Editing BBC Children's and Education (section)

=== 1985–2002 ===
Until 1985, children's programmes on BBC1 were introduced by the usually off-screen continuity announcer, though often specially-designed menus and captions would be used. In September of that year, the block rebranded as '''Children's BBC''', and for the first time had a dedicated [[CBBC idents#Children's BBC (1985–1997)|Children's BBC logo]]. It was described in a BBC press release as, "a new package of programmes specially gift-wrapped for children."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lowe|first=Marion|date=1 September 1985|title=Copy of BBC Press Release announcing launch of BBC Children's|url=http://www.the-broom-cupboard.co.uk/mediapage3.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928041702/http://www.the-broom-cupboard.co.uk/mediapage3.html|archive-date=2011-09-28|url-status=live|website=The-broom-cupboard.co.uk}}</ref> Early graphics and idents were generated by a [[BBC Micro]] computer, with which the BBC had been increasingly been experimenting with and utilising in their children's programming [[Continuity (broadcasting)|continuity]] for a year or so prior to the rebrand.

The most significant change was that the [[Continuity announcers in the United Kingdom|continuity announcer]] was seen on screen (in-vision). Rather than use the existing BBC1 announcer, a new presenter was selected. The launch presenter was [[Phillip Schofield]], presenting the slot for the first time at 15:55 BST on 9 September 1985.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2015-09-09|title=CBBC presenters past and present celebrate 30th anniversary|publisher=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-34196932|access-date=2021-02-18}}</ref> Remaining in the small continuity booth at [[Television Centre, London|Television Centre]], during the first few days of these broadcasts, Schofield began to refer to the space as "The Broom Cupboard", due to its very small size, and supposedly due to the BBC only sparing a small broom cupboard for him to host from. This quickly became an established name for the space, even appearing in billings as such. A [[list of CBBC presenters]] shows that many more followed and this style of presentation continued and remains on the CBBC channel as of 2025.

During the 1990s, Children's BBC began to be informally referred to on-air as CBBC (this occurred at around the same time that [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]]'s rival service [[Children's ITV]] began to be referred to as CITV in a similar manner). The official billing name and on-air branding of Children's BBC remained in place, however, until the BBC's network-wide branding refresh on 4 October 1997, when the official billing name and on-air branding changed to '''CBBC''' (Children's ITV changed their official billing name to CITV after their own branding refresh the following year).

From 1996 to 1999, CBBC programmes were also shown on the channel [[Nickelodeon (UK and Ireland)|Nickelodeon]], as part of the ''CBBC on Nickelodeon'' (known as Children's BBC on Nickelodeon from 1996 to 1997) programming block. The CBBC on Nickelodeon block was originally hosted by Otis the Aardvark from its launch until 4 October 1997, when he was replaced by Marvin P. Porcevark, who unlike Otis, never appeared on the original CBBC block.

The launch of digital channel BBC Choice in 1998 saw the channel broadcasting children's programming in a Saturday afternoon slot which was subsequently replaced by the daily 6 am to 7 pm service CBBC on Choice, which aired archive preschool programming and was itself the precursor of the current [[CBBC]] and [[CBeebies]] channels.