London has dozens of spaces that are marketed as 'TV studios'. Some are converted from existing buildings such as warehouses, or are simply rooms within office blocks. These range from those with the latest high definition technology to those that are little more than a basic 4-waller.
However, this website ignores many of the above and instead deals mostly with the main large studio complexes that have a history that in many cases go back to the origins of ITV and the BBC. I have included independent TV studios if they are of a reasonable size and have produced a variety of work, and film studios if they also have TV studios on site or have been used to make a number of multicamera television programmes on their stages. I have not included studios built specifically for one programme such as the lock-keeper's cottages studio in Bow which was created for The Big Breakfast. In order to put a limit on things I have left out the many small studios that can be found all over London - most of them making programmes for digital channels (shopping, bingo, porn etc).
I have, incidentally, omitted Ealing Film Studios. Although they were owned by the BBC for many years they were never converted into fully-equipped TV studios and have only very recently ever used for multi-camera programmes using an OB unit (Let's Dance for Comic Relief.) They were the base for the BBC Film Unit and so were used for making programmes, usually dramas, on film or in latter years - single camera video. (However, following a few requests I shall probably add Ealing in due course.)
A television studio is a factory floor. It is simply the most efficient way a particular type of television programme can be made. If it could be made cheaper anywhere else it would be. Several types of programme that used to be made in studios are now made on location or in offices. However, this is not an inevitable process. For most of the first decade of this century, Watchdog used the production's own office as a studio. They drove up an OB truck once a week, turned on the TV lights and recorded a show. The next day it was an office again. Like many others, this show used to have a regular booking in a studio at TV Centre but cost forced them to find an alternative. Then in 2009 when Anne Robinson returned, the look of the show changed and a set was built inside the office that hid all the desks and windows. This caused so many headaches to sound, lighting and cameras that in 2010 the show went back to TC2 at TV Centre! One assumes they offered a cheaper price than before, so the sums made sense to the programme and so everyone benefits. (Except perhaps for the OB company.)
Most of Britain's studio-based television is made in or near London. Outside the capital are a handful of medium/large (over about 2,500 sq ft) multicamera studios making shows for the five terrestrial channels and Sky 1 in Manchester (3), Glasgow (2) and Maidstone (3). Norwich is also back in the market with its 'Epic' HD studio but so far without many bookings for network shows. There are also 2 studios in Cardiff (BBC and Omni) but they mostly concentrate on making programmes for S4C. Similarly, the BBC's drive-in studio in Belfast is almost entirely used for local programming.
Setting aside those studios permanently making soaps, news, sport, daytime magazine shows, weather and links for children's channels - London's main medium-to-large fully equipped production TV studios in 2010 are at BBC Television Centre (6), BBC Elstree (1), Fountain (1 very large or 2), The London Studios (3), Pinewood (2), Riverside (1) and Teddington (2). Other smaller but still useful studios available for general use are to be found at Cactus, The Hospital Club, Kentish Town, Mediahouse Chiswick, Molinare, MTV, Princess, Stephen Street and Technicolor Chiswick. BBC TV Centre, Teddington and TLS also have a range of small studios for hire. Sky's studio centre in Osterley contains three small-medium studios (1,800 - 3,000 sq ft) which are used for Arts programmes as well as sport.
Many studio productions are designed to fit into a space around 90ft x 70ft. If one only includes studios that size or larger then the available list reduces to just 12 studios. If BBC TV Centre were to close, then 5 of those would be lost. The problems that would cause the industry would be considerable to say the least.
The studios above are used for entertainment programmes of all kinds including music shows, gameshows, chat shows, sitcoms, sketch shows, standup shows, kids shows, quizzes, current affairs debates etc. Sadly, they are no longer used to make TV drama. The last example of this on the main channels was probably The House of Eliott, made at TV Centre from 1991-1993. (The exception in London is EastEnders, which is still made using traditional techniques in multicamera studios but those studios are purely dedicated to that programme.) Sky, however, have broken this trend - producing a season of live multicamera dramas from their studio 6 in the summer of 2009 and again in 2010 for their Sky Arts 2 channel. Good for them!
The big fully-equipped and fantastically expensive TV studio is still very much alive and well, despite numerous attempts over the years to declare its imminent death. At certain times of the year production companies can find it very difficult indeed to find available studio space. New large studios are probably not likely to be built soon in London but in Maidstone a large studio opened in 2005 and an old Anglia production studio in Norwich re-opened in 2006 as an independent facility.
The BBC has declared that by 2016, half of all their output will be made outside London. The question is - will London-based entertainment productions be prepared to make their shows in these studios? The answer of course is - yes, if they are very much cheaper than the alternatives in London. In any case, 'Producer Choice' no longer exists as it once did since several London-based programmes have been forced to move to Glasgow whether they liked it or not. The same is bound to happen to a degree when the new Salford Quays studios open in 2011. (These are not designed or owned by the BBC incidentally but the BBC are in the process of negotiating a service contract for the partial use of the studios over the next few years.)
Over the next few years the industry will continue its move to making programmes in high definition (HD). This change is technically as big as the change from black and white to colour. Sky is already transmitting over 40 HD channels including Sky One, the BBC HD channel, ITV1, Channel 4 and Five, with more being added all the time. They aim to reach 50 by Christmas 2010. (A Sky HD box is required to receive them.) The BBC is now transmitting its HD channel via Virgin cable, Sky, Freesat and in some areas - Freeview. The BBC has announced that all their network output will be made in HD by April 2011. ITV1 HD began simulcasting via Sky and Freesat from April 2010, Five began simulcasting in HD in July 2010 and a new BBC1 HD channel will launch in the autumn of 2010.
All this demand for HD material involves replacing studio cameras, vision mixers (switchers), monitors, VT recorders and cabling and routing systems. This is proving to be very expensive indeed - but most studios are well under way with their investment.
The BBC has converted its three largest studios, TC1, TC8 and TC4 fully to HD with 10, 8 and 8 cameras respectively (including 5.1 surround sound). TC6 will be converted in the summer of 2010 (in 1080P/50). TC2 and TC3 are now capable of HD work using hired 'fly-away' kit and cameras borrowed from the other studios. Elstree D has also made a light entertainment show for ITV1 using flyaway HD kit.
Teddington has been recording sitcoms in HD using hired-in equipment since 2005 and in the summer of 2007 bought four HDC-1500 cameras with a fifth being added early in 2008 and three HDC-1000s in 2009. Fountain took the plunge and bought ten HD cameras in 2007, an HD vision mixer in 2008 and a 5.1 sound desk in 2009. They are now fully HD capable. TLS converted studio 2 to HD in the summer of 2009 and Studio 1 over Christmas of the same year.
Not many studios are left that don't have plans to convert - but if they don't soon they will certainly begin to lose work. However, it is extremely expensive and some of the smaller ones might not be able to afford the investment.
And then....just as the accountants begin to draw breath - 3D TV is already broadcasting on a channel via Sky. It will fully launch in the autumn carrying sport, movies and documentaries in stereoscopic 3D. Arguably it won't be long before entertainment and music shows will also be made in 3D. TC1 was the first studio to make a show in 3D - in the summer of 2009 using hired-in kit - but which studio will be the first with a 3D installation I wonder?
Pre TV...
Before the Second World War there was only one television studio centre in London - Alexandra Palace - but there were 21 film studios, each with several stages. By the early 1960s the number of film studios had dwindled to a mere handful but on about half a dozen sites around the capital television was thriving. The decline in the film industry coincided with the dawn of television so a number of studio sites were ready and available to be converted to the new entertainment medium.
The film studio capacity had exceeded the demand and many closed - either to become television studios or to be lost to redevelopment. Amongst the most famous was Denham, which in its day was the largest studio in the country with 7 stages. It closed in 1951. (Apparently, the BBC briefly considered siting its new Television Centre there, rather than at White City. Now wouldn't that have been nice! I gather that the Post Office couldn't guarantee to get the necessary sound and vision cables laid in time so it had to be rejected.)
Many film studios had been built to accommodate the system of quotas introduced by the government in 1928. This stipulated that at least 20% of all films shown in cinemas in the UK must have been made in Britain. The Hollywood studio companies therefore made hundreds of 'quota quickies' in studios all round London - usually very cheaply but crucially giving invaluable experience to actors and crew members. After the war the quota was dropped and a tax was introduced on cinema ticket sales. These two things combined to create a rapid decline in the UK's film industry and the inevitable result for many studios was closure. A contributing factor of course was television itself. People were not so inclined to go to the pictures once or twice a week if they had a TV set in their own living room. This was particularly true from about 1955 when the ITV companies began broadcasting.
Those old film studios that found a new life with television included Lime Grove (Shepherds Bush), Riverside (Hammersmith), Teddington, Highbury, Wembley Park and National Studios in Elstree (which in 1938 were owned by Joe Rock).
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The map shown above is taken from the International Motion Picture Almanac of 1937-38. It is thus a fascinating snapshot of the industry shortly before the war and so in industry terms, just before television changed everything. Of the 21 studios shown, only five are still making movies of which two currently make both movies and TV programmes. Six became purely television studios. Of those, two - Highbury and Shepherds Bush (Lime Grove) - have since closed. The map is far from accurate. For example, Teddington is shown south of the river and Twickenham appears to be right in the middle of the Thames! In case you were wondering - Bray did not open until 1949. |
The arrival of television...
The table below shows the year each studio opened. The chart only covers London's TV studios. It is interesting to note the two main clusters of construction - around the launch of ITV and then during the early to mid 1960s. This latter group forms the majority of the studios in use today. News/presentation and small studios are not included unless they have special significance or are part of a larger complex. Studios marked in red are no longer in use.
Studios marked 'TC' are at BBC Television Centre, 'LG' were at Lime Grove and 'TLS' are at The London Studios.
Studios marked with an asterisk* were converted into a TV studio from previous use as a film stage.
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1935 (180 lines, then 240 lines) |
Crystal Palace 1, 2, 3 (Baird's regular transmissions began in February although the studios were in use for trials and experiments for at least a year before this. From November, resolution increased to 240 lines) |
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1936 BBCtv begins (240 & 405 lines) |
Alexandra Palace A and B (Began in November. A was 405 line EMI system, B was 240 line Baird system. Baird 240 line system ended in Feb 1937. Then B converted to 405 lines.) |
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1950 |
Highbury A* (b/w high definition cameras from 1950-1956); LGD*, LGG* |
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1951 |
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1952 |
LGH* |
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1953 |
LGE*; TV Theatre |
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1954 |
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1955 ITV begins (405 lines) |
Viking*; Granville; Television House 7-10; Wembley 1-4*; Wood Green Empire; Hackney Empire |
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1956 |
Riverside 1*& 2*; King's Theatre Hammersmith |
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1957 |
Chelsea Palace |
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1958 |
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1959 |
Teddington 2*& 3* |
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1960 |
Elstree C*& D*; Wembley 5 (now Fountain); TC2, TC3 |
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1961 |
Elstree A*& B*; TC4, TC5 |
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1962 |
TC7 |
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1963 |
Teddington 1* |
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1964 BBC2 begins (625 lines) |
Wycombe Road; TC1 |
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1965 |
Hillside 1 and 2 |
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1966 |
Elstree Film 7, 8, 9 (Built as film stages with monopole grids and 8/9 with space for control rooms but not equipped for TV); Pinewood J & K (Built as film stages with monopole grids, flat floors and space for control rooms but not equipped for TV) |
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1967 colour on BBC2 |
TC6, TC8 (first colour studios in UK) |
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1968 |
Ewarts A & B (later Capital) |
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1969 colour on BBC1 & ITV (625 lines) |
Thames Euston 4, 5, 6; Golders Green Hippodrome; N1, N2 (later became TC10, TC11) |
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1970 |
Battersea A and B |
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1971 |
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1972 |
LWT 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (now TLS) |
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1978 |
Molinare 1 and 2 |
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1979 |
Greenwood Theatre |
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1980 |
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1981 |
Thames Euston 7 |
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1982 C4 begins |
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1983 TV-am begins |
Limehouse 1 & 2; TV-am 1 & 2 (now MTV) |
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1984 |
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1985 |
Fountain New Malden (now Revelation TV) |
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1986 |
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1987 |
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1988 |
LWT 10 |
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1989 Sky TV begins |
Sky 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; BSB 1, 2, 3, 4 (now QVC); Merton 1, 2, 3
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1990 |
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1991 |
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1992 |
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1993 |
TLS 7 |
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1994 |
124 Studio; Teddington 4 (formerly music studio) |
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1995 |
TC0 (formerly music studio) |
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1996 |
TLS 8, TC9 (formerly make-up store); Chiswick (Disney) A and B (mothballed in 2005 but occasionally used again since 2008.) |
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1997 Five begins |
Stephen Street 1 and 2; HDS 1, 2, 3 |
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1998 Sky Digital & OnDigital begin 16:9 widescreen available |
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1999 |
Elstree Film stage 7* (part converted to TV studio with resin floor and Portacabin control rooms); |
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2000 |
Pinewood TV-one* & TV-two* (fully converted to TV studios from stages J & K); TC10 (formally N1); Mediahouse 1; HDS A, B, C |
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2001 |
Cactus TV; HDS 4, 5 |
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2002 |
TC11 (formerly N2) |
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2003 |
The Hospital Club (first colour HD studio in UK); Princess Studio |
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2004 |
Kentish Town 1; Teddington 6 (formerly viewing theatre/meeting room); TC12 (formerly music studio control room - closed in 2008); 1 Leicester Square (MTV studio - closed in 2007) |
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2005 |
Teddington 7 (formerly prop store area); Teddington 8 (formerly edit suite); Sky A, B, C, D (news studios) |
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2006 HD available (1080 interlaced lines - service available via Sky or Virgin cable - Sky One and BBC trial HD channel amongst others.) |
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2007 (C4 HD channel begins via Sky. BBC HD Channel officially begins.) |
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2008 Freesat begins in May (All BBC, ITV and C4 channels available via free satellite service with BBC and ITV offering HD channels - ITV only some programmes via 'red button') |
Kentish Town 2 |
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2009 |
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2010 ITV1 HD begins simulcasting all programmes from April, some in HD. stereoscopic 3D channel to be launched by Sky in the autumn. |
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It is worth mentioning that although both HDS and Capital Studios have officially closed, they have yet to be redeveloped and at the time of writing (November 2009) are available as dry hire locations for filming or TV programme making.
Finally, I have taken the liberty of copying a superb sketch drawn in 1995 by Dicky Howett. Dicky is a very knowledgeable expert on the history of British television cameras. He owns dozens of them - most of which he has returned to full working order. He and a colleague, Paul Marshall, run Golden Age Television Recreations - a company that rents out period television equipment for use as working props in films and TV programmes. Their expert knowledge has been called upon several times by me in the writing of this website.
Anyway - below is a drawing of the principal monochrome television cameras in use in London's studios from 1937 to the beginning of colour in the late '60s. Despite at first glance looking like a rough sketch it is in fact incredibly accurate and I have often found it invaluable in identifying camera types. It was originally printed in 405 Alive magazine and I hope the people associated with that publication and Dicky himself won't mind me copying it here...
