London's old (and present) ITV studios
Although the studios below are closely associated with the history of ITV they have in many cases operated as independent studios for a number of years. Rather than separate those periods out and put them on the 'independent studios' page on this site I have kept all the information about them together on this page for clarity.
This page looks at each studio in turn as it relates to the history of ITV. (Yes, I know that technically TV-am and GMTV are not part of ITV but they are very much part of its history.) Each new franchise period saw ITV companies come and go and these changes affected the studios and who occupied them. Confusingly, with some studios I have dealt with all these periods in one section, in others I have separated them out.
Studios and dates listed below in the order they appear:
The Viking Studio (early film days, Associated-Rediffusion, BBC studio M)
The Granville Theatre (Associated-Rediffusion, independent)
Television House (Associated-Rediffusion)
Wembley (early film days to Associated-Rediffusion, Rediffusion London)
Teddington (early film days to ABC to the demise of Thames)
Highbury Studios (early film days, High Definition Films, ATV)
Elstree (early film days to ATV, Central, BBC Elstree Centre)
Wycombe Road (Intertel, LWT, Joe Dunton Cameras)
Wembley (Lee, Limehouse, Fountain)
Teddington (Pearson, Barnes Trust, Pinewood)
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NB - I have where possible given the dimensions of the studios. This can be a bit of a minefield. BBC studios, Fountain, Teddington, Riverside and even Pinewood TV have their plans drawn in metric 50:1 but for some reason The London Studios (LWT) still use the old 1/4 inch to the foot scale. This slight but significant difference can cause problems if a set moves from one studio to another with plans of a different scale as it might not fit! Also, for marketing purposes the size of a studio is often quoted wall to wall. However, most of them have fire lanes running round each side so the available space for cameras and sets is somewhat smaller. Where possible I have quoted sizes within firelanes and, except for TLS, in 'metric feet' where applicable. This curious measurement was invented by the BBC and is 30cm in length. (If you think back to your old school rulers, they had 12 inches on one side and 30cm, which is very slightly less, on the other.) It does mean that a studio that is marked as 90 metric feet long is actually 88ft 6ins long. Most TV studios have their length and width within the firelanes clearly marked along the walls and/or on the floor in feet or metric feet. This enables the scene crew to put the set up exactly where it was drawn on the designer's plan. This very useful facility is never seen on film stages which, incidentally, are always still measured in feet and inches. |
Whilst dealing with each ITV studio centre in turn it might help along the way to briefly explain how that channel came into being and how its various constituent companies came and went. Their story is very closely linked with several of the studios. There are some very good websites and books that cover this aspect of television history in detail so I shall simply summarise it here. We are used to referring to that particular network channel simply as 'ITV' (or, now more accurately, 'ITV1') but when it began in September 1955 it was a complex arrangement of 4, building to 14, regional companies - each with a remit to make and broadcast programmes to its own part of the UK.
When ITV was created there was a flurry of activity as in large towns all over the country, studios were constructed or converted from buildings such as cinemas to enable the new programmes to be made and broadcast.
The four companies set up at the start of ITV were given an additional brief. In addition to their local remit they had to make the big expensive programmes that would be networked over the whole country. These included drama, comedy and light entertainment but also a significant proportion of current affairs, news and religion as ITV had a strict public service requirement in those days.
Three of the four big companies decided to have studio centres in or near London. They were Associated-Rediffusion, ABC Television and ATV. The fourth, Granada, was based in the north of England and constructed its main studio complex in Manchester. This company always remained at arm's length from the others and nobody at the time could have predicted that fifty years later it would be the only one remaining.
Associated-Rediffusion was formed by a combination of Associated Newspapers and another combined company - British Electric Traction Company (B.E.T.) and 'Broadcast Relay Service' who traded under the name 'Rediffusion.' B.E.T. was a tram and bus company, believe it or not. Perhaps not the obvious people to become involved in the early days of television but it seems that they were a highly successful transport company who had been worried that they might be taken into public ownership by the 1946 Labour government. Therefore they diversified by taking over Rediffusion, whilst allowing that company to continue trading as a separate company. Their considerable financial resources were to prove crucial in the first year of ITV's activity.
Broadcast Relay Service, or 'Rediffusion' had been founded in the 1920s to offer their subscribers better reception than was possible with their own aerials. They were, in effect, the first cable company - although of course in those days it was radio not TV. They 're-diffused' the radio (and later TV) signal - hence their name and logo. Perhaps surprisingly, they were not initially keen to be involved in the new ITV venture. In fact on 9th January 1953 their board agreed unanimously that it would not be in their interests for commercial television to be introduced. However, they later reconsidered but only on the condition that it was in partnership with another company. Associated Newspapers seemed to be the ideal partner.
The new company was called Associated-Rediffusion and their familiar spinning logo (sometimes known as the 'adastral') was used as a break bumper before ads were shown and has since been imitated by countless comedy shows.
This company is credited by some as having 'saved ITV'. For the first few months of operation all the ITV companies were losing huge amounts of money. Fortunately, BET was wealthy enough to weather the storm and keep Rediffusion going. Associated Newspapers were horrified by the losses and got out of the business as soon as they could. Within six months they had reduced their holding to only 10% of the company. What a mistake. Within a year or two the ITV companies were making so much money they hardly knew how to spend it.
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The costs of running the new companies proved to be higher than anticipated and the advertising income far less. Partly, this was because it was months before the midlands and the north west had transmitters. The transmitter covering Yorkshire took even longer to build. Even then, only about half the population was covered. Advertisers were very wary and slow to respond to this new market. The early losses forced the companies to look hard at their costs. During 1956 they made staff redundant and closed down unnecessary small studios only months after equipping them. They also set up formal arrangements to regularly share programme time between each other, which originally had not been considered at all. It had initially been assumed that the companies would be in strict competition and would sell individual programmes to each other on an ad-hoc basis. As the weekday ITV supplier to London, A-R bore most of the burden of the early losses. Had the company been as lightly financed as some of the others it is possible that they could have gone under and taken the whole of independent television with them. Thus through financial adversity the 'ITV network' was created, dominated by the original big four companies. In fact, when ITV was first planned it had been assumed that within a few years, once the frequencies were freed up, each region would have several ITV companies broadcasting in competition with each other as was to be found in the US and some other countries. There was no such thing as 'ITV' as a channel name in those days. Independent television was a concept, not a name, and the channel was commonly known in each region by its number (in London it was channel 9), the local company name or sometimes people called it the 'ITA' - the Independent Television Authority. |
From the time Associated-Rediffusion got the green light to begin broadcasting in London they were up against an incredibly tight schedule. Not only did they have to convert existing buildings into television studios, they had to hire and train the staff to operate them. They only had from January to September to recruit at least 200 staff and be in the position to transmit seven hours of television per day! In May they began training in a small studio in Kensington known as the 'Viking Studio' that was fitted out with all the equipment that would be found in the new studios. Wembley Park film studios were being rebuilt for TV but the heads of A-R were worried that they would not be ready in time so they started filming some programmes in April at Shepperton just in case. (See the section on Shepperton on this website for more info on this.)
Associated-Rediffusion had also bought an old 1898 Frank Matcham music hall - the Granville Theatre, in Walham Green, Fulham - which had been undergoing conversion for three months. The first 70 trainees were due to move there from the Viking Studio but the Granville wasn't ready. The builders and engineers would apparently need a fortnight more. Nevertheless - ready or not, one week later the first batch of trainees went to the Granville and began work. It thus became the first operational ITV studio.
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The forbidding exterior of the Granville. Frank Matcham at his most gothic. with thanks to Louis Barfe |
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The conversion of the Granville to TV use was pretty basic and apparently the stalls floor retained its rake, making control of the cameras somewhat challenging. The Granville was officially known within A-R as studio 6. One of the early series made here was called The Granville Melodramas. This was a series of Victorian plays that proved surprisingly popular with the viewers. In 1956 - less than a year after its opening - the studio was closed along with studio 3 at Wembley. The ITV companies were in serious financial trouble and so began to share more programmes between each other to save money. Thus the Granville was no longer needed. The theatre probably remained the property of Associated-Rediffusion for a year or so but it was not used.
In 1957 the studio was purchased by Pye/Mole Richardson, who carried out an extensive refit. Bob Davis tells me that he worked there as a sound trainee for eight months around 1957/58 when it was operating as an independent studio. Information is patchy as to who owned and operated it over the following years but I have discovered a few clues... The studio was probably bought by the Robert Stigwood Organisation some time later and was used to make a few music-based programmes and various ads. A company called Airtime Productions is said to have been involved in making some commercials. I am told that a company called Fenestra Productions also used the studio - possibly for training purposes. Someone has also informed me that he recalls a cameraman colleague of his directing there. It seems that the Granville was a favourite place for quite a few people to do a bit of moonlighting. In fact, that cameraman who had probably better remain nameless, went on to become a very highly regarded drama director and in more recent years a producer on EastEnders. An ex-BBC sound man has told me that he was paid the princely sum of £9 for a day as a boom op in 1970. Mind you, you could buy a small car for that amount back then. Well, almost.
As you will come to see, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones seem to crop up in the history of many of London's TV studios and this one is no exception. On 2nd and 3rd October 1964 The Beatles rehearsed and recorded a performance for the British edition of the ABC (American) TV show Shindig. The producer was Jack Good, the executive producer Leon Mirell. The Beatles played `Kansas City', `I'm A Loser' and `Boys'. It was broadcast on in the US on the 7th October 1964. Some or all of the Stones were said to be at the recording too as the two groups had known each other for more than a year by then and often met up at each other's concerts and performances. Linda Kaye has been researching the history of the Central Office of Information. She contacted me with the following information: 'The Granville Studios were used by the Central Office of Information to produce a weekly series called London Line from 1964. It was initially made in two versions ‘Old Commonwealth’ for distribution in countries such as Canada and Australia and ‘New Commonwealth’ primarily for Africa. In 1966 a colour version was produced, effectively replacing the ‘Old Commonwealth’ version and this continued until 1969. Each programme consisted of around four topical stories often featuring live performances.' The cameras used to make these COI films were dual Marconi Mk IV video cameras optically linked to Mitchell 16mm film cameras. This system was known as Gemini and was also experimented with by ATV at Elstree, A-R at Wembley and the BBC at Riverside around this time. It enabled a programme to be made on film but using TV multicamera techniques. Interestingly, all the main TV companies abandoned it after a while - the Granville was to my knowledge the only studio that persevered with the system.
However, it seems that some programmes continued to be made on video and recorded on tape using hired-in video cameras rather than the Gemini film cameras. Andrew McKean recalls... '...I worked for Pye TVT 1962 -1963, based in London and recall the Granville Theatre. Pye TVT had a small Bedford van equipped with two Pye Mk3 3" Image Orthicon cameras. I remember setting up the equipment at the Granville Theatre on a number of occasions for Granville Television. On one occasion Richard Burton was making a documentary about the life of Dylan Thomas and Elizabeth Taylor was sitting just back from the cameras. She had her leg in plaster from an accident during the filming of the movie Cleopatra. My main memory though is of the strict union control at the site. Coming from Australia where we were used to doing many tasks, at the Granville there had to be individual staff for lighting, camera, video, audio etc. As a result there were far too many people there for efficient productions. Many of the staff were moonlighting, and I got to meet some colourful and interesting characters from the various stations in London.' Interestingly, Andrew adds... '...I cannot recall the Gemini cameras, we brought along our own Pye Mk3 Image Orthicon cameras and set them up in a makeshift control room overlooking the stage.' He believes that these cameras were possibly some of the original ones owned by High Definition Films when they transferred to Tottenham from Highbury. See the Highbury section on this page of the website for more info..
It seems that at some point in the mid 1960s a company called Granville Television was formed by Peter Lloyd and William (Bill) Stewart who both originally came from ATV. Lloyd used to present ATV's Seeing Sport and he had an unlikely catch phrase - 'Don't forget Mum'. I am told that later he took control of the company. It seems likely that he was also associated with British Lion Films. He decided to form Lion Television Services and move the operation to Shepperton - probably in 1969. Thus television making ended at the Granville. The Gemini cameras were bought by Ewarts Studios who also took over the COI work. The Granville Theatre was demolished in 1971.
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Associated-Rediffusion also moved into a large ex-RAF building in Kingsway called 'Adastral House.' During the war it was the headquarters of the air ministry. Its roof became well known to listeners of radio weather forecasts as the place in London where the air temperature was measured! Once A-R moved in it was quickly renamed Television House. (This building also became the first base for the studios of ITN.) It contained four small studios used for current affairs, presentation and 'talks programmes' and was also the headquarters of the company.
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The company was very keen to be seen as 'respectable' and as important as the BBC so they chose a site more for its prestige than its practicality. They moved in during 1955 whilst alterations were still underway which made life very difficult for the new staff. A-R's four studios in Television House were as follows: Studio 7 (33 x 24 ft), studio 8 (38 x 25ft), studio 9 (64 x 40ft) and studio 10 (26 x 12ft). (Studios 1 - 4 were at Wembley, studio 5 was in the planning stage and studio 6 was the Granville Theatre - mentioned above.) Studios 7 and 8 were used for 'talks' programmes and 10 was the continuity studio. The Viking studio in Kensington was not part of this numbering system, probably because it was owned by Marconi and hired from them on a daily basis. Apart from studio 9, which was in the basement and opened in November 1955, the others were all pretty small and apparently had very low ceilings. In his autobiography Leslie Mitchell complains that the studio they used for talks (7?, 8?) had a ceiling so low that they could not use overhead lighting. He also complains of inadequate air conditioning. Typical programmes made at Television House included The Frost Report, The Levin Interview, Three after Six and This Week. Studio 9 was used for the coverage of important events such as general elections. However, it was also used for some entertainment shows such as Ready Steady Go! before it moved to studio 1 at Wembley. The first two series of this ground-breaking programme were made here and some fans of the show believe that these were the best - the confined space in the studio helping to produce an electric atmosphere.
The building was very large and impressive and just over the road from the BBC's Bush House, which must have given the new owners some satisfaction. Its television studios were the first in central London. The Rediffusion logo was proudly displayed on the front and became known by some as the 'Adastral' - an appropriate name that echoed the previous owners of the building (RAF) whose motto of course is 'Per Ardua Ad Astra' ('Through struggle to the stars'.) Although it was the HQ of A-R, Television House was also used by ATV for office space on the 5th and 6th floors and the TV Times had its base here too. ITN had its studios in this building on the 7th and 8th floors. They were accessed by a rather unreliable lift, which added to the excitement of getting out live bulletins. Their main studio was 38 x 29 ft and was equipped initially with Pye Mk 3 cameras, later being replaced with 4 x Marconi Mk IV cameras. In the Pye days, one of the cameras was equipped with a Watson 3in-15in zoom lens (shown below) - quite an innovation in those days!
The picture above is thought to be of the main ITN studio in Television House. Certainly, the sloping wall seems to suggest that it is in the roof. (When Television House was closed in 1969 ITN moved to a building in Wells Street. Here they had two studios of 2000 sq ft and 700 sq ft respectively. They were equipped with EMI 2001 colour cameras. News at Ten came from the larger one.)
When Thames took over Television House in 1968 they converted the foyer into another studio which became 'Studio 4'. Since Thames was based at Teddington which had three studios, this made perfect sense. The daily local news programme Today, presented by Eamon Andrews, came from here and behind him commuters could be seen walking along the pavement and occasionally peering through the windows in the background of the shots. One of the reasons Rediffusion lost the franchise in 1968 was that they had neglected local news. The new franchisee, Thames, therefore thought it very important that their local news service was literally as highly visible as possible - hence the window looking into the studio.
As soon as Thames took over the building they started to look for something more suitable and in 1969 they moved to Euston Road. More on this later. |
A-R's main production centre back in 1955 was to be at Wembley Studios - taking over a film studio site then owned by 20th Century Fox and quickly converting the old stages into four TV studios.
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The early film years... Following the First World War it was decided to build a huge exhibition in Wembley to celebrate the British Empire. It cost 10 million pounds to construct and opened in 1924. No less than 26 million people visited it between 1924 and 1925. The famous twin-towered stadium dates back to this period. (Just pause for a moment to consider these figures. They are quite extraordinary!) Upon closure, 35 acres of the land was bought by two businessmen - Ralph J Pugh and Rupert Mason. They intended to develop the 'Palace of Engineering' from the Wembley Exhibition and use it as a base for creating an American style film studio complex. Sadly, their finance fell through but the site was taken over by a distributor who named it 'Wembley National Studios'. An ambitious title as there was only one small stage on the site at that time. As luck would have it, this was destroyed by fire in 1929. The 'studios' now occupied a much smaller part of the exhibition site than the intended 35 acres - and some years later BBC OBs would have their base here using some of the old exhibition buildings on the opposite side of the road from the film studios. Following the fire a much larger stage of around 8,000 sq ft was built by I W Schlesinger who formed a new company - British Talking Pictures. This company merged with Associated Sound Film Industries - a supposedly wealthy enterprise with great plans for making movies. They were of course hampered by only having one stage but this was said to have the advantage of possessing the most modern grid with an 'overhead gantry wiring system' - whatever that was. Sadly, the ambitious plans for making dozens of films did not materialize and Wembley was soon leasing out its facilities to independent producers making 'quota quickies.' Fox Films from the US also needed to make cheap films in this country to fill its quota so in 1934 it formed Fox-British Pictures and took out a lease on the studios - later buying them in 1936. It is likely that further expansion happened at this time and a second stage was built. In 1938 a new films act was passed by parliament and the Fox board in America objected to some of its proposals. They decided to reduce their commitment to film making in the UK and closed Wembley - although oddly they did retain ownership of the studios. Also, rather surprisingly they decided to lease space at Lime Grove studios to make some films rather than use their own at Wembley. During the war the studios were brought back into commission and used by the Army Kinema Corporation and the RAF to make training films. Rather carelessly, stage 2 was destroyed by fire in 1943 and it too was subsequently rebuilt. Following the war some film-making continued by independent film makers. In 1947 Wembley was said to have 2 stages with a total floor area of 12,252 sq ft. The last film made in this period was The Ship That Died of Shame, in 1954, starring Richard Attenborough.
The arrival of television... In 1955 A-R bought the site and unbelievably took only nine months to add the control rooms and other necessary facilities to enable the stages to be used for television. Stage 1 had control room suites built across the middle to form two new studios - 1 and 2 either side. They were ready for use on August 29th, just three weeks before transmissions began. The addition of control galleries therefore reduced the size of the old stages - the largest, studio 1, being 80 x 54 ft wall to wall. Studio 2 was 80 x 40 ft, studio 3 about 42 x 20 ft and studio 4 was 75 x 42 ft. There is a publicity leaflet published by Rediffusion in 1967 that states that the grid heights in studios 1 and 2 was 16 feet and an extraordinary 11 feet in studio 4. This is hard to believe, frankly. However, in 1980 (when the studios had become film stages again) another document has the grids at 30 feet and 20 feet respectively, which is much more believable. The old film stage 2 became studios 3 and 4, which were open by the end of 1955. Studio 3 was very small and only in use for a short time. In 1956 A-R were feeling the pinch financially - like all the new ITV companies - and they closed the studio. The space was later turned into a telerecording area.
A-R were aware that none of the studios at Wembley was particularly big. To enable really large-scale shows to be made, the board decided in 1958 to begin the planning of a huge studio on the site, alongside the existing stages. This studio was to be capable of being divided in two using soundproof doors - enabling maximum use of the studio between the major productions. A contract for £500,000 was signed. The foundation stone was laid on May 7th 1959 and studio 5 opened in June 1960. This was remarkable progress - especially since there was a national shortage of bricks at the time (no, really) and construction was hampered by discovering some of the very solid foundations of old Wembley Exhibition buildings.
Studio 5 is still in use (as 'Fountain Studios') and is unique, consisting of two medium-sized studios each with a separate control gallery suite. The huge double thickness soundproof doors dividing it can be raised in 30 minutes. (A rate of one foot per minute.) Apparently the only motors that could be found that were powerful enough to lift the doors were some made for rotating the gun turrets on warships. I have climbed the ladders to visit the winch room at the top of the building myself and very impressive it is too - the huge doors being suspended on steel ropes wound round winches that have a SWL of 25 tons. Apparently the winch gear should be checked once a year but studio manager Tony Edwards has it checked every six months. I asked him if he worries each time he presses the button to raise or lower the doors whether it will work or not. The answer came as no surprise. The space that results is 14,000 sq ft - more than 130 metric feet long by 90 metric feet wide within fire lanes making it at the time the largest purpose-built TV studio in the world - and possibly it still is. It was originally equipped with 8 EMI Image Orthicon cameras (4 per half studio) and there were 140 motorised lighting hoists with a total of 340 lighting circuits. Production, lighting and sound control rooms were (and are) at first floor level, with vision control (i.e. camera racking), apparatus rooms and make-up etc on the ground floor. Note that vision and lighting control were originally in separate rooms - as in the ATV studios at Elstree. This was a union requirement - engineers and electricians were not allowed to sit side by side. I kid you not. The lighting director must have done a lot of running up and down the stairs. Today most of the ground floor rooms along the corridor have become star dressing rooms and the apparatus room and vision control are on the first floor. (As will be recounted later in this article, all that remains of the old Wembley studios is this large double studio. Fortunately, all the essential areas such as dressing rooms, production offices and production galleries were not lost to redevelopment and are still there - as is the restaurant which produces some of the best food of any studio in London. To the rear of the studio is now some covered scenery storage and a small car park. The galleries are well-designed and can either be operated separately, or each gallery can control both studios when the giant doors are raised.)
Associated-Rediffusion used Wembley Studios for such iconic shows as Hughie Green's Double Your Money, Take Your Pick with Michael Miles ('55-'68), the first series of Opportunity Knocks ('56) and perhaps (for those of a certain age) one of the most missed pop shows ever - Ready Steady Go. The programme was the first to ban miming in pop acts and made a star of teenage presenter Cathy McGowan. This show was made in studio 1. Rediffusion also created two shows that were the predecessors to Monty Python - Do Not Adjust Your Set and At Last the 1948 Show. Other popular programmes included Educating Archie ('58 - '59), The Dickie Henderson Show ('60 - '65) and Our Man at St Mark's ('63 - '66). Drama series included Seven Deadly Sins, No Hiding Place and The Rat Catchers.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about the days of Rediffusion is that it is hard to discover many productions that really took advantage of the size of studio 5. The opening night, however, was certainly an exception. The studio opened on June 9th, 1960 with a spectacular play involving music and dance entitled An Arabian Night. This certainly made full use of the space. It had a cast of 300 together with 10 horses, 8 camels, 6 donkeys, 4 goats, 2 mules, 2 snakes, 1 performing bear and (possibly) an elephant. Imagine the mess in the car park. According to one source, as well as the obvious technical requirements one of the specs for the studio floor was that it should be able to withstand the weight of an elephant. This proved to be useful on at least one further occasion. Planning for the programme had begun six months before. The director Mark Lawton's brief was 'to produce a show of bigger dimensions than anything ever televised in this country.' By all accounts he certainly succeeded. The show was designed by John Clements and was lit by David Motture. In one corner of the studio was built a raised area for an orchestra - the space beneath being used for quick-change dressing rooms. Bob Hart was an extra working on the show. He was training as a vet at the time but found himself looking after the liberty horses on this unique programme. He has sent me his recollections...
A Midsummer Night's Dream was another of the major productions made in studio 5. The set consisted mostly of multiple layers of hanging gauze. It was directed by Joan Kemp-Welch and designed by Michael Yates.
However - the series that seems to really have made the best use of the size of the studio is Hippodrome. This was a series made in 1966 and proved to be surprisingly popular. It was an unlikely combination of circus acts and popular showbiz entertainers. A show might therefore amongst others include Dusty Springfield, The Everly Brothers, a high wire act and some performing bears. Extraordinary. During the ten weeks of shooting, the car park was typically occupied with trailers, caravans and cages housing - you guessed it - 12 elephants, 12 lions, 6 tigers, 2 pumas, 5 leopards, several dogs and all the various performing acts of acrobats, clowns, jugglers etc. And all while the World Cup was being played in the stadium next door! Each show was introduced by a big American star. Bizarrely, on one show it was Woody Allen. (Not the kind of entertainment with which one usually associates him.) The series made full use of the space and height of the studio and was a genuine spectacular of its day. Unusually, it was shot using two separate camera crews - the local crew using four EMI black and white cameras (the budget didn't run to using all eight), and a crew from Intertel (more on them later) using Marconi BD 848 colour cameras. The colour recording was for CBS in America, whilst the monochrome one went out on ITV. Amazingly, they somehow made each show simultaneously with two directors and two completely separate camera crews.
Despite the success in its day of this series, A-R seem to have used the studio mostly for far more modest productions. At Elstree, ATV were making big showbiz spectaculars in their somewhat smaller main studio but Rediffusion seemed to be happy making dramas, quiz shows and sitcoms. Arguably, the studio would not really come into its own until forty years or more later with shows like The X-Factor. Before leaving A-R's time at Wembley it is worth including some information sent to me by Bill Lee - A-R's leading lighting director. As you will discover if you read more on this site, around the end of the '60s several studios in London were carrying out experiments in shooting programmes on colour film but using traditional television camera techniques. It seems that A-R were no exception...
Interesting indeed. A small postscript... A few years ago the restaurant was enlarged by creating a glazed extension about 10 feet deep along the wall facing the road. At one end a corner was formed and the original engraved stone marking the laying of the foundations of the new studio found itself indoors rather than outdoors. This stone is the only physical record of the old Rediffusion days. For a while it was hidden behind a chocolate bar vending machine but I am glad to say that when I last looked in May 2006 the machine had been moved and the stone is there for all to see. Oddly, the contestants of the X-Factor didn't seem that interested. More about these studios later. |
The next successful company to win a franchise was ABC Television, which was to broadcast in the midlands and the north at weekends. They were initially reluctant to become part of the new independent television as they saw it as a competitor to their film business. Nevertheless, they were persuaded by the ITA to get involved when another company's bid fell through.
Their midlands service began in 1956, five months after ITV began in London. ABC TV was an offshoot of the Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), which owned hundreds of ABC cinemas up and down the country and also made a number of modestly successful British movies. They also owned a large film studio in Borehamwood (Elstree) but decided to keep this new TV subsidiary completely separate. It is said that the unions did not want television programmes to be made in their film studios. For its Manchester base, ABC converted a cinema it already owned - the Capital Cinema in Didsbury. This contained one reasonably sized studio - large enough for the first series of The Avengers - and two very small studios. (ABC kept this site on until they lost the franchise and became part of Thames.)
In Birmingham they shared a studio centre with ATV at Aston, which had also been converted from an old cinema. This site was known as Alpha TV Studios and later became the HQ of BRMB radio. Neither ABC nor ATV saw Birmingham as being particularly important to their operation and each company concentrated their main productions in their other studios.
ABC TV did not have a London franchise but realising that most acting and showbiz talent was based in London they decided that they needed to have a London-based production centre with large studios to make their network shows. They converted some old film studios located in Teddington, on the western edge of London.
These popular studios are now part of the Pinewood Studios Group and the home of many well-known sitcoms and other big entertainment shows. The site contains two large production studios used to make many programmes for all the main network channels: Studio 1 - 98 by 74 metric feet within firelanes and studio 2 - an unusual T-shaped studio 75 by 62 metric feet at its widest.
There are also six very busy small studios around the site: Studio 3 (2,000 sq ft) has a long history of children's programmes including Magpie, has been used recently by a couple of shopping channels and is now the base for a roulette-based gambling channel using an Orad virtual reality system. Studio 4 (1,500 sq ft) was originally the old band room and since conversion to a studio in 1994 has been booked by various digital channels and is now the home of CBeebies. Studio 5 is a continuity studio used by the Chinese Channel, 6 was converted in 2004 from the old viewing theatre in the Admin Block and is the home of the Jewellery Channel, 7 was built in the old prop store area near studio 2 in the summer of 2005 for the Quiz Call channel and 8 used to be edit 1 and is now a continuity studio for Racing UK. Since the autumn of 2007 Teddington has also housed the linking hub for the video feeds sent from race courses to the UK's betting shops.
Thus, as well as providing facilities for many independent production companies and even BBC Entertainment dept. from time to time, Teddington is the playout centre for several digital channels. However, its origins were far removed from all this...
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Teddington Studios from the river. The photo was taken in January 1998 when the hospitality boat, restaurant block and production block were still part of the studios' facilities. with thanks to Paul Burton
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The early film years... The studios' history goes back to the early days of filmmaking. Originally an impressive mansion called 'Weir House' stood on the site and its owner, Henry Chinnery, took a keen interest in the early experiments in cinema. The story goes that whilst walking in Teddington he took pity on a local film crew struggling in the rain and invited them to use his greenhouse. He became caught up in the excitement of the new industry and several silent films were made there - the first being completed in 1912. In 1916 he built a stage in his garden measuring 60 x 40 feet. This was badly damaged by fire in 1929. (Coincidentally, the same year that a stage burnt down at Wembley.) In 1931 the studios were reopened by Henry Edwards and E G Norman, who built a new sound stage on the site - this eventually became the present studios 2 and 3. The stage was T-shaped and capable of being divided into two stages (A and B) if required. When used as one stage it was said to be 130 ft long.
Warner Bros bought the studios in 1934 - using them mostly to make 'quota quickies.' They carried out a major re-building programme including workshops, cutting rooms and a powerhouse. The admin block facing Broom Road was completed in 1937. When war broke out Teddington remained busy making films for Warner and other production companies. It was unusual in remaining open - most other film studios had been requisitioned by the government for storage. The numbering of the stages on the site is somewhat confusing. The first stage was subdivided into A and B. The later stage - currently studio 1 - was called Stage 2 at which point the original stage was called Stage 1. In other words, the opposite of how we now refer to studios 1 and 2. Don't blame me! On the evening of July 5th 1944 at 8.10pm a V1 flying bomb landed on an open area next to Stage 2 (the present studio 1). One account claims that it hit the corner of the power house and landed between the stage and the admin block. However, the photos seem to indicate that the blast happened at the back of the stage near the present dock doors. In any case, wherever it landed there were diesel oil tanks buried beneath the concrete and the whole lot went up with a huge explosion. Three employees including the studio manager, Doc Salomon, sadly lost their lives. It might have been many more but since the bomb fell in the evening most people had gone home. The main stage was completely destroyed and the other older stage, admin block and some other buildings were gutted by fire. The film in production at the time was completed in the studio garage, which had escaped damage and was hastily soundproofed.
In 1946 rebuilding began. Oddly, government regulations insisted that reconstruction had to retain the size and appearance of the original buildings. However - it would appear that when the original older stage was rebuilt, it was decided to divide it into two stages permanently. The division was not, however, where the two parts of the 'T' shape met but some way down the long 'leg' where the roofline became lower. (Thus the small studio 3 was created next to studio 2.) The intention at the time was that this small stage would become a sound recording studio and that a new large stage, 140ft x 100ft, would be constructed in the space between the existing stages and the production block near the river. However, this stage was never built. The fortunes of Teddington Studios might have been very different had it been constructed. If later converted to TV use it would have been the same size as studio 5 at Wembley! The restored studios were re-opened by Danny Kaye in 1948. For a brief period they were busy but by the early 1950s the British film industry was in crisis. In November 1951 the studios went into 'care and maintenance.' Film-making ceased and during the next few years the site was used by the Hawker Aircraft company, who had a factory just over the river in Ham, for storage. (One wonders how they transported things between the factory and the studios. Surely not over the footbridge?) Incidentally - I have discovered no record when the large 'production' block that runs across the back of the site near the river was built. One assumes that its construction dates from some time between 1934 and 1939, the Warner Bros era. It is not shown on an Ordnance Survey map dated 1934. From observing it one can see that the ground floor - twice the normal height - was probably originally used as a props and scenery construction/storage area with two or three large doors (now bricked up) across the front of the building. It is in fact referred to as the 'property block' in one document I have read. Later, a mezzanine floor was added and the building became purely an office block. This probably happened when the new scenery workshop was built in the area between the production block and the studios in 1973. (The production block and scenery workshop is now owned and occupied by Haymarket Publishing and has been completely gutted and refurbished.)
The arrival of television... In 1958 ABC television bought the site and began the task of adapting the studios for TV use. Although ABC did not have a London franchise they still had to supply programmes to the network. One of their most successful series was Armchair Theatre. This series was being transmitted live from Didsbury each Sunday night. The perils of live drama included actors forgetting lines and cameras breaking down. In fact, during one memorable performance of Armchair Theatre one of the actors actually died. The rest of the cast carried on like troupers and improvised their lines to keep the show going to the end. However, it was becoming difficult finding top actors based in London who were not working and would make the journey to Manchester. It became clear that the company needed some London studios so that actors could rehearse during the day and go to their theatres in the West End in the evening. ABPC Elstree was considered as it was of course owned by the parent company but the unions were not at all keen on letting TV production onto a film studio site. Teddington was empty and seemed suitable, although it was a few miles west of theatreland. As it happened, technology had moved on and by the time ABC had begun to occupy the site, the video tape recorder had been invented. Armchair Theatre and other shows would not have to be transmitted live any more. In 1959 ABC installed the UK's first RCA videotape recorder here. It was a TRT 1B for those to whom such things are important. A year earlier, Associated-Rediffusion had taken delivery of the first Ampex machines at Wembley. By 1959 the cost of an Ampex VTR had risen from £15,000 to £25,000 which might explain why ABC bought from RCA - who were probably offering a good deal on a brand new machine. By 1965 ABC had the first four RCA TR22 VTRs which were fully transistorised - quite something in those days. Back in 1959, the new VTR machine at Teddington enabled ABC to make programmes all round the week instead of having to broadcast them live at weekends from their studios in Birmingham and Didsbury. Of course, programmes were not edited - simply recorded 'as live'. To edit video required two or three machines, which for many years would be prohibitively expensive. The alternative was cutting and splicing the tape - a risky and time-consuming process. Also, very costly as the expensive reel of videotape could not be used again on another programme.
Initially studios 2 and 3 were converted - flat floors were laid, telescope lighting grids installed and a control room was built alongside Broom Road in the area formerly occupied by the viewing theatre. This initially serviced both studios 2 and 3. Armchair Theatre began to be made here from the summer of 1959 - sometimes using studio 3 as well as 2. Studio 1 was used as a rehearsal room before work began on converting it for television use. The studios were equipped with Marconi Mk III Image Orthicon cameras. A few years later these were replaced with EMI 203 black and white cameras, which lasted until colourisation in 1968/69.
Once the first phase of construction was up and running, the major building could commence. Weir Cottage and its garden were purchased which enabled the main site entrance to be moved to its current position between the cottage and studio 3. A new reception area was built on the site of the original vehicle entrance. Behind that and linking studios 2 and 1 was the site of the new technical block. This contained large control room suites for studios 1 and 2, videotape and telecine areas and a CAR. An innovative feature of this building was its raised 'waffle floor' that enabled cables to be easily routed around the building. This was one of the first uses of this 'computer floor' design in the country - along with BBC TV Centre, which was also being constructed at this time. The main block also contained rehearsal rooms and an 800 sq ft band room. (The latter is now studio 4 and was converted to a TV studio in 1994.) By early 1963 the new building was complete. Studio 1 opened with EMI 203 cameras - the other two studios had their Marconis replaced with EMIs soon afterwards. The first show made in studio 1 was probably The Avengers. The first two series had been made at Didsbury and transmitted live but series 3 was recorded at Teddington. (From 1964 onwards this popular drama moved to ABPC Elstree studios and was shot on 35mm film.)
In 1965 the restaurant block was built overlooking the river, providing excellent catering and social facilities for staff and visiting artists. There was more major building work on the site in 1973 when a new office building was constructed, filling in the one remaining gap in the buildings and linking with the production block at the rear of the site. Beneath and alongside this was a new scenery construction workshop. A floor in this building was used as the location for filming Ricky Gervais's comedy The Office in 2001 and 2003. This building is now part of the area occupied by Haymarket Publishing and is now an actual office again. I wonder if the people working in there realise...? The final stage of construction was in 1975 when the multi-storey car park was completed. Cars must have been much smaller in those days as this car park surely has the smallest parking bays with the least amount of space for maneuvering between them of any in the UK.
Of course Teddington Studios eventually became the headquarters of Thames Television (more on that later) and was the home of many classic series including This is Your Life, The Des o'Connor Show, Tommy Cooper ('73 - '74), Opportunity Knocks ('64 - '77), The Kenny Everett Video Show ('79 - '81), children's series like Magpie ('68 - '80) and Rainbow and of course, Benny Hill ('69 - '89). Between 1978 and 1983 Morcambe and Wise recorded several series at Teddington after they left the BBC. Although often remembered for its popular light entertainment and comedy shows, Thames made several highly regarded studio dramas here. These included Special Branch ('69 - 70) and Van der Valk ('72 - '73). In 1974 Lee Remick came to Teddington to make the distinguished drama series Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill. Further historic series followed... Napoleon and Love with Ian Holm and Billy Whitelaw and Timothy West as Edward the King, which won a Bafta as Best Drama series of 1975. 1978 was the year of Edward & Mrs. Simpson -another BAFTA winner - with Edward Fox best actor for his portrayal of the King. Rumpole of the Bailey ('78-'83, '87-'92) was another of Thames' great successes and as a contrast they also made the highly original musical drama Rock Follies ('76, '77) here at Teddington. For a long time the studios have been very popular with sitcom makers. From the early days of ABC, shows like Happily Ever After ('61 - '64) and Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width ('67 - 71) established a tradition of situation comedy in studio 1 that continues to this day. Thames produced many popular sitcoms including Father Dear Father ('68 - '73), Bless This House ('71 - 76), George and Mildred ('76 - '79), Robin's Nest ('77 - '81), Shelley ('79 - 92), After Henry ('88 - '92) and Never the Twain ('81 - '91). More recent productions are listed in the section about the studios towards the end of this web page.
Teddington has one feature that is shared by only one or two other studios to my knowledge. Studio 1 is said to be haunted and several sightings have been made - even up to 2005. During the setting of As Time Goes By in January 2005 a figure was seen looking out of a window on a set but when the witness turned back to see who it was they had vanished. A security guard was recently locking up a dressing room and apologised to the woman sitting inside. Realising that nobody should be there he opened the door again but nobody was inside. A photograph that used to be on the wall of the corridor outside the control rooms shows a figure standing on part of a set looking out of a window where actually there was no floor - it was just part of the set designer's illusion. Nobody can explain how the shadowy figure got on the photo. I understand there is even a spectral dog - but no figure with his head under his arm you'll be relieved to hear. I have been written to by Pete Rogers who experienced something 'interesting' in April 2007... 'Last Wednesday, I was in the audience for Brian Conley’s “Let Me Entertain You” recorded in Studio 2. I was situated on the second of two rows on the studio floor arranged around a semi-circular platform. The crew were operating behind me and the main audience seating was situated in a raked fashion further behind the crew. As I was watching an act on the platform, I felt something flick the top of my head. It felt like the sort of thing a headmaster might do to you if you were in trouble! I quickly looked behind me (I wondered if e.g. the corner of an autocue had just caught me as a camera was tracking past) and I also checked the floor to see whether it was something that had fallen on me. Nobody or nothing was in any proximity to me whatsoever at this time. It was not a ventilation related phenomenon, either, because the "flick" was distinct, impactful and very localised. However, I resolved to disregard the incident and thought to myself, “if the same thing happens again I'll have to put it down to a studio ghost!” As I thought this, the same thing happened again. It was a distinctive “flick” of the head/hair. I wasn’t “scared” – in a way it seemed quite “friendly” and I continued to enjoy the show.'
Teddington has a small permanent staff and a core of regular freelancers who make most of the shows here. (Plus, of course, the ghosts.) In my view it is one of the nicest places to work - partly because of the location but mostly because of the dedicated staff and regular freelance crews who make everything so easy. More on Teddington and its role in recent years later in this article.
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Back in 1955, ATV was the company that won the franchise for London at weekends and the midlands during the week. This arrangement did at least enable them to show the same filmed programme at different times in the two regions which must have been a cost saving. They established a base in Birmingham that they shared with ABC TV - called 'Alpha Television.' However, most of their premises were to be in London.
The company had been formed by a merger of two others that had previously been competitors. One was called the Incorporated Television Company (ITC). This collection of individuals was steeped in showbiz and consisted of Val Parnell and Prince Littler (Stoll Moss Theatre Group), Lew Grade (one of the top booking-agents in the UK), Stuart Cruickshank (Howard Wyndham Theatres), Binkie Beaumont (head of H. M. Tennants, the most important producers of plays in London), and Dick Harmel who was the right hand to South African millionaire businessman John Schlesinger. Two thirds of the financial backing came from the Warburgs - a leading concern in the city. Harry Alan Towers, a film producer, was also associated with this group.
The other company was the Associated Broadcasting Development Company (ABDC). This was led by Norman Collins, Sir Robert Renwick, C O Stanley and the Pye electronics Company, combined with the Midlands Post and other business interests based in the Midlands. This group owned Highbury Studios - of which more below.
Initially, the ITA awarded the franchise to the ABDC - they did not want the ITC to get the contract as they thought they dominated the entertainment industry too much. The ITA considered that it would be better if ITC operated as independent programme-makers, supplying shows to all the ITV companies. However, the ABDC could not raise sufficient funds to operate as a contractor. ITC did have the necessary funding so the ITA reluctantly agreed to a merger of the two companies. ITC did very well out of this arrangement. They owned 50% of the new company but also remained a production company in their own right, so any programmes they made that were shown on ITV would earn royalties to them alone when sold abroad.
The new company called itself 'Associated Broadcasting Company' - or 'ABC' which unfortunately was almost the same name as - well - 'ABC TV', the offshoot of the Associated British Picture Corporation. Confused? Do keep up.
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The original logo that was in use for only three weeks. Possibly the double eye motif animating to form one eye represented the two merged companies - ITC and ABDC. |
Thus, the name was changed to Associated TeleVision - or 'ATV'. By September 1955 the company had established its presentation and control centre in Foley Street. It could use the theatres its partners owned (like the London Palladium) for outside broadcasts and its new OB units were of course built and equipped by Pye - also a partner in the company. (The first Sunday Night at the London Palladium was broadcast on 25th September 1955. It starred Gracie Fields and was introduced not by Bruce Forsyth - he came later - but by Tommy Trinder.)
As mentioned above, the owners of the new company already possessed Highbury Studios but ATV also converted two of their Frank Matcham variety theatres into studios - the Wood Green Empire and Hackney Empire. Highbury would not be used as a conventional TV studio until October 1956 and The Hackney Empire would not be ready until February 1956 but Wood Green made its first programme on the opening night of ITV - 22nd September 1955.
This first night was a weekday so normally would be the responsibility of Associated-Rediffusion. However, ATV (at the time called 'ABC' of course) were also involved on this one special night. There is a rather sad story surrounding this. It seems that there were several problems to do with sound feeds on the big night. ABC's Deputy Head of Sound took the responsibility for this upon himself. Apparently, he didn't turn up for work the next day - in fact he was never seen again and it was believed that he had jumped into the Thames. Hard to imagine quite that sense of dedication these days, frankly.
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Wood Green Empire as painted by Charles Cundall. This picture was on a Christmas card, sent to ATV's commercial clients. A little artistic licence may be evident - particularly with the lighting rig - but it shows beautifully how the studio was laid out. |
The Wood Green Empire originally opened on 9th September 1912 with a seating capacity of 1840 and stage 75ft wide wall to wall x 35ft deep. The property of Stoll-Moss, part owners of the new ATV company, it was used as a theatre until January 1955 when it went dark for a short while before being re-equipped by ATV. The first programme made here was on 22nd September 1955.
To cater for the needs of television production, changes were made to the interior including the enlargement of the stage area. The stage was built forward with a deep apron and extending on camera left all the way to the dress circle, giving a total stage area of 5295 sq ft. The control rooms and apparatus rooms were built under the camera right side of the dress circle. The audience was seated in the dress circle, which had a capacity of about 300.
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The studio plan for Wood Green. Below can be seen a more schematic drawing that also indicates the position of the control rooms beneath the dress circle. Note the orchestra pit on the right of the stalls - it is not too clearly marked on the studio plan. with thanks to Richard Greenough |
Lighting on stage was controlled by the theatre's Grand Master which was situated in the camera right corner behind the proscenium arch. Oddly, there was another lighting control for all the front-of-house lights, which was in the vision control room (nowadays called the production gallery). Within the auditorium were five lighting bars, each on a motorized hoist. The maximum lighting load was 300kW, consisting of Mole-Richardson 'scoops', and incandescent spots plus some Strand carbon arcs. The cameras were initially supplied by Pye and were Mk 3 three-inch image orthicons although only three plus a spare were in use. (These days entertainment shows use ten or more cameras.) However, later they were replaced by Marconi Mk IVs and I have received a note from cameraman Jeremy Hoare explaining why...
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'They were used at Wood Green up until the remarkable man I was proud to work for, the late legendary Lew Grade, did a deal with an American network to produce some Dick Cavett shows, live from north London to the USA coast-to-coast with a five hour time difference to New York of course. So the Pyes were replaced by Marconi Mk IVs as these were switchable from 405 to 525 lines. These were good cameras also and delivered excellent pictures, and from my use of them as a cameraman, I found the viewfinder sharp enough to give me confidence to try shots that I wouldn’t have dared with the Pyes.' |
Jeremy is currently writing a book which will no doubt be well worth a read when it is published. He has also told me about his experiences with the original Pye Mk 3 cameras...
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'The cameras at Wood Green, Hackney Empire and Foley Street Studios, and on Outside Broadcasts, were Pye image orthicons with four position turret lenses, typically 2”, 3”, 5” and 8”. In the studio, it was only the brave and foolhardy that used the 1½“ and 12” lenses, but everyone tried at least once, it was part of the learning curve. These cameras were way ahead of their time with electric lens change and focus demand, the latter switchable to either side, although the only person I recall anyone using the left side was my first Senior Cameraman, Ron Francis. When the focus control packed up on a live show, which was frequent, the side of the camera was opened up and the focus adjusted by sliding the tube carriage forwards and backwards manually. It worked and kept a camera going when the normal compliment was usually only three and sometimes, but rarely, four; so this was vital.' |
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Bill Brown on the camera at Wood Green. with thanks to Jeremy Hoare |
A telecine machine was also installed at Wood Green.
An unusual innovation in the studio was a cue-dot generator. This device enabled a small square dot to be placed in the top right corner of the screen 30 seconds before a commercial break, enabling ITV companies all over the UK to cue their commercials accurately. At first this was an experiment but later the system was universally adopted and is still in use.
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The floor of the Wood Green Empire in 1958. This still and the ones below are taken from a promotional film made by ATV. |
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The production control gallery - called the 'vision control room' on the plan above. According to the plan, in the corner of the gallery was a 'lighting control point.' One assumes therefore that the gentleman sitting in the background of this picture must be operating the lighting. I'm intrigued by the panel above the window. It has seven sections. Seven? What could it possibly have been? My guess is that it controlled the lighting hoists in the auditorium. Another source says that there were only five of them but maybe there were seven after all. |
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A shot looking from the stage towards the auditorium. The audience sat in the dress circle. The balcony above was not in use during the days of television. |
The Wood Green Empire was the home of ATV's scenery workshops and their OB fleet was also based there. In 1957 the studio produced about seven hours of programming a week. The theatre was linked to ATV's Highbury studios via landlines, whence the signal was sent to their continuity and playout suite in Foley Street.
The studio was used to make all kinds of programmes including LE, drama and children's. I have also been told by more than one ex-employee that Emergency-Ward 10 began here before moving to Highbury. Examples of contrasting shows include Val Parnell's Saturday Spectacular, a sitcom called Joan and Leslie (starring Joan Reynolds and Leslie Randall) and various 90 minute plays. Rosemary Wenzerul has been kind enough to contact me. Her late father, Barry Molen, used to run the canteen and collected many photos of the stars who performed here. She has confirmed that Emergency Ward-10 was indeed made at Wood Green for a while. She has also sent a picture of the Randalls with a dedication from them to her father.
I must confess I hadn't heard of the sitcom but it seems to have been very popular and has its own page on the IMDb.
Amongst the plays was probably The Voodoo Factor - a spooky tale starring Maxine Audley based around her character's fear of spiders. There is a possibility that this was made at Highbury but Wood Green seems more likely. Other programmes recalled by people include The Sid James Show and The Strange World of Gurney Slade ('60) - a bizarre and sometimes disturbing comedy starring Antony Newley. Interestingly some if not all of the latter was filmed on 16mm. Jeremy Hoare has written to me about his not very happy experience on this show...
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'I was still an ATV Trainee Tracker when I was unusually scheduled to a film unit for a day at our Wood Green studio on the Anthony Newley show, 'The Strange World of Gurney Slade'. The sequences that were shot at Wood Green that day were on 16mm film using a blimped Arri BL mounted onto the manual Vinten Pathfinder dolly. As the sole tracker I was very much an outsider as they were superior 'Film' people and I was a merely a 'Telly' person, they made this clear from the start, I was being tolerated. One shot I remember particularly involved a track-in from Long Shot to Mid Shot. We rehearsed and I put my marks on the floor then we went for a take. "Camera!, Action!" and I pushed the Pathfinder in on cue and timed it correctly so I ended on the right part of Newley's speech although I was about an inch to the right of my mark but directly alongside it, fairly normal. I had just got there when the camera operator shouted 'Cut, no good!' stopping Newley mid sentence. He turned round and without looking at the floor said to me, "You're off the mark, we'll have to do it again!". He was right but this was normal because unlike film, we hardly ever use tracks or rails in television (which would guarantee a set re-position) so I mumbled something like an apology and he said in a flamboyant Prima Donna manner, "Okay then, I'll just have to unlock the pan if that's the best you can do!". I was furious because no television cameraman to my knowledge before and subsequently since has ever locked the head controls where it could be possible that a misframe would occur. It was and is normal for a cameraman to make small adjustments, actors are not always good at hitting marks, so often compensation in framing is needed. We did another take and I hit the mark exactly but the operator said nothing to me. We moved on to the next set-up but at the end of the day's shoot I went home more than a little upset that this had happened. I was still a trainee and just nineteen at the time so probably over-reacted as one does at that age. Fortunately I found out that not all Film Camera Operators were the same. I worked later with the terrific Frank Watts on a promo shoot in a tiny studio in the basement of ATV's Great Cumberland Place office block and he was good enough to show me a lot about how a blimped Arri functioned which more than compensated for my first experience. I thought better of film people after that!'
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It is perhaps worth reprinting part of an article from 'Practical Television' published in January 1957. The writer describes a visit to the studio:
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I drove my car up to the front of the Wood Green Empire - only to find it was not there! The entire facade, canopy and other front-of-the-house paraphernalia had disappeared, and in its place were brightly-lit dress shops. As I made my way around a side road to the stage door, I fancied that I heard the ghosts of [the] great illusionists [who had previously performed there] chuckle and say " Abracadabra! " Fortunately, the stage door was there, quite solid, almost hidden behind a pile of new scenery and stage properties, and the back of the theatre seemed to have been extended. I discovered at once that additions had been made to the backstage facilities, particularly as to make-up, wardrobe and dressing-rooms. The old music-hall atmosphere persisted; there was no dressing-room 13 - instead, there was 12A! Crossing my fingers as I went under a ladder, I wandered on to the stage to meet Bernard Bibby. ATV's Chief Engineer of studios and O.B.s. Mr. Bibby is an ex-BBC man (from Lime Grove and the Alexandra Palace) and he brought me down to earth rapidly with facts and figures, including lighting three cigarettes with one match. |
What surprises me about the above is that the foyer and main entrance appear to have been sold off and turned into shops by ATV. One wonders how they handled their studio audiences - some sort of entrance and foyer would surely have been needed. It does seem likely that there was an entrance in a side street that led to a foyer upstairs. After all, with no audience in the stalls, only the circle foyer would have been needed.
The theatre had its orchestra pit on the camera right side of the auditorium. However - for one show, designer Richard Greenough thought of another use for it...
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'At Wood Green I designed a show for Jimmy Jewel and Ben Warris. There was a sketch with them in a boat. For this we filled the orchestra pit with water. A plastic liner was made and this worked very well except I had designed steps to get down into the water but these were made of wood so they floated up! We also had an inverted periscope to get an underwater shot. This worked very well during the rehearsal but by the time of transmission the water had become very cloudy. As this had worked well we did it again in a later show but this time the plastic liner sprung a leak and the water began to get into all the electrical wires under the stage. Panic! Bob Craig, the stand-by carpenter, volunteered to go down into the water so I lent him my bathing trunks which were in my car. Somehow he managed to stem the flow and the show went out live. We did not repeat this mistake.'
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ATV used the Wood Green Empire through to 29th May 1963 - interestingly, well after all the studios at Elstree had opened. After that the theatre stood dark for a couple of years before the stage, backstage area and most of the auditorium were demolished to make way for a multi-storey car park. The facade is just about recognizable today, in the centre of a parade of shops. Last time I looked it was a branch of the Halifax but the original arrangement of foyer door and an entrance either side can still be made out - as can the typical Frank Matcham grand roofline with two small ornamental domes.
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The image below is a rare colour photo of the period taken by Jeremy Hoare. It shows the Arthur Haynes Show being recorded at the Wood Green Empire in 1962, shortly before ATV left. |
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Hackney Empire
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Hackney Empire, around 1960. The 'ATV Television Theatre' sign can just be made out behind the trees. with thanks to Louis Barfe |
This theatre dates back to 1901, having opened that year on 9th December. Built initially for a seating capacity of 2158 with a further 691 standing, the theatre remained on the variety circuit for some 54 years before closing probably towards the end of 1955. ATV took it over and made their first programme there on 29th February 1956. They initially extended the stage 15ft over the orchestra pit, although by 1958 the working area spread over the whole stalls area.
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ATV's plan of Hackney. with thanks to Richard Greenough |
The camera and lighting equipment at Hackney were similar to that installed at the Wood Green Empire.
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Hackney Empire in 1958. |
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The old Grand Master lighting control. Every London theatre had one of these - usually tucked behind the pros arch on a platform just above head height - as shown here. Its design dated from about 1930. This still, taken from an ATV film, shows the board still in operation in 1958. Incidentally, in London's theatres the Grand Masters began to be replaced with electronic preset boards controlling thyratron or thyristor dimmers during the 1960s but there were still some of them in use well into the 1970s. Others remained in operation in some provincial theatres for even longer. The Bristol Hippodrome's board was installed in 1948 and was not replaced until 1981! The trouble was that they were so well-built that there was nothing to go wrong - some might say unlike the electronic consoles that replaced them. |
Although ATV were the main occupants of the Hackney Empire, the facilities were leased to other ITV companies as and when required. Indeed before Teddington was opened for television in 1959, ABC used this theatre. Their most famous show made at Hackney was Jack Good's Oh Boy! and both series were made here. Rediffusion also hired the theatre from time to time. At one time Take Your Pick came from this studio - later moving to Wembley. The Carroll Levis' Discoveries talent show was also made here for a while. The last programme made here was on 21st December 1960.
Mecca took it over in 1963 and converted it into a bingo hall. The bingo operation closed in November 1986, the building re-opening as a co-operatively run theatre/arts venue just a month later, on the 85th anniversary of its first opening. It is now a Grade II listed building, and thanks to the Lottery and a high profile fund-raising campaign the auditorium has been restored to its 1901 condition.
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Highbury studios were to be found at 65A Highbury New Park, Islington. They were built originally as a music conservatoire in 1890, becoming a recording studio in 1926 for the Piccadilly label. The building was adapted into film studios in 1933 and bought in 1937 by producer/director Maurice J Wilson. There was one main stage - not very large - and a smaller one probably in the basement. For the two years until the outbreak of war they were leased to independent film producers making quota quickies and some modestly successful films for the British market. They were barely used during the war after which they were acquired by the Rank Organisation. Rank established his 'charm school' at Highbury. Young men and women were trained for stardom - or at least to be stars in J Arthur Rank's films. Film production continued from 1947 and several films were made with such stars as Christopher Lee and Diana Dors - both products of the charm school. However, it was not to last and when the company got into financial difficulties in 1949 they sold off all their properties except Pinewood. However, they did not entirely give up their interest in Highbury.
In 1950 the studios were purchased by Norman Collins, with the backing of British Lion, The Rank Organisation and Pye electronics. Collins was an extraordinary gentleman who began his career in BBC radio. He was the producer of Dick Barton: Special Agent, and by contrast also created Woman's Hour. He became controller of The Light Programme (the original name of Radio 2) and in 1947 controller of the BBC Television Service at the time it was establishing itself. In 1950 he resigned, with the strong conviction that the BBC should have a competing television channel. He campaigned loudly on this subject and formed a company called High Definition Films, based at Highbury. He planned to make television programmes - initially for the export market but always with an eye to becoming actively involved in the new commercial television, whenever that might begin broadcasting. It was five years before his plans came to fruition. The technique developed by HDF enabled a 30 minute film to be completed in 48 hours. Using traditional techniques it would take several days principal photography followed by a few more days editing. Sound dubbing would also have to be completed and finally captions, dissolves or any other effects added. It is easy to see how considerable savings could be made. The method developed at Highbury was to shoot using up to four television cameras, which were cut by a vision mixer. In other words - the usual technique at that time of making television drama. However, the cameras would have to produce far greater resolution pictures than the normal 405 lines in order that they could be projected onto a cinema screen. Initial experiments in 1949 in Cambridge using some American-made cameras had proved disastrous but the Pye electronics company were keen to make the system work. They employed Bill Vinten (inventor of the hydraulic camera pedestal) as DoP - he had lit the 1949 experiments and by May of 1952 a demonstration film had been produced at Highbury. Others followed, using progressively scanned pictures with around 625 - 834 lines. They settled on a resolution of 650 lines. This may not sound that sharp but it is not that much short of today's standard of 720 progressive lines. The overall resolution of the system was said to be an astonishing 12MHz. Greater resolutions were also tried out - up to 1,500 lines but the advantages were outweighed by the technical limitations of the components in use. In fact, publicity around the time claimed resolutions far greater - even up to 3000 lines but this was just wishful thinking! Still, it is amazing that these cameras were almost as sharp as today's HD cameras - although of course they were in black and white and suffered the limitations of tubes rather than CCDs. The technology was pretty cutting edge for its time. The cameras used by HDF at Highbury were Pye Photicon types called Photo Electric Stabilised or 'Pesticon' (the engineers named them 'pests'). Apparently when first switched on the picture "emerged over several minutes from a mush at the bottom of the screen".
The techniques for recording the image onto the film were also developed. This 'telerecording' technique was initially in its infancy but Collins' company worked closely with Pye to produce the best possible final image using a Moy RP30 film camera filming a low gamma, high definition display monitor. The field pulses were generated mechanically with a synchronous motor spinning an aluminium disc called 'The Whirling Spray' which had a small magnetic insert generating a pulse. The line frequency was adjusted by a variable master oscillator, set by hand. All primitive stuff but it worked!
High Definition Films was for the first few years little more than an experimental laboratory. Perhaps surprisingly, despite the obvious success of the system it was never used for its original purpose - making cheap feature films. Instead, by 1954 the company was going all out producing television plays and drama series. Some were exported to the US but the main aim was to produce a valuable 'bank' of material for the new ITV companies that would begin broadcasting in a year or two. The programmes were made far more efficiently than would have been possible using traditional film industry techniques but with picture quality much greater than telerecordings made by the BBC using 405-line television cameras. Experimental commercials were made too - and these were shown to MPs so they could see what ads on the proposed new ITV channels might look like. The plays filmed here starred famous actors of the day such as George Couloris, David Tomlinson and Dora Bryan. Bill Vinten was invited back to light an extract from Macbeth - directed by Orson Welles no less. Unfortunately, most of the 30-minute dramas were not particularly well received in America. Undaunted, the company pressed on with making series for the anticipated new ITV channel. Perhaps surprisingly, these are said to have included early recordings of Double Your Money and Take Your Pick for Associated-Rediffusion. These series later transferred to A-R's Wembley Studios as soon as they were up and running although Take Your Pick may also have briefly used the Hackney Empire. It seems hard to believe but I have been reliably informed that on at least one occasion the BBC 'lent' a camera crew to Highbury to work on an HDF drama. Whether the play was subsequently transmitted by the BBC is not currently known. However, a crew headed by Colin Clews also contained cameraman Ron Francis. Ron mentioned this to Jeremy Hoare, who was interviewing him and he was kind enough to write to me to let me know. Another somewhat unlikely series 'filmed' here seems to be Noddy. Certainly, this was shown regularly in the first months of ATV's transmission and Guy Caplin has written to me with some interesting info...
As it happens, I have lit a few series in the past two or three years using the latest HD cameras and almost all have been made using an interlaced scan. (That means that the pictures look like normal TV). I have however, lit a sitcom pilot at The London Studios and the Christmas Special of To The Manor Born at Pinewood, both using progressive scanned HD cameras. The cameramen did find it more difficult to hold focus on moving actors but they coped! However, working like that every day must indeed become pretty tiring on the eyes.
Back in 1955, Norman Collins had hoped to gain an ITV franchise in his own right. His company - ABDC - did indeed win a franchise. However, he could not secure the necessary finance so his company was forced to merge with the Grade/Littler ITC company to form the 'Associated Broadcasting Company'. Nevertheless, this did mean that the new company already had a TV studio centre up and running - even though it was equipped with non-standard cameras and equipment. As it turned out, ATV didn't use the studio to make any programmes until a year later in October 1956. Highbury was busy making 'filmed' TV dramas produced by Harry Alan Towers and for the time being it made sense to let him complete his contract to supply this useful programming to the company.
It has proved quite difficult finding detailed information about the studios themselves. One couple, Jean and Cliff Ainsworth, joined ATV in 1957 and have given me some information. They recall one main studio (stage A) and a smaller one in the basement used for experimental and training purposes during the days of HDF. Richard Greenough - head of design at ATV - also remembers a second smaller studio. He has also provided me with a studio plan for studio A which I reproduce below.
Colin Russell has also contacted me - his father was an electrician at the studios and he recalls visiting as a small boy...
Steve Bailey was a 16 year-old runner employed by ATV. He worked mostly at Wood Green and Hackney but does recall one day he had here in late 1959 or early 1960...
As mentioned above, it seems likely that ATV took over ownership of the studios in 1955. However, they did not make their first programme there until 13th October 1956. It was an edition of the magazine programme Home With Joy Shelton. (Thanks to Richard Greenough for this information. He was head of design at ATV and drew up the daily schedules.) Thus, in the meantime Harry Alan Towers continued to fulfil his contract to make dramas using the HDF cameras, which one assumes were now owned by ATV. He was executive producer on a series called Theatre Royal - a series of 'filmed' plays that were made at Highbury between 1955 and 1956. However, as mentioned above, Towers probably left Highbury rather suddenly around March when this contract was completed. It is likely that the studio was closed for the next few months as a cost-saving exercise. ATV were in deep financial straits, as were the other ITV companies, and were looking to save money. However, fortunes looked up and within a few months the studio was brought back into service using conventional 405-line cameras, controlled by an OB scanner parked at the front of building.
It is probable that HDF had ceased operating as a company in 1955 when ATV became owners of the studios. Most of the staff are said to have had their contracts bought and they dispersed within the industry. Some possibly stayed on to work for ATV. Pye took over the small studio B for a short while as a demonstration unit for their equipment. What remained of the HDF Development Group moved into a back room in a Pye radio factory in Tottenham, probably taking some of the old HDF equipment with them. However, at Tottenham they used new Pye Mk3 cameras which they blimped with a sound reducing hood to reduce the turret motor noise. These cameras were capable of operating at 405, 625 or 819 lines. It seems they also painted these cameras army green for some reason. (One of them still exists and is owned by Paul Marshall.) An American entrepreneur had apparently convinced Norman Collins that there was still a market for films made using the HDF system. Thus the new studio was set up but the project collapsed. It is unlikely that any programmes or 'films' were ever made at Tottenham. Andrew McKean has written with an interesting postscript regarding what happened to the HDF cameras and equipment...
It seems probable that the scanner continued to be used at the front of the building for some time. Nobody who has contacted me can remember the old HDF control rooms being converted to 405 lines and brought into use. The Pye cameras were employed for a number of years. However - more than one source has also indicated that the studio was at some time equipped with Marconi cameras. One cameraman, Jeremy Hoare, is convinced that he only ever operated Marconis at Highbury. (He joined ATV as a junior tracker in 1959.) However, the photo below clearly shows a Pye Mk 3 and Stephen Bailey, quoted above, is convinced that when he did a day or two at Highbury early in 1960 the studio had Pye cameras. This whole area has proved to be a bit of a minefield! However, by sifting through the clues it does seem likely that some time around 1960 the Pyes were replaced with Marconis. This seems an odd decision and would certainly not have been welcomed by the board of Pye, who were part owners of ATV. However, I am told that a possible reason for this was because Lew Grade was keen to export material to the US, and the Marconi cameras were switchable to 525 lines, unlike the Pyes. Thus Highbury, Wood Green and Hackney all received new Marconis. All kinds of programmes were made here with quick turn-rounds from one to the next. Most went out live with some recorded 'as live' from about 1960. I am told that these certainly included live adverts. It seems that an advertising magazine programme was a regular booking at Highbury each Saturday. It was called Saturday Showcase. Paul Faraday has sent me some memories of it...
Early in 1958 Highbury became the home of the most successful hospital soap for many years to come - Emergency-Ward 10. The series had begun its life at the Wood Green Empire in 1957. The show was broadcast live from the studios each Tuesday and Friday. It was rehearsed at the De Walden rehearsal rooms, St John's Wood. When Highbury closed on 30th September 1961 with an edition of E-W 10 the programme moved to Elstree.
Jeremy Hoare recalls his time working on E-W 10...
A small postscript...in 2001 George Lucas claimed he was breaking new ground by shooting his feature film - Attack of the Clones - using a high definition video camera. Well, in some ways of course he was - but fifty years earlier at Highbury they had been attempting to do almost the same thing. It's been pointed out to me by Mitch Mitchell that George wasn't even the first in recent times. A handful of films were made in the nineties using the Sony hiVision 1125-line analogue HD system. One striking example was Peter Greenaway's Prospero's Books, made in 1991. I am particularly grateful to Dickie Howett for much of the above information on High Definition Films. |
In 1961 Highbury Studios were demolished to make way for a block of flats - 'Athenaeum Court'. ATV withdrew from these studios and the theatre in Hackney to concentrate their production at the National Film Studios in Borehamwood. ATV had purchased the studios in May 1958 but from late in 1960 the four stages were one by one brought into use as superbly equipped television studios - with the cameras and other electronics supplied by business partner Pye. These studios are now known as BBC Elstree Centre.
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The early film years... The studios had their origins in 1914, when three enterprising potential moviemakers looked for a site near London with a good train service that was free of fog. An area near Elstree village called Boreham Wood seemed ideal so the studios of Neptune Films were built. They were said to be the finest in England and the one stage was over 70 ft in length. It was described as the first 'dark' stage in Europe since, unusually for the time, it had no glazed roof but relied upon electricity for illumination. British cinema went into decline during the First World War (as so many technicians and actors had been killed) and production ceased in 1917, when the site was sold to the Ideal Film Company. Ideal Films used the premises until 1924. Ludwig Blattner, inventor of an early sound recording system, took them over in 1928. Ironically, his studios were the last in Elstree to be converted to sound so they lost a lot of work. In 1934 the studios were leased by Joe Rock, an American producer, the same year as Blattner committed suicide. Two years later he bought the studios outright and constructed the four main stages - still in use today as studios A - D. This major investment ensured the future use of the studios for decades to come. However, in 1939 the Rock studios were taken over by British National Films. Their timing was poor as almost immediately the government took over the stages for war duties. Then British National continued to make films here until 1948 when the studios went dark for five years. American film actor and producer Douglas Fairbanks Jnr bought them in 1953. Fairbanks renamed the studios the National Studios and used the four stages to make filmed TV programmes for the American company NBC. His initial contract was for an astonishing 39 films as well as many commercials. It is not known how many he actually made but by the end of his first two months he had completed six 26-minute films. From 1955 Associated-Rediffusion ran a series called Douglas Fairbanks Presents. It is likely that this used many of the half hour dramas that had been originally made here for the US. Fairbanks ran the studios for about five years before ATV took over. One of the oldest buildings on site is the two-storey block with the green-tiled roof near to studio D containing dressing rooms and offices. It probably dates back to the 1930s. Much later when the BBC took over they named the building 'Fairbanks'. The man himself visited the site during the 1980s to see what had become of his old studios.
The arrival of television... ATV acquired the studios in May 1958. It seems likely that they originally intended to keep them as film studios - using them to make TV dramas on 35mm. One of the first series they made was the popular Adventures of William Tell. It employed many of the features and techniques seen in The Adventures of Robin Hood - purchased by ITC and shown on ATV but not actually made by them. (That series was made by Sapphire Films at Walton Studios. Those studios are covered elsewhere on this website.) ATV continued to use Highbury, Wood Green and Hackney for TV but realised that they needed a new, properly planned TV studio centre. Seven and a half acres of land was purchased on the South Bank - once part of the seventeenth century Vauxhall gardens - and plans were drawn up. However, by 1960 they realised that it would take too long for those plans to be realised so they decided to convert their Elstree film stages into TV studios. Thus they began the enormous task of converting them with telescope (actually 'harp') grids similar to those at Teddington, and control room suites with plush overlooking viewing rooms suitable for all the US TV executives that would be invited to watch programmes being made. Perhaps inspired by the success of Fairbanks, Grade knew from the beginning that he wanted to make shows that he could export as well as sell to the ITV network. Many new buildings were constructed to support TV production. In fact, it was only the stages and existing buildings adjacent to them containing make-up, wardrobe and dressing rooms that survived from the original film studios.
As it turned out, the various filmed dramas made by ITC for ATV were made over the road at ABPC Elstree Studios. This television work over many years arguably kept those studios afloat.
Enough 'what ifs' - on with what actually happened...
ATV also constructed a large L-shaped office headquarters building on the site, which is still known as 'Neptune House' - named after the original film company. Viewers of Holby City will be familiar with its appearance. It was also used by Gerry Anderson in his 1969 series UFO where apparently it represented the secret HQ of 'Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organization'. Obviously. Staff began to move onto the site during 1960, although the studios would not be ready for use until the end of the year. The work involved in converting the stages into television studios was considerable and it was not until late in 1960 that any of them was ready for business. All four studios were equipped with Pye Mk V Image-Orthicon cameras. These were said to give the best pictures around in their day. Pete Simpkin tells me that they were also ground-breaking in that the OCPs (operational control panel) for each camera were grouped together enabling one operator to match iris and sit levels, using one monitor. This is taken for granted nowadays but previously each camera had a separate racks operator. The studios were also unusual in that it was theoretically possible to have three studios operating on different line systems at the same time (405, 525 and 625). Local generators were also capable of supplying mains power at the US standard of 60 Hz, enabling programmes to be made in NTSC for America. However, I'm told that when shows were being recorded onto the early generation of VTRs, they had genlocking problems if different standards were in use at the same time so this was avoided whenever possible! The cost of converting the studios was £4m. This was a huge amount of money in those days but of course by 1960 ATV could well afford it. The first show to come out of the studios - from D - was a drama called The Man Condemned - which was made on 29th November 1960. Studio C opened a few weeks later on 3rd January 1961 with a play called The Jason Group. One of the first big LE series at Elstree was a six-part spectacular starring Cliff Richard and the Shadows. At that time, audience seating was moved in and out of the studios when required but took up much of the useful floor space. It was not until a few years later that an 'auditorium' would be built behind one of the long walls on studio D. Studio A opened on 3rd October 1961 with Call Oxbridge 2000 - an Emergency-Ward 10 spin-off. E-W 10 itself was in the studio on 6th October, having made the move from Highbury. Studio B was ready for business a few weeks later on 24th November 1961 and opened with The Warning Voice - a drama I assume. The studios were soon all busy producing top quality entertainment and drama. The first of many US co-productions was The Jo Stafford Show, made in 1961. Incidentally - there is a very interesting video that was made by ATV/Central just before they left Elstree, which details their history there and includes many clips from shows. It would appear that quite a few dates on the video are incorrect. Maybe their research wasn't quite as good as it might have been. Anyway - Richard Greenough, who drew up the studio schedules, has confirmed the above dates and first programmes. He still possesses all the studio schedules for every ATV studio from their first day of transmission in September 1955 to the last day at Elstree on 29th July 1983, when Family Fortunes was made in studio D. Thus, studio D was ATV's first and last at Elstree.
ATV's regional programmes came from their Birmingham studios - including, of course, Crossroads. Elstree, meanwhile, produced a range of drama, comedy and light entertainment for the network - typical examples being The Braden Beat ('62), Hancock ('62), Love Story ('63), Sergeant Cork ('63), The Larkins ('63), The Plane Makers ('63), Morcambe and Wise ('63), Mainly Millicent ('64) and in 1964 the Arthur Haynes Show moved to Elstree from its previous homes at Hackney and Wood Green. Popular dramas included The Power Game ('65), Mrs Thursday ('66), Fraud Squad ('69), Camille ('67), Timeslip ('70), Edward VII ('73), Father Brown ('74), The Cedar Tree ('75), Sapphire and Steel ('79-'82) and Shine on Harvey Moon ('81). One-off major dramas included Hamlet ('70) starring Richard Chamberlain, A Long Day's Journey into Night ('72) starring Laurence Olivier and Antony and Cleopatra ('73). Comedy included George and the Dragon ('66-'68), Young at Heart ('80-'82) and music shows included Singalongamax ('73 onwards) and specials and series with Des o'Connor ('71) and Val Doonican ('71). The children's series Inigo Pipkin and Pipkins ran from 1972-1981. Popular gameshows made at Elstree included The Golden Shot ('67-'75), Celebrity Squares (from '75) and Family Fortunes (from '80). The 'glory days' of ATV at Elstree were full of happy memories for the staff that worked there during the '60s and '70s. The following sums up the period perfectly, and was kindly sent to me by Colin Russell:
The site has two large and two medium studios (A-D). In later years the BBC added one studio converted from warehouse space for EastEnders (Stage 1), one regional news studio (built for Newsroom South-East which ran from 1989-2001), a small training studio (E) converted from the original band room for studio D, the top floor of Neptune House currently used to film Holby City, and on the back lot they built 'Albert Square' and its surrounding streets. Until the show moved north, Grange Hill was also based here, and its playground and some school buildings occupied part of the car park alongside Neptune House. For many years this show had a regular booking for six months of the year in studio B. Studio A made its first programme on 3rd October 1961. It is 66 x 62 metric feet within firelanes - with a corner lost for the gallery suite and technical equipment store beneath. The opposite corner also loses a few square feet as a doorway protrudes into the floor area. From 6th October 1961 the twice-weekly drama series Emergency-Ward 10 continued a 10-year run in this studio that had begun in 1957 at the Wood Green Empire, then at Highbury Studios. When it was axed the viewers made it clear that they missed it, so from 1972-1979 the soap General Hospital was made in A and B. (Clearly, Holby City is continuing a fine tradition of medical drama on this site.) During the black and white years ATV used the studio for various entertainment programmes including the David Nixon Show and the Dave Allen Show - live on a Friday night. The children's show Inigo Pipkin, which after the first series became Pipkins occupied studios A or B from 1972 - 1981. An astonishing 313 episodes were made! The studio was never colourised so from around 1970 its galleries were no longer used. However, programmes continued to be made on A's floor at first using a colour OB scanner and later using B's galleries, which were converted to colour in 1972. Nevertheless, the studio had briefly seen a colour camera a few years before then - as Jeremy Hoare recounts... 'Summer 1966 - England won the World Cup against Germany in 1966 in a never to be forgotten Wembley Final, broadcast by the BBC in B&W as the debate was still going on about line and colour standards. The very next day the entire England squad attended a live broadcast luncheon, which was set up in Studio D at ATV Elstree. I had the job in Studio A of getting the first Philips PC60 literally out of its box, mounting it on a tripod set onto a rostrum so the lens height was around eight feet, then operating it so that the players who had been so victorious the day before could see themselves in colour. It was a great moment for me but the heroes of English soccer didn’t seem impressed. I didn’t get lunch either. But at least I get to did operate ATV's own first ever colour camera!'
Cliff Hughes recalls that during the '70s and into the '80s it was quite common to do a sitcom in B on a Saturday and then another in A on the Sunday, using the same cameras and of course controlled by B's galleries. An interesting aside. ATV briefly considered bidding for the proposed ITV breakfast franchise. It was to be called Sunrise and studio A would have been its home. The bid was probably abandoned before any serious work was done on it. As has often happened during the research for this history I have conflicting information about what happened to the studio in the months before ATV left. I have been informed by an ATV staffer that towards the end of ATV's time here the studio was used as a rehearsal room and for storage. Certainly, my correspondent is sure he accidentally barged in on a rehearsal to his considerable embarrassment. However - this may simply have been on a day when a programme wasn't scheduled and the floor was being used for a rehearsal. Oddly, the evidence seems to suggest that before ATV/Central left Elstree the lino TV flooring was removed as according to a BBC engineering document ('Eng Inf' spring 1984) written shortly after they moved in.. 'It has not been used for production for a few years and is unequipped. It has a wooden floor which makes it unattractive for television use, though it should become a useful BBC film stage.' However, acording to Richard Greenough, the head of ATV design (who still has copies of the studio schedules), the studio was fully utilised right up to the end and the last programme to be made in A was Blockbusters on 17th May 1983 - only two months before ATV/Central moved out. Certainly the galleries hadn't been used for many years but what's all this BBC stuff about a wooden floor???
Whatever the state of the floor, one of the first uses by the new owners was to hire the studio out as a film stage to the Children's Film Foundation early in 1984. Later, the studio became the home of a huge model of a city for the sc-fi series The Tripods. The City was and probably remains the largest single model ever built by the BBC, at about 1200 square feet. It took 18 months to construct and was largely the work of Simon Tayler, of the BBC special effects department. During the next few years studio A used facilities provided by OB units or simply to shoot single-camera drama or comedy. In 1987 Jim Henson returned to Elstree (more on him later) to make The Tale of the Bunny Picnic - a Muppet-based one-off special for children. This was shot single camera and occupied studios A and B for several months.
In 1989 studio A was completely refurbished by the BBC with a new grid and monopoles (the first in any BBC studio as all their others have motorised lighting bars.) The gallery suite was brought up to the standard of the day and new dimmers were installed. The old mechanical dimmers were not removed however and still remain (disconnected) upstairs in the huge dimmer room in their wire cage, the replacement thyristor racks sitting alongside. The control room still had ATV's old Strand Type C lighting console in it, which was carefully removed and - because nobody knew what else to do with it - placed inside the dimmer cage, where it remains to this day. The dimmer room shared by A and B is now a small museum of television dimmers! At one end is the huge cage containing several hundred motorised dimmers installed in 1961, next to them are A's thyristor dimmer racks which were state of the art in 1989 and at the other end of the room is a small cabinet containing the digital dimmers for studio B - each one the size of a cigarette pack - which were installed in 2003. Well, I find it interesting anyway - sad old git that I am. Following A's refurbishment, the BBC's intention was then to carry out similar work on the other three studios. However, the new regime of austerity under DG Michael Checkland (popular nickname amongst staff - 'Michael Chequebook') and his successor John Birt brought an end to all major capital spending, so studios C and D were given the bare minimum to make them useable. In fact, B has never had its galleries equipped by the BBC and those rooms still sit there in dust much as ATV left them. Because since the BBC refurbished it, A has had the best equipped gallery suite it has often been used to remotely control programmes being made in the other three studios. A was used as a proving ground for a couple of new technologies when it was refurbished. The first was to use existing TV36 camera cables as a BBC-designed enhanced triax. This proved very problematic and did not last long! Secondly, the cameras that were initially installed in A were Link 130s with some NEC lightweight cameras. The Links were highly sophisticated for their day with automatic line-up processors. Unfortunately they were very unreliable. They had been around for a few years in development and the idea was to use studio A as a test bed to try to make them work! However, they were soon rejected - the software in the 130s was simply too complex for the technology available at that time. Sadly, this unreliability caused the downfall of the company and the UK lost its sole remaining camera manufacturer. The Schneider lenses were kept - and a camera was sought that they would fit. This turned out to be the Thomson TTV-1530 - one of the last tubed cameras. These were modified by the BBC (surprise surprise) and this variant supplied to the Beeb was known as the 1531. Around 1994 these were updated with Thomson TTV-1542 CCDs and 1647 lightweight cameras. The studio went widescreen in 1999 and is currently equipped with Philips/Thomson LDK 100s. From 1999 the Kilroy programme began a three-year contract in this studio. Thus TOTP, which had 'borrowed' A's facilities for most of the nineties had to use an old OB scanner parked in the car park for facilities. Since EastEnders went to four episodes a week in 2002 studio A has become part of that show's empire. One other aspect unique to studio A - it was the first studio to be fitted by the BBC with a resin floor. Previously, studios had floors consisting of lino mounted on asphalt. However, it was thought that the cameramen might find the resin too hard to stand on all day so lino was laid on top! To my knowledge, this is the only studio in the UK with both types of flooring.
Studio B is almost a mirror image of A but slightly longer at 70 x 62 metric feet within firelanes. It opened on 24th November 1961. ATV used it for a variety of small dramas and children's programmes. Originally it was equipped with Pye Mk V image-orthicon cameras but from 1969 it was also used as a 4-waller using a colour OB scanner. In 1972 it was fully colourised with four Philips PC60s. As mentioned above, following colourisation the studio was used to make dramas such as General Hospital ('72-'79) and children's series such as Pipkins ('72-'81). Late in the 1970s four EMI 2001s were transferred from studio D into this studio when D's cameras were replaced with LDK 25s. Cliff Hughes has sent me an interesting snippet... 'Studio B was fully equipped in the late 70s and early 80s and in fact had a brand new Grass Valley mixer installed in I would guess late '79 early '80 in preparation for a live action series of "Dan Dare" which never actually materialised as is often the case! My memory of this is it was to be heavily a blue/green screen production and Ultimatte was also fitted. I believe this might have been the first Ultimatte install in the UK. I remember the boys in Tech being very excited about it.' B's last ATV/Central programme was I Thought You'd Gone - a sitcom starring Peter Jones - which was recorded on 18th May 1983. Since ATV left it has never been fully equipped by the BBC but treated as a 4-waller. It has, however, had dimmers installed in 2003 and is currently used as one of the EastEnders studios, controlled by the gallery suite for studio A. B's gallery suite is unique in all London's TV studios. They were built in 1962, converted to colour in 1972 but since the BBC never equipped them they sit there as they were left in 1983, gathering dust - no carpet on the floor, just the plywood flooring panels. The production gallery, vision control, lighting control and apparatus rooms still have the original monitor racks dating back to the early 1970s and in the huge vision control room the control desk is sitting there in all its blue formica and polished veneer glory. Sadly, all the monitors and equipment were removed long ago but one still gets a sense of how these old control rooms looked. When I was last there in May 2006 It was bizarre, walking from room to room in studio A's control suite which is very smart and well-equipped - then walking through a door into B's galleries and stepping back 30 years or more. Click on the images below to see them in high resolution and for some further information...
Incidentally - the reason that the sound gallery is not illustrated above is that it has now become a producer's room for EastEnders. From 1985 the studio was occupied by the set for the Grange Hill school corridor along with its various classrooms, each room being re-dressed to become the art room/ history classroom/headmaster's study etc. as required. Previously, the show had shot its interiors in a studio at Television Centre and I was occasionally on the camera crew. When it moved to Elstree, Grange Hill was served by a two-camera OB unit supplied by BBC OBs. Then in 1998 a new producer was appointed and the show adopted a new 'look' - being shot on single-camera Digibeta. I was involved in setting this up and lit many of the episodes that year - including the one where a child fell from a window and died. Tragically and bizarrely the actress who played her, Laura Sadler, suffered the same fate in real life in 2003. The series moved from Elstree to Liverpool in 2002 when Phil Redmond's Mersey TV took over direct control of it, following that company's loss of Brookside.
Studios A and B are medium sized but can be linked. They have sliding doors about 10ft x 10ft that enable cameras to move between them. I am told that ATV frequently used the doors for a number of shows when programmes spread across the two studios. These were controlled from either gallery during the black and white years and from studio B after colourisation. I certainly know that the pair of studios was used by the BBC in Feb '92 for the last series of Double Dare - the popular kids' gameshow. The question and answer rounds were played in front of an audience in A whilst the games were played in B. This saved huge amounts of time as the games could be set up and cleared away behind the closed doors, which then opened to let the cameras through. This series was one of the first things I lit when I became an LD.
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