BBC Elstree Centre
BBC Elstree Centre | |
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Former names |
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Alternative names |
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Etymology | named after Television production |
Location | Between Eldon Avenue and Clarendon Road in Borehamwood |
Address | Eldon Avenue |
Country | England |
Coordinates | 51°39′35″N 0°16′29″W / 51.6597°N 0.2747°W |
Current tenants | BBC Studioworks |
Inaugurated | 1914 |
Owner |
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Website | |
www.BBCStudioworks.com |
The BBC Elstree Centre, sometimes referred to as the BBC Elstree Studios,
This site was the first of several such complexes colloquially referred to as Elstree Studios located in the area. Originally created as a film studio in 1914, the site was converted for use as a television studio in 1960, becoming the main television production site for Lew Grade's ATV franchise for the ITV network. After ATV became Central Television in the early 1980s and moved to a new Midlands-based complex, this site was sold to the BBC in 1984. It is currently a main production base for BBC Television, with the television studios being run by the BBC's commercial subsidiary BBC Studioworks, previously known as BBC Studios and Post Production.[1]
The BBC Elstree Centre site includes the external set for the long-running soap opera EastEnders[1] and, until December 2021, the medical drama Holby City. With the sale and partial demolition of BBC Television Centre in West London, BBC Television's original head office and primary TV production site, Studio D at Elstree has since been utilised for many of the BBC's large studio productions; such as Children in Need,[1] Comic Relief and the BBC's 2015 General Election coverage.
During the 2010s, BBC Studioworks began operating three additional sound stages, newly equipped for television, at the nearby Elstree Studios in Shenley Road.
History
Film studio
The Neptune Film Company opened the first studios in Borehamwood in 1914. It contained just a single 70 feet (21 metres) window-less stage (the first 'dark stage' in England), relying on electricity from a gas-powered generator for lighting. At the time, this was an innovation, as the majority of early films were shot in large glass-roof studios which relied on natural light.[2] It was said that Borehamwood was chosen as it had a good London train service, but was far enough away to avoid the then-regular London pea soup fogs. At the time, Borehamwood was a small hamlet in the parish of Elstree, named after the larger village of Elstree, as was the railway station of Elstree, and so the studio's location was often referred to as "Elstree", rather than "Borehamwood". Production at Neptune Studios ceased during 1917, and the studios were sold to the Ideal Film Company, who used the site up until 1924.[2]
During 1928, the studios were sold to Ludwig Blattner, who connected them to the electricity mains and introduced a German system of sound recording. The Blattner Studios were leased to Joe Rock Productions during 1934, and two years later it purchased the site, renaming it "Rock Studios".[2] Rock Productions built four new large stages, and began making films, including the drama film The Edge of the World (1937), directed by Michael Powell.[2]
The studios were owned by British National Films Company between 1939 and 1948, although during this period a large portion of the studio was taken over by the British government for war work.[2]
During 1953, the studios were bought by
ATV
The studios were sold to
Originally, some ATV programmes were made at the
ATV was restructured as
BBC Elstree Centre
When the
In August 2022, it was reported that the BBC was considering selling the studios and leasing them back for production.[10]
Buildings
"Fairbanks", with its distinctive green-tiled roof, is the oldest surviving building on the site, part of the studios constructed during the 1930s.[2] It sits adjacent to the largest studios, Studio C and D.
Neptune House was built during the 1960s, and has a glass-fronted entrance. It has featured in several popular television series, including as the school in Grange Hill, and since 1999, as the hospital reception for Holby City. A purpose-built set was constructed for Grange Hill at the back of the building in 1989, but was dismantled when the series left Elstree in 2002. Neptune House can be seen in the opening titles of Gerry Anderson's science-fiction series UFO (1970) as Harlington-Straker Film Studios, the (literal) cover for the secret and below-ground headquarters of SHADO. The hospital 'wards' in Holby City are actually the top floor of Neptune House, fully kitted out, allowing genuine outside views from the windows. The building's staircases are seen almost constantly in the series.
Backlot
The exterior set for the fictional East London setting
In January 2014, the BBC announced on the EastEnders website that the set has been approved to be expanded by twenty per cent; creating a new permanent front lot, located on the site of the former staff car park.[12] This expansion project is the 'E20' project, which by 2018 had already gone over-budget.[13] Filming on the front lot commenced in January 2022.[14]
Studios
Of the seven large studios on site, all are operated by BBC Studioworks. However, only one (Studio D) is available for hire, the other six being permanently dedicated to EastEnders. There are also a number of smaller studios used for the filming of Holby City. The current configuration is as follows:
Studio A
66 × 62
Part of the EastEnders studio facilities. It has an overhang in one corner with production galleries above, but these areas are no longer used.
Studio B
70 × 62 metric feet within fire lanes.
Part of the EastEnders studio facilities. Like A, C and D, it has an overhang in one corner with production galleries above. The original gallery facilities have been modified into two separate production galleries for use on EastEnders, and both can control any of the studios on site (other than Studio D) plus the backlot.
Studio C
102 × 68 metric ft within fire lanes.
Part of the EastEnders studio facilities. Like A, B and D, it has an overhang in one corner with production galleries above. The original gallery facilities have been converted into a switching and engineering area for BBC News' election broadcasts.[15]
Studio D
114 × 78 metric feet, excluding audience seating.
The only studio on site available for hire via BBC Studioworks,[16] this is a 8,892 sq ft (826.1 m2) light-entertainment studio with permanent audience seating in a recessed area of one wall. Like A, B and C, it has an overhang in one corner with production galleries above.
Studio E
Adjacent to Studio D, Studio E, which is 1,134 square feet (105.4 square metres), is used as props handling.
Stage 1
154 × 60 metric feet outside fire lanes.
Part of the EastEnders studio facilities. It includes a number of control rooms and associated facilities along one wall, which can control the backlot plus any of the studios on site (other than Studio D). This is the home of the standing sets of The Queen Victoria and the cafe.
Stage 2
Part of the EastEnders studio facilities. Located in the same complex as Stage 1 and 3.
Stage 3
Part of the EastEnders studio facilities. Located in the same complex as Stage 1 and 2.
See also
- Category:Films shot at Rock Studios (1928–1939)
- Category:Films shot at British National Studios (1939–1958)
- Category:Television shows shot at British National Studios (before 1958)
- Category:Television shows shot at ATV Elstree Studios (1958–1983)
- Category:Television shows shot at BBC Elstree Centre (since 1984)
Further reading
- Leslie Banks. The Elstree Story: Twenty-One Years of Film-Making. Clerke and Cockeran. 88 pages; with contributions by Douglas Fairbanks, Alfred Hitchcock, Ralph Richardson, Victory Saville, Googie Withers, Anna Neagle, and John Mills.
- Warren, Patricia (1983). British Film Studios: An Illustrated History. ISBN 978-0-7134-8644-5.
- Warren, Patricia (1983). Elstree: The British Hollywood. ISBN 978-0-86287-446-9.
- Castle, Stephen; Brooks, William (1988). The Book of Elstree & Boreham Wood. ISBN 978-0-86023-406-7.
- Welsh, Paul (1996). Elstree Film & Television Festival Programme. Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council.
References
- ^ a b c d e f Charlotte Forde. "Our services - Studios - Brand new studios at Elstree". BBCStudiosAndPostProduction.com. BBC Studios and Post Production. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h BBC Elstree Archived 17 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine at TV Studio History, URL accessed 6 November 2015
- ^ "Douglas Fairbanks Presents ... (1953-57)". The Classic TV Archive. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
- ^ Louis Barfe, Turned Out Nice Again: The Story of British Light Entertainment, London: Atlantic Books, 2008, pp.122-23
- ^ Barfe Turned Out Nice Again], p.108
- ^ Brian Jay Jones, Jim Henson: The Biography, London: Random House, 2013, p.126
- ^ "Chronomedia: 1984", TerraMedia.co.uk
- ^ Fred Humphrey (Winter 1991). "ENG INF Winter 1991/2 No.47" (PDF). BBCeng.info. BBC Wood Norton. pp. 9–12. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
The programme now uses up to four Thomson 1531 and two lightweight cameras.
- ^ "BBC moves closer to HD EastEnders". BroadcastNow.co.uk. Broadcast. 18 March 2010. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ^ Seddon, Dan (6 August 2022). "EastEnders' studios to be put up for sale by the BBC". Digital Spy. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- ^ Green, Kris (22 June 2010). "'EastEnders' pub to burn down in blaze". Digital Spy. London: Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- British Broadcasting Corporation. 23 January 2014.
- ^ "EastEnders set rebuild goes £27m over budget". BBC News. 13 December 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
- ^ "EastEnders starts filming on troubled new £87m Albert Square set". BBC News. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
- ^ "Political Broadcasting". BBCStudioworks.com. BBC Studioworks. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Elstree HD TV Studios". BBC Studioworks. BBC Studioworks. Retrieved 20 June 2018.