[rick]

Idents centred around a show or film are never a good idea. I honestly wanted to throw things at my TV when a gurning David Tenant kept popping up that year they focused on Doctor Who. The idents/package should be independent of anything else, and also something that can be made 'news safe' for the bulletins or if something newsworthy happens over the festive period.

[Nini]

Feels like some might not be happy until the old turntables with festive things on them are wheeled out as a throwback thing.

[JMT1985]

Idents centred around a show or film are never a good idea. I honestly wanted to throw things at my TV when a gurning David Tenant kept popping up that year they focused on Doctor Who. The idents/package should be independent of anything else, and also something that can be made 'news safe' for the bulletins or if something newsworthy happens over the festive period.

2009 was an exception - it seems the BBC were treating David leaving Doctor Who as something akin to a national state occasion - he appeared on a lot of BBC shows leading up to his final two episodes over Christmas 2009 - he was Graham Norton Show, QI, Catherine Tate Show - the really did milk his leaving to death, culminating in having him as part of their Christmas idents. 

I don't see that ever happening again - the animated Christmas shows each year does seem a warm, festive and welcoming idents, instead of leaving them to a committee of PR men at the BBC or whoever they farm it out to.

[fanoftv]

You can feature shows cleverly without making it the sole focus of the idents as 2014’s ident:

(Courtesy of VM Phil)

And 2001’s beautiful animation  proved

(courtesy of Archive TV) 

EDIT: What works well for both imo is that they are both quite simple concepts and that they both have beautiful musical scores.

[rick]

The 2001 set is lovely and a simple concept executed well. Something a bit lower key and understated would be a welcome change. It doesn't always have to be a big expensive animation chopped up into sections for idents.

For the lens idents, they could have a living room scene at different times of the day, like present opening, watching TV together and party games in the evening with the focal point of each scene being the tree.

With the cost of living situation, it would seem out of touch if they did a big OTT Christmas package, so going the more simpler understated look would likely be welcomed.

[JMT1985]

The 2001 set is lovely and a simple concept executed well. Something a bit lower key and understated would be a welcome change. It doesn't always have to be a big expensive animation chopped up into sections for idents.

For the lens idents, they could have a living room scene at different times of the day, like present opening, watching TV together and party games in the evening with the focal point of each scene being the tree.

With the cost of living situation, it would seem out of touch if they did a big OTT Christmas package, so going the more simpler understated look would likely be welcomed.

I get the feeling from BBC One that since they are the only channel which has a new Christmas ident presentation every year, they feel they have to make it big, otherwise the argument will be, why not recycle previous years idents? 

So they go large and try and create something unique for that Christmas season - and I feel this is right and licence fee money well spent

[UTVLifer]

Althoug I've not liked the general trend of BBC1 Christmas idents in recent years effectively being trailers for a certain show, I did really like the whole 2020 package

[Andrew]

At least they’ve moved on from the era where they did a John Lewis style film and the idents were an after thought.

That year with the dark seaside pier being a low point

[Robert Williams]

The 2013 'wrapping paper' idents were by far my favourite of the previous decade, and something like that would certainly fit the bill for being more simple and understated, but unfortunately I recall these idents being decried as being boring, with people expecting the wrapping paper to be torn open to reveal something more elaborate underneath.

Though I did love the Shaun the Sheep idents, I wasn't so fussed about those in both the preceding and following years, and it would make a change if this year the idents weren't based around the main Christmas Day animation on BBC1, and preferably not based around any specific programme at all.

I don't necessarily think they need to be based around the lens theme, though, which feels a bit of a limiting factor - for example if the rumours were true that the original intention was to use it on the Shaun the Sheep idents then they certainly wouldn't have benefited from it. And there have been a great many years in the past where the BBC1 Christmas ident has borne nothing in common with the regular presentation, it even took two years for a festive version of the balloon to appear.

[steve]

Is it next year there's a new Wallace & Gromit film for Christmas on BBC One? I think so as they've said 2024 but not exactly when.

If so, I presume we can pencil that in already for the Christmas 2024 idents!