Black drapes

In the late 90s and early 00s it seemed that every programme on YSTV had to be produced with black drapes as the backdrop. The obvious benefit was that as a set they were very easy to store, put up and take down, and adaptable as well as being cheap. However it did make the output look very dark. At one point in 1996/7 lots of programmes seemed to use white drape - or more accurately off-yellow drape. At least one edition of Week By Week was presented using white drape as the backdrop, and draped over the desk and the floor of the studio, making the show look like it was being hosted from a cloud.

In 2003 it was decided to try and limit the use of what had become known as "dreaded black drape" (or DBD for short),and this is one reason the Elections 2003 set was used for a number of programmes. These days it is rarely used, except perhaps to cover up the studio wall where a set ends!