BBC staff went on strike from midnight on Monday May 23 2005 for 24 hours. They were protesting at plans to cut 3,780 jobs and privatise parts of the Corporation.
The unions said the cuts were the most damaging in BBC history. The corporation said it regretted the decision to take industrial action.
The strike posed the most serious threat to the BBC's programming schedule across all TV and radio networks in over a decade. This page focuses on the disruption to national and regional news output on the TV networks.
BBC One Northern Ireland continuity was unaffected by the strike action; non-union staff stepped in at midnight to keep services on the air. Junctions from midnight on Monday all featured local branding and voices. BBC Two Northern Ireland was manned until it handed over to the Learning Zone at 2.00am; however, BBC Two Network junctions were being broadcast in the morning and afternoon on Monday.
There was virtually no local continuity from BBC Scotland for the duration of the strike period. BBC Two Scotland was broadcasting its own schedule when the strike kicked in at midnight; when the programme going out at midnight finished at 1.40am, the screen faded to black and we crashed back to Network and 'Pages From Ceefax'.
BBC One Wales continuity stopped at midnight on Monday; we had Network junctions until BBC One joined BBC News 24 at 12.55am. BBC One Wales continuity returned later in the morning but was patchy with some junctions being missed and Network being taken instead.
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