (currently used today since 2014).
Pounce	A black and white 2 looks like a cat and tries to pounce on a dot. First aired 1994 (currently used today since 2015).
Spider's Web	The spider makes its web, and the web turns into a 2, at the end it snaps (due to the web turning into a 2). First aired 1995 (currently used today since 2015).
Harley's Bike	A bicycle 2 does a trick, and then rides home. There were two versions of the different sky colour for this sting. First aired 1993 and usually used as a closing ident in mid 1995 (currently used today since 2015).
Corridor	An electro-light 2 patrols around the low lit corridors as they go in and out of doors, (as the 2 glows rapidly due to flashing dim-litly as it goes in and out). First aired 1994.
Eerie	A 2 in a dark room, with a door being closed, leaving the 2 in darkness. There were three versions in this ident, one with the zooming back camera as the door closes and the two swoop down into the screen next to the 2 when it closes the door (depends on the zooming screen), there where two variations in this ident: Cold for suspenseful music and Warm for omnibus music, and that's a total of five. First aired 1993 and usually used as a closing ident in late 1993.
Newton's Cradle	A 2 ball is seen in a Newton's Cradle type of toy against a black background. There was a menu end board. First aired 1994 (currently used today, but only in Northern Ireland since 2015).
Modern Art Gallery	A multi-coloured 2 in the artroom splits into 4 different perspectives blocks; Blue sky, Cobalt plastic, Teal stone & Red bricks, by reverting and forth à la Channel 4's 3D idents from a right slanted camera zooming on an angle. There were two versions in this one. First aired 1993.
Dancing	A 2 does a dance on TV by another 2 in a hot red room. First aired 1993.
Cuckoo Clock	A naughty yellow cuckoo 2 leaps out of a clock, and tries to hits the camera as they zoom back before goes back to a clock again. There were three cuckoo sounds that used in random with this one. First aired 1993 (currently used today since 2015).
Milk	A Milk-shaped 2 becomes fat in a fridge-freezer after drinking too much juice and falls down due to its weight. First aired 1995 (currently used today since 2015).
Shoal	Lots of fishes form a 2 before swimming off. First aired 1994 (currently used today, but only in Northern Ireland since 2015).
Woodpecker	The shorter version of its own ident. This sting depicts one metal pole, of varying distance, against an orange background instead of five, three viridian 2s flickers one at a time by drilling like mechanical woodpeckers. First aired 2000 (currently used today since 2014).
Bowling Alley	A bowling game, showing a 2 as the only pin not knocked down. A ball is rolled to try to knock the 2 over, but the 2 jumps into the air, making the ball fall down. There were two stings and three menu end boards. First aired 1994 (currently used today, but only in Northern Ireland since 2015).
Lurve	A 2 jumps to a TV and kisses the screen, then let go to stand and watch. First aired 1993.
Periscope	A giant 2 gets smaller one at top which that one gets a 2 which gets a 2 with a robotic camera. There were two sounds that used in random with this one. First aired 1993 (currently used today, but only in Northern Ireland since 2015).
Trailblazer	A silver 2 walks down a road then speeds off with a trail of blaze. First aired 1994.
Seeing Stars	A white 2 in a colourful padded cube jumps around and crashes into the screen and gets dizzy. First aired 1995 (currently and rarely used today, but only in Northern Ireland since 2015).
Vacuum Pack	Also known as 'Tin Foil'. Layers of tin foil looks like vacuum pack overlap and a forth and final one create a 2 shape which causes the machine producing the tin foil to malfunction. First aired 1995.
Velcro	Also known as 'Sticky Pad'. An orange 2 made out of Velcro in a viridian room tries to get out. First aired 1993.
Whirlwind	A 2 spins around the glass objects, stops then hits a glass object to making it spin again. First aired 1996 (currently used today, but only in Northern Ireland since 2015).
Behind the Telly	A 2 is kissing on the TV, then jumps out of a pile of videos, as another 2 plays hide and seek, then a 2 running and pants around the TV and jumps up to give it a squeak and down again. First aired 1993.
Spinning Plates	A group of plates spinning in a 2 shape while a man tries to balance them. First aired 1996 (currently used today, but only in Northern Ireland since 2015).
(Springwatch) Butterfly	A butterfly emerges from its cocoon, then flutters around the tree as the butterfly sprouts it's 2-shaped wings, then lands carefully on the perch of the tree. First aired 2015.
(Springwatch) Caterpillar	A green caterpillar-shaped 2 on the log stands beside a flower that sneezes, then it feels runny from its nose (due to its natural allergic to hay fever). First aired 2015.
(Autumnwatch) Flock of Pigeons	Lots of flying pigeons outside the cliffs of Scotland that forms a 2 before flies off. First aired 2015.
(Top Gear) Grey Smoke	In this special sting, a yellow sports car, often called Ford Mustang on the road as Chris Harris uses the wheels to rev up, start the engine and drives off as the billows of grey smoke forms a 2 who is now made of grey smoke, inhales deeply then zooms off with a blaze of speed, #TopGear in a white letters also already appears on the bottom left corner of the screen. First aired 2016.
Sitcom Season	First aired 2016.
The Fall	First aired 2016.

External links

• BBC Two page on idents
  • Idents wall poster (750KB)
• BBC Two 1997-2001 idents at TV Ark
• BBC Two 1991-1997 idents at TV Ark
• Ident Gallery Special Pres 2013

Preceded by TWO	BBC television idents (first run) 16 February 1991 – 19 November 2001	Succeeded by Personality 2s
Preceded by Window on the World	BBC television idents (second run) 9 July 2014–present	Succeeded by Present