BBC cuts 'could see return of the test card'

Daytime television schedules could also be slashed, expensive US imports reduced and major series repeated several times to cut the corporation’s spending.

Big budget sporting events including Formula 1 motor racing will also come under scrutiny as the corporation examines ways to reduce spending over four years.

BBC executives are reported to be meeting the governing body today to discuss the options as they look for savings in light of a licence fee freeze.

One proposal on the table is to scrap much of BBC 2’s afternoon schedule, replacing game shows with repeats from BBC 4 which would become largely an arts channel.

According to the Daily Mail one more drastic proposal is for BBC 1 and BBC 2 to cease broadcasting at 1am for several hours overnight.

It would mean a return to the situation up to the late 1990s when the two channels finally went 24 hours.

If the plan went ahead it could see a return to the test card, the static image put on screen when channels were off air in the past.

The BBC’s distinctive “Test card F” image first used in 1967 became an icon of postwar British life.

Featuring an eccentric arrangement of boxes and lines, it is dominated by the image of eight-year-old Carole Hersee, the daughter of a BBC engineer, with her clown, Bubbles, as she completes a game of noughts and crosses on a blackboard.

Carole and Bubbles appeared on television screen for a total of 70,000 hours (almost eight years) – more than any other person – or clown – in the world.