U&Dave launched in October 1998 as UK Gold Classics. Prior to 2003, the channel was essentially an offshoot from UK Gold and either showed timeshifted programmes from that channel or programmes of similar themes. The visual identity and graphics were also shared with UK Gold.
UK Gold 2[]
1999–2001[]
On 2 April 1999, UK Gold Classics was replaced by UK Gold 2.
2001–2003[]
2003[]
UK G²[]
2003–2004[]
On 12 November 2003, UK Gold 2 was replaced by UK G². The visual identity was created by BBC Broadcast.
"UK G2 brings together a carefully chosen mix of comedy and drama that have a uniquely British sardonic view of the world and will feature repeats of hit comedies and dramas including Have I Got News For You, Room 101 and Spooks.
The channel identity reflects this, as it is based on the idea of "bending the rules." The identity for the new channel reflects the irreverent humour of its shows. Individual films observe people who should know better, mischievously flouting social convention and unexpectedly bending the rules." - BBC Broadcast press release
On 15 October 2007, UKTV G2 was rebranded as Dave, as part of a major rebranding of UKTV's channels, where every channel would get a distinct name. The tagline for the new channel was "the home of witty banter". The visual identity for the rebranded channel was created by Red Bee Media. The channel replaced UKTV Bright Ideas on Freeview.
2022–2024[]
Designer:
Eat Big Fish
Typography:
Clarendon BT
Launched:
November 9, 2022
New presentation for Dave was shown off on UKTV's corporate website on 8 November 2022, and launched on the channel the following day. The revised logo that was launched along with the presentation is a similar wordmark in a rectangular box that is slightly tilted upwards.
On 29 November 2023, UKTV announced its intention to launch 'U' - a new masterbrand that would unite its family channels and its streaming. Launched on 16 July 2024, UKTV's streaming service UKTV Play became U; and its family of free-to-air channel adopted the 'U&...' branding: U&Dave, U&Drama, U&W, and U&Yesterday.
UKTV's pay channels, Gold and Alibi, rebranded to U&Gold and U&Alibi on 7 November, with U&Eden being the first while becoming free-to-air in 16 October.[1]
