Editing Test Card F

{{short description|Test card used by BBC television for decades}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2022}}
[[File:Testcard F.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Off-air screen capture of BBC Test Card F, as seen on BBC1 between 17 February 1991 and 4 October 1997.]]

'''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]]. It was the first to be transmitted in colour in the UK and the first to feature a person, and has become an iconic British image regularly subject to [[parody]].

The central image on the card shows [[Carole Hersee]] playing [[noughts and crosses]] with a clown doll, Bubbles the Clown, surrounded by various [[grayscale|greyscales]] and colour test signals used to assess the quality of the transmitted picture. It was first broadcast on 2 July 1967 (the day after the first colour pictures appeared to the public on television) on [[BBC Two|BBC2]].

The card was developed by BBC [[Broadcast engineering|engineer]] [[George Hersee]] (1924–2001), the father of the girl in the central image. It was frequently broadcast during daytime downtime on [[BBC Television]] until 29 April 1983, when it was replaced with broadcasts of [[Ceefax]] pages. It continued to be seen for around 7.5 minutes each day before the start of Ceefax broadcasts but it would also be shown on days when the Ceefax generator was not working. It was further phased out from [[BBC One|BBC1]] in November 1997 when the station began to air 24 hours a day, followed by BBC2 in January 1999 when its overnight downtime was replaced entirely by ''[[Ceefax|Pages from Ceefax]]''. After then it was only seen during engineering work, and was last seen in this role in 2011. The card was also seen on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] in the 1970s, occasionally used in conjunction with [[Philips PM5544|Test Card G]].

In the digital age, Test Card F and its variants are very infrequently broadcast, as downtime hours in schedules have largely been discontinued. Several variations of TCF have been screened, among them '''Test Card J''' (digitally enhanced), '''Test Card W''' (widescreen) and its [[High-definition television|high definition]] variant, which is sometimes erroneously referred to as '''Test Card X'''.

Up until the UK's [[digital switchover]] in 2010–2012, the test card made an appearance during the annual RBS (rebroadcast standby)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix6uqyLvpds |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/ix6uqyLvpds| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=BBC 1 RBS Tests 2008|last=Mad Radio DXer|date=9 January 2008|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Test Transmissions and, until 2013, during the [[BBC HD]] preview loop, which used Test Card W.

==Technical information==
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2020}} 
Virtually all the designs and patterns on the card have some significance. Along the top (see above) are 95% [[Colorfulness#Saturation|saturation]] [[EBU colour bars|colour bars]] in descending order of [[luminance]]—[[white]], [[yellow]], [[cyan]], [[green]], [[magenta]], [[red]], [[blue]] and [[black]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Hersee |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/BBC/BBC-Books/bbc_monograph_69.pdf |title=BBC Engineering Division - MONOGRAPH - No. 69 |date=September 1967 |publisher=BBC |pages=13}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Pemberton |first=Alan |date=2016-03-03 |title=Not just a pretty face... Technical descriptions of UK test cards |url=http://www.pembers.freeserve.co.uk/Test-Cards/Test-Card-Technical.html |url-status=dead |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=Pembers' Ponderings |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303165836/http://www.pembers.freeserve.co.uk/Test-Cards/Test-Card-Technical.html }}</ref> There are triangles on each of the four sides of the card to check for correct [[overscan]]ning of the picture. Standard greyscale and [[frequency response]] (1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4, 4.5 and 5.25 MHz) tests are found on the left and right respectively of the central picture.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> On the updated version known as Test Card J (including widescreen and HD versions), the X on the [[noughts-and-crosses]] board is an indicator for aligning the centre of the screen.

The blocks of colour on the sides would cause the picture to tear horizontally if the [[Composite video|sync]] circuits were not adjusted properly.<ref name=":1" /> The closely spaced lines in various parts of the screen allowed focus to be checked from centre to edge; mistuning would also blur the lines. All parts of the [[grayscale|greyscale]] would not be distinct if contrast and brightness (both internal preset settings and user adjustments) were not set correctly. The black bar on a white background revealed [[ringing (signal)|ringing]] and signal reflections.<ref name=":1" /> The castellations along the top and bottom also revealed possible setup problems.

In the centre image, a child was depicted so that wrong skin colour would be obvious and not subject to changing [[make-up]] fashions. The juxtaposed garish colours of the clown were such that a common [[transmission (telecommunications)|transmission]] error called chrominance/luminance delay inequality would make the clown's yellow [[Button (clothing)|buttons]] turn white. Use of centre images in test cards were however not a new idea; [[Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française|RTF]] and [[Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française|ORTF]] in France used the [[Marly Horses]] as the central motif of its [[monochrome]] [[Analog high-definition television system|819-line]] test card which was used on [[TF1]] between 1953 and 1983,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pembers.freeserve.co.uk/Test-Cards/Non-UK.html#France|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304051933/http://www.pembers.freeserve.co.uk/Test-Cards/Non-UK.html#France|archivedate=2016-03-04|title=Non-UK Television Test Cards, Tuning Signals, Clocks and Idents|date=March 4, 2016}}</ref> and the first French colour test card featuring a centre image of colourful roses was used on [[France 2]] from 1967 until sometime around the mid-1970s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vivelapub.fr/retrospective-la-mire-tv/|title=Rétrospective : la mire à la télévision (1953 – 2002)|date=January 5, 2012|website=VivelaPub}}</ref> [[Sveriges Television|SVT]] in Sweden was also later inspired by Test Card F to develop its own colour test card, based on its earlier monochrome test cards, [[:File:Sweden TV1 colour 1969.png|with a girl holding a doll in the centre image]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pembers.freeserve.co.uk/Test-Cards/Non-UK.html#Sweden|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304051933/http://www.pembers.freeserve.co.uk/Test-Cards/Non-UK.html#Sweden|archivedate=2016-03-04|title=Non-UK Television Test Cards, Tuning Signals, Clocks and Idents|date=March 4, 2016}}</ref>

Modern circuitry using [[integrated circuit|large-scale integration]] is much less susceptible to most of these problems. Some of them are also associated with [[cathode-ray tube]]s; modern screens use [[liquid crystal display]]s (LCDs) that are not scanned at high speed. The test card was a vital tool in its day, but has become far less important.

The name of the broadcasting channel usually appeared in the space underneath the letter F—a [[sans-serif]] F denoting an original optical version of the test card.

Originally, Test Card F was a [[Reversal film|photographic slide]] made up of two transparencies in perfect registration—one containing the colour information ([[chrominance]]) and the other the monochrome background ([[luminance]]). The card was converted to electronic form in 1984 when electronic storage became possible.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.bbceng.info/additions/2016/IBC_Brochure_1984%20(large).pdf |title=BBC Engineering at IBC-84 |publisher=BBC Research & Development |year=1984 |location=United Kingdom}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

==Audio accompaniment==
{{See also|Test card music}}
A sound of some kind is usually transmitted in the background. It is either music, usually a composition commissioned by the station itself or "royalty-free" [[stock music]], or a steady tone.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=Neville |url=https://rssconsultancy.co.uk/articleTCM.pdf |title=A History of Test Card Music}}</ref> Composers whose music has been used include [[Roger Roger (composer)|Roger Roger]], [[Johnny Pearson]], [[Neil Richardson (composer)|Neil Richardson]], [[Frank Chacksfield]], [[Syd Dale]], [[John Cameron (musician)|John Cameron]], [[Brian Bennett]], [[Keith Mansfield]], and [[Alan Hawkshaw]].<ref name="doll">{{Cite book |last=Tony |first=Currie |url=https://www.chandos.net/chanimages/Booklets/FBCD2000.pdf |title=The Girl, The Doll, The Music - essay included as the notes for "Test Card Classics, Chandos CD FBCD 2000" |publisher=Chandos |year=1998}}</ref>

In recent years, the Test Card is only shown during engineering tests on the BBC and is accompanied by a steady tone of various pitches accompanied by a [[TIM the speaking clock|female talking clock]]. Test Card music had ceased to be frequently heard with the test card by the end of the 1980s, although it continued to be played over [[Pages from Ceefax]] until the termination of that service on 22 October 2012.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-10-23 |title=Ceefax service closes down after 38 years on BBC |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-20032882 |access-date=2023-01-13}}</ref>

==Bubbles the Clown==
[[File:TCF centre.jpg|right|190px|thumb|Original transparency of the central image created for Test Card F.]]
Along with his Test Card F co-star Carole Hersee, Bubbles has appeared for an estimated total of 70,000 hours<ref name=newsbbc>{{cite news|title=Test card special|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1282160.stm|access-date=10 June 2013|newspaper=BBC News|date=19 April 2001}}</ref> on television, equivalent to nearly eight whole years. Carole still owns Bubbles.<ref>{{cite news|last=Deacon|first=Michael|title=Talking about the Test Card|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3665389/Talking-about-the-Test-Card.html|access-date=10 June 2013|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=25 May 2007}}</ref>

===Colour===
Bubbles's original body colour was [[blue]] and [[white]], but the BBC engineers decided that [[green]] was also needed within the scene<ref name=murphy>{{cite web|last=Grant|first=Dave|title=Test Card 'F'|url=http://www.murphy-radio.co.uk/gallery/tcf/bbc_tcf.html|work=The Test Card Gallery|access-date=10 June 2013}}</ref> as the other two television [[Primary colour#Additive primaries|primary colours]], [[red]] and [[blue]], were already shown. A green wrap was made to cover his body and this can be seen in Test Card J and Test Card W, along with more of his body shown in the photograph<ref name=meldrum>{{cite web|last=Meldrum|first=Darren|title=BBC Test Cards|url=http://www.meldrum.co.uk/mhp/testcard/bbc_test.html|work=MHP The Test Card Gallery|access-date=10 June 2013}}</ref> — revealing the fact that he is actually holding a piece of [[chalk]], which was not previously visible.

However, the shade of green material chosen was too subtle for the engineers' liking and so Bubbles' body colour in Test Card F was [[Image editing|retouched]] (this can be seen from the edges of his image) to make it more [[Saturation (color theory)|saturated]] and also to give it a higher [[luminance]] value on screen.<ref name=murphy/>

==Overseas usage==
Test Card F was also used in approximately 30 countries{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}} outside the UK. Notable overseas users included:
* [[Bahrain Radio and Television Corporation]] in Bahrain<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pembers.freeserve.co.uk/Test-Cards/Non-UK.html#Generic|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304051933/http://www.pembers.freeserve.co.uk/Test-Cards/Non-UK.html#Generic|archivedate=2016-03-04|title=Non-UK Television Test Cards, Tuning Signals, Clocks and Idents|date=March 4, 2016}}</ref>
* [[DR (broadcaster)|DR]] in Denmark<ref>{{cite web|url=https://danskradio.dk/tv.html|title=Dansk Radio - TV historie|website=danskradio.dk}}</ref> (Replaced along with [[Philips PM5552]] by the [[Philips circle pattern]] in 1970)
* [[NRK]] in Norway, briefly in the 1970s<ref name="Radios TV">{{cite web|title=Non-UK Television Test Cards, Tuning Signals, Clocks and Idents|url=http://www.radios-tv.co.uk:80/Pembers/Test-Cards/Non-UK.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607162532/http://www.radios-tv.co.uk:80/Pembers/Test-Cards/Non-UK.html|archive-date=2019-06-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Testcards |url=https://testcards.retropia.co.uk/post/122749885310/nrk-norsk-rikskringkasting-test-card-f-1974 |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=Tumblr}}</ref>
* [[Sveriges Television|SVT]] in Sweden, briefly in the 1970s<ref name="Radios TV"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://hub.tv-ark.org.uk/images/testcards/images/43_testcards/tcf_farg_tv_sweden-01.jpg |title=TCF Sweden |publisher=hub.tv-ark.org.uk |date= |accessdate=2021-03-10 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090758/http://hub.tv-ark.org.uk/images/testcards/images/43_testcards/tcf_farg_tv_sweden-01.jpg |url-status=usurped }}</ref>
* [[STW|STW-9]] in Perth, Australia<ref>{{cite web|author=National Film and Sound Archive of Australia |url=https://www.nfsa.gov.au/latest/colour-tv-part-2 |title=Colour TV in Australia, Part 2 |publisher=NFSA |date= 20 February 2015|accessdate=2021-03-10}}</ref>
* [[TCN|TCN-9]] and [[TEN (TV station)|TEN-10]] in Sydney, Australia{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}
* [[NBN Television|NBN-3]] in Newcastle, Australia
* [[Mediacorp#1965–1980: Radio Television Singapore|Radio Television Singapore (RTS)/Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC)]], albeit with the original centre image replaced with another slide featuring a puppet resembling Bubbles the Clown and four girls, one of each of the [[Demographics of Singapore|four official races of Singapore]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.meldrum.co.uk/mhp/testcard/around_world.html|title=Television Graphics Around the World|website=www.meldrum.co.uk}}</ref> This particular test card was introduced in 1974 upon the introduction of colour television in Singapore, replacing a modified 625-line version of [[Test Card C]], but was later replaced by the [[Philips circle pattern]] which had likely previously been used internally.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/highlight?page=50moments|title=NAS 50 Moments&#124;National Archives Singapore|website=www.nas.gov.sg}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=TV-DX SBC 8 Singapore E08 04.10.1991|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWZm5vUyrFI|website=YouTube| date=25 February 2017 }}</ref>
* [[New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation]] (NZBC) briefly used a modified version of TCF until its dissolution in 1975, replacing its common monochrome test card design dating back to the non-networked-AKTV2/CHTV3/WNTV1/[[DNTV2]] era.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Testcards |url=https://testcards.retropia.co.uk/post/144643283352/nzbc |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=Tumblr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oocities.org/wenlockb/icdx/outandabout11.html|title=Out and About no 11|website=www.oocities.org}}</ref><ref name="Radios TV"/> It was first introduced at the beginning of colour television broadcasts in 1973. One of the two successors of NZBC ([[South Pacific Television]]; now [[TVNZ 2]]) also occasionally used TCF and another TCF-inspired test card called T1<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Zealand |url=https://ing-sat.hu/testcard-sat/new-zealand.htm |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=ing-sat.hu}}</ref> up until approximately 1980. Upon renaming to [[TVNZ]] it subsequently replaced TCF and its variants with the [[Philips circle pattern]] which was used well into the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=TVNZ1 Testcard 1992
|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJxvi-aTnBE |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=YouTube| date=20 May 2021 }}</ref>

==Variants and updated versions==
===Unlettered BBC Widescreen test card===
A 16:9 (1.78:1) [[widescreen]] predecessor to Test Card W without an identifying letter first appeared in March 1998 as part of digital tests on the [[Astra 1D]] satellite, and was notably broadcast to the public on 6 November 1998 as part of a joke on ''[[Have I Got News For You]]'' to censor then-host [[Angus Deayton]] about discussing [[Peter Mandelson]]'s life.<ref name="meldrum"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_xCMbz4Tmc|title=- YouTube|website=www.youtube.com}}</ref> 

===Test Card J ===
{{anchor|testcardj}}
'''Test Card J''' is an updated version of Test Card F, and first appeared in November 1999. It includes the following changes relative to its predecessor:

* A newly added green square at the top of the screen is used to facilitate easier observation of chrominance to luminance delay.
* The negative black squares in the left hand step pattern should flash on and off at 1 [[hertz|Hz]]. This is to aid in the detection of frozen digital links.
* The central image is based on the same source photograph, but with some minor adjustments:
** It has been rescanned from the original transparency for improved colour accuracy.
** The image has been re-aligned within Test Card J such that the cross on the [[noughts and crosses]] board is at the exact centre of the screen, as some believe was originally intended.
** It is less tightly cropped, resulting in more edge detail from the original photograph being visible.<ref name='meldrum'/>

===Test Card W ===
{{anchor|testcardw}}
'''Test Card W''' is an updated 16:9 (1.78:1) widescreen version of Test Card F. It first appeared in November 1999 alongside Test Card J, with which it bears some similarities.

The [[SMPTE color bars|colour-bars]] on the top and right of the image are the full 100 per cent saturation version, unlike Test Cards F and J which use the 95 per cent type. Extra mirrored arrow-heads on the central axis at the sides mark the positions of the middle 4:3 and 14:9 sections of the image.

On [[Freeview (UK)|Freeview]] in the United Kingdom, Test Card W can be viewed at any time on most Freeview boxes using the MHEG-5 multimedia standard.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=728925|title=Hidden testcard on topup box |publisher=Digital Spy |date=2008-01-13 |access-date=2016-06-05}}</ref>

====BBC HD channel variant ("Test Card X") ==== 
{{anchor|testcardx}}
A [[1080i|1080 line]] variant of Test Card W (sometimes referred to unofficially<ref name="Quested_quote">{{cite web|author=Quested, Andy |work=BBC Internet blog|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2008/12/a_christmas_present_from_the_h.html|access-date=2013-12-21|title=A Christmas Present from the HD Channel!|quote=The test card seems to have been given the name "Test Card X" but not by us, it is in fact a modified high definition version of test card W}}</ref> as '''Test Card X''') was used on the now-defunct [[BBC HD|BBC HD channel]]. It could be viewed every two hours as part of the BBC HD preview slot. When viewed, it was enhanced with 5.1 surround sound tests. A [[Black & Lane's Ident Tones for Surround|BLITS]] tone is played alongside, which plays test tones at different frequencies from each of the different surround sound speakers, with markers (such as L, R, C, LFE, Ls, Rs) appearing inside some of the grey boxes of the testcard.<ref name="Quested">{{cite web|author=Quested, Andy |work=BBC Internet blog|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2008/12/a_christmas_present_from_the_h.html|access-date=2011-12-14|title=A Christmas Present from the HD Channel!}}</ref> BBC HD closed in March 2013; therefore Test Card X is no longer regularly broadcast. Test Card X did however make an appearance on the lunchtime edition of ''Sportsday'' on the [[BBC News (British TV channel)|BBC News channel]] on 18 January 2023, in place of a slide intended to show the [[BBC Sport]] website.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cleanfeed.thetvroom.com/16533/bloopers/the-test-card-puts-in-an-unscheduled-appearance-on-sportsday/ | title=The test card puts in an unscheduled appearance on Sportsday | date=18 January 2023 }}</ref>

====BBC Two variant (2016) ====
{{anchor|testcardx 2016}}
[[File:BBC 2 Testcard.png|thumb|Off-air screen capture of the 2016–2019 BBC Two iteration.]]
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2020}}
From August 2016 until July 2019, the latest iteration of the widescreen testcard could be seen briefly each morning at 7:00 am on BBC Two and BBC Two HD. At the centre bottom of the test card is an animated grey bar with graduations corresponding to 1/12 of a second. The animation is accompanied by a 'pip' that occurs when the animated bar reaches the centre mark (indicated by a 0), which together can be used to determine whether the digital audio and video signals are synchronised.

==Recent years==
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2020}} 
In May 1983, trade test transmissions of the test card ended when Ceefax pages began to be shown during all daytime intervals. This meant that Test Card F was only seen for a few minutes early in the morning.

1992 was the last year that Test Card F was seen daily with music; 1995 was the last year it was seen with music, although it was seen until 1999 with just tone output, and Ceefax was broadcast either with tone or music. However, since the closure of Ceefax, the shutdown of analogue television transmissions, and the imposition of budgetary constraints, a new revision of the testcard can be seen daily on BBC Two and BBC Two HD at the end of the "This is BBC Two" transmission. Each morning, as the segment concludes, the testcard is broadcast for approximately one minute.

Since the late 1990s, Bubbles has only very rarely appeared on television, as Test Card F has been discontinued, and Test Cards J and W are very seldom shown, due to the advent of [[digital television]] and 24-hour programming.<ref name=meldrum/>

For the fortieth anniversary of Test Card F, there was some renewed interest in Bubbles in the media; in a 2007 interview, Hersee mentioned that she took Bubbles into school with her to prove to her [[Head teacher|headmaster]] that she really was the girl in the picture.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-06-27 |title=Personal Column: Test-card special - Profiles, People - The Independent |website=[[Independent.co.uk]] |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/personal-column-testcard-special-450533.html |access-date=2023-01-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627131751/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/personal-column-testcard-special-450533.html |archive-date=27 June 2009 }}</ref>

The BBC website previously featured Bubbles next to a blackboard with "[[HTTP 404|404]]" inscribed on it when a user visited a page that did not exist;<ref>{{cite web|date=18 June 2016|title=Error 404 : Not Found|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/404.html|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403142841/http://www.bbc.co.uk/404.html|archive-date=2016-04-03|access-date=29 May 2020|website=bbc.co.uk|publisher=BBC}}</ref> however, some time between July 2017 and May 2020, this was replaced with an image of two "clangers" (animated puppets) from the BBC television show ''[[Clangers]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Error 404: Not Found |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/404.html |website=bbc.co.uk |publisher=BBC |access-date=29 May 2020 |date=29 May 2020}}</ref> Similarly, in 2015 the BBC website's "[[HTTP 500|500]]" Internal Error page featured a cross-eyed Bubbles appearing in front of a blackboard with a background of fire;<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gadd |first1=Sophie |title=BBC website down: Incredibly creepy clown in error message is freaking people out |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/bbc-webiste-down-creepy-clown-5333053 |website=mirror.co.uk |publisher=The Mirror |access-date=29 May 2020 |date=14 March 2015}}</ref> however, this has since been replaced with the same error message seen on the 404 page.

Prior to the relaunch of [[BBC Three]] in 2022, Test Card F aired for periods of 20 minutes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC Three - This is BBC Three, HD Slide / Test Card BBC Three |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00141gd |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
{{In popular culture|section|date=July 2020}}
Variations and parodies of Test Card F are common in British broadcasting, Internet sites, and games. Some prominent examples include:
*The TV series ''[[Life on Mars (British TV series)|Life on Mars]]'' features a [[List of Life on Mars characters#Test Card Girl|Test Card Girl]] based on Test Card F, who teases and torments the lead character, Sam Tyler.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/lifeonmars/backstage/questions_plot.shtml|title=Life on Mars questions|work=BBC Drama|access-date=24 July 2020}}</ref><ref name="clues">{{cite news|title=Did you spot the clues?|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/content/show-features/life-on-mars/did-you-spot-the-clues/|first=Nick|last=Griffiths|publisher=[[The Radio Times]]|date=1 April 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121124741/http://www.radiotimes.com/content/show-features/life-on-mars/did-you-spot-the-clues/|archive-date=21 November 2008|access-date=24 July 2020}}</ref>
*Parodies have been used in promotional material or videos for many songs (often with band members' faces), including [[Radiohead]]'s 2000 album ''[[Kid A]]'',<ref>{{cite web |last1=Radiohead |title=Blips |url=https://www.radiohead.com/library/#kida/blips |website=Radiohead Public Library |publisher=XL Recordings |access-date=5 April 2020 |ref=Radiohead |date=2020}}</ref> "[[(Waiting For) The Ghost Train]]" by [[Madness (band)|Madness]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Madness - Waiting For The Ghost Train |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6pF1CwjKpA  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/z6pF1CwjKpA| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=5 July 2020 |date=24 November 2008}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and the [[Gorillaz]] music video "[[Hallelujah Money]]."<ref>{{Citation|publisher=[[UPROXX]]|title=Hallelujah Money (feat. Benjamin Clementine) - Gorillaz |website=Youtube|date=2017-01-19|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDUrpPvU1_4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/CDUrpPvU1_4| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|access-date=2017-01-19}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
*The test card has also been used in the ''[[Numberblocks]]'' episode "Tween Scenes," with Ten replacing Carole Hersee and Three replacing Bubbles the Clown.
*''[[Dave Allen At Large]]'' included a parody of Test Card F where a hand came out and completed the game of noughts and crosses.
*The ''[[Animaniacs (2020 TV series)|Animaniacs reboot]]'s'' segment "The Flawed Couple" featured a parody of Test Card F with Pinky in place of Carole Hersee and the Brain wearing clown makeup in place of Bubbles.
*[[RuPaul's Drag Race UK (series 4)|RuPaul's Drag Race UK]] contestant [[Cheddar Gorgeous]] wore a runway look inspired by Test Card F for the season four runway "Keeping it 100!", which was held in honour of the [[BBC|BBC's]] 100th anniversary.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/0b6dc5e5-9cb6-4ee4-96fb-99c2bb02f171|title=RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 4 episode 1 runway recap: All the BBC icons and 'Ru Are You?' looks|work=BBC Three|date=18 October 2022}}</ref>
*The trailers of the video game [[Worms W.M.D]] parodies the Test Card F where Carole and Bubbles are replaced by worms looking like them. Also, the grid on the blackboard is replaced by a drawing of a grenade, an emblematic weapon of the game franchise.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XesMJiTgc6g |title=Worms W.M.D - Bob's Tank Warehouse! |language=en |access-date=2024-04-05 |via=www.youtube.com}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of BBC test cards]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==

===BBC links===
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1282160.stm Test card special] (BBC News, 19 April 2001)
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/classic/classic/testcard.shtml Down-loadable test card wallpaper from the BBC]

===Interviews===
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930152346/http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/article2586577.ece Carole Hersee interview marking the 40th anniversary of test card F]
*[http://arts.guardian.co.uk/britishcomedians/story/0,,1868259,00.html Interview about the Mighty Boosh's Test Card F parody]

===Others===
*[http://www.testcardcircle.org.uk The Test Card Circle] Fan group site includes history of the BBC and ITA Test Cards, the music, and details about the Trade Test Colour Films shown from the late fifties to 1973.
*[http://www.meldrum.co.uk/mhp/testcard/bbc_test.html A history of the BBC's test cards]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_0h7B5b-rE Carole Hersee Biography on Youtube]

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[[Category:BBC test cards]]
[[Category:1967 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Television shows about clowns]]
[[Category:Telecommunications-related introductions in 1967]]
[[Category:Tic-tac-toe]]
[[Category:British inventions]]