BBC re-opens Television Centre site
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Editor
| 01 September 2017

BBC Studioworks, the commercial subsidiary of the corporation, has re-opened the doors to the iconic BBC TV studios site in West London, Television Centre.

The so-called ‘home of British television’ originally opened in 1960 and was the biggest TV production facility of its kind in the world at the time. The site has been undergoing major redevelopment works since 2012 when it was sold by the BBC to the property company, Stanhope.

Studioworks has re-opened three state-of-the-art studios as well as post production facilities on the site to create the centrepiece of a creative media quarter in London’s White City. Across the three studios, Television Centre provides over 22,000 sq. ft. of shooting space as well as new post production facilities, all served by flexible technical and support areas. The revamped TC1, TC2 and TC3 studios range in size, and can accommodate all genres and styles of programming, from sitcoms and panel shows, to major entertainment and event shows – both live and pre-recorded. The facility boasts a range of new technologies with major investments made in equipment ranging from 4K studio cameras to new gallery control desks.

Television Centre is now a mixed-use development with a private club and hotel, a gym and spa, an array of restaurants and bars, as well as a boutique cinema. Studioworks believes that this combination will likely to prove very popular with production crews, audiences and on-screen talent.

The Studioworks facilities will play host to productions from all the UK’s major broadcasters and production companies. ITV1’s The Jonathan Ross Show will be the first production to be recorded. Also booked for the Autumn are the BBC One quiz show, Pointless, and the Strictly Come Dancing companion show, It Takes Two. These two shows will account for over 120 episodes of television produced between late September and mid-December. Other confirmed shows include a brand-new production, The Russell Howard Hour, for Sky. From 2018, Studioworks’ Television Centre facility will also become the temporary new home for the ITV Studios Daytime shows, Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women.

“It really is an exciting prospect to see Television Centre back as the production hub for the nation’s favourite programmes, and we expect to see ‘TVC’ re-emerge as the production community’s favourite place to make TV,” said BBC Studioworks MD David Conway Speaking commenting about the reopening. “Whilst some may get nostalgic about the re-opening, this really is a new Television Centre, set up for the future with leading-edge technologies, flexible facilities and a fantastic team running it. Having a range of independent bars, restaurants, a gym and spa, a cinema and a members’ club on our doorstep is also proving a great draw for production teams.”