The end of Ceefax: BBC text service facing final bow after 38 years

BBC Ceefax is set for its final bow tonight as the TV text service ends after nearly four decades to make way for the UK's digital switchover.

The much-loved service will be taken off air this evening after 38 years, bringing to an end the service which was the first port of call for breaking news, sport, weather and more in the pre-internet age.

The world's first teletext service will end tonight at 23.30 BST when Olympic champion Dame Mary Peters turns off the last analogue TV signal in Northern Ireland.

On Ceefax's final day, the Plain English Campaign announced it was handing a lifetime achievement award to the service for 'clarity' and use of 'everyday words'.

Journalists at Ceefax itself gave it a heartfelt send-off by writing an emotional farewell letter which was displayed over the weekend.

The tongue-in-cheek letter also said Ceefax had become a 'victim of BBC ageism' as it said goodbye to the 'cruel world'.

The letter said: "When I started out in 1974, I was the future - TV's first robot newsreader.

"But what once seemed cutting edge is now regarded as hopelessly old-fashioned, and I have been frozen out by the powers that be, yet another victim of BBC ageism.

"I can't take it anymore, it's a struggle to get up for the nightshift, and my poor pixels are tired. My friend Oracle said it would end like this."

Ceefax was launched in September 1974, aimed at giving BBC viewers access to the latest news, sport scores, TV listings and weather.

In the days before rolling news channels and social media, it was the only way of getting up to date information, save for waiting for the next TV or radio bulletin, or newspaper.

Veteran journalist Colin McIntyre became Ceefax's first editor, and he updated 24 news pages on his own.

It initially featured recipes, share prices, music reviews, and other articles, and would later peak in popularity in the mid-1990s, when 20million people checked Ceefax at least once a week.

The advent of the world wide web in the mid-1990s would strike a critical blow against Ceefax however, and after the gradual switch to digital TV after the turn of the millenium, its following dwindled.

Nostalgists desperate for some of the old Ceefax magic need not despair however, as the service has been immortalised in Twitter.

The 'Twefax' site allows users' Twitter profiles to be converted into a Ceefax-style format, complete with block colouring and minimalist design.

The creator of Twefax, freelance journalist Jonathan Cresswell, said: "I do have a fondness for Ceefax - it's straight to the point and useful, there's still a lot to be said for it that's what we still want from services today.

"I originally made Twefax when the service got turned off in London, there was a big outpouring of love and the pun 'Twefax' seemed to good to pass up.

"Twitter and Ceefax with their short bursts of information do have a fair few things in common so it's a good fit too."