The Leeds Studios
The Leeds Studios | |
---|---|
Yorkshire Television Studios | |
ITV Yorkshire ITV Studios | |
Construction started | 1967 |
Completed | 1968 |
Inaugurated | 1968 |
Renovated | 2013 |
Owner | ITV plc |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 4 (at height) |
The Leeds Studios (also known as the ITV Television Centre, Yorkshire Television Studios or YTV Studios) is a television production complex on Kirkstall Road in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. ITV plc had proposed to close the studios in 2009, however later in the year had a change of mind and instead decided to refit them as high-definition studios.
Background
The Leeds Studios have been the home of Yorkshire Television, and its successor, ITV Yorkshire, since 1968 and are owned by ITV Yorkshire's parent company ITV plc.[1] The complex houses the main studios and administrative headquarters of ITV Yorkshire, which also has smaller offices in Sheffield and Kingston upon Hull.
The front of the main studio buildings have, in the past, acted as the main entrance to Hotten General in the serial drama, Emmerdale.
History
The studios were built on slum clearance land on Kirkstall Road, purchased from the former Leeds Corporation.
Construction commenced in early 1967: A mild winter aided building work and by mid-1968 studios one and two were equipped for transmission (studios three and four being completed by early 1969). The studio was officially opened by the Duchess of Kent on 29 July 1968. It was the first purpose-built colour television production centre in Europe and cost over £4 million to build and equip (at 1968 prices). Colour cameras were initially Marconi Mk7s and EMI 2001s. Both of these cameras were in use until the mid-1980s. Some studios in The Leeds Studios used Marconi cameras, the others used EMI cameras. In 1976 the cameras in Studio 3 were replaced with the Philips LDK 25 models.
During the 1970s, one set was used as a synthetic ice rink when not in use for filming.[citation needed]
The regional news show
Proposed downsizing
In March 2009, ITV plc announced that the Leeds Studios were to be downsized to try and save costs following a reported loss of £2.7 billion for 2008.
New investment
In December 2009 however, ITV plc announced plans to renovate the studios to high-definition standard, moving production of Emmerdale to the main Kirkstall Road building.[4] ITV Yorkshire have expanded into occupying a nearby office block, situated near the Finishing School.
Studios
Studio | Size (sq ft) | Year opened | Original cameras | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | not stated | 1968 | Marconi Mk VII colour | Shared facilities with studio 1A. Studio no longer operational. |
1A | not stated | 1968 | Marconi Mk VII colour | Shared facilities with studio 1. Studio no longer operational. |
2 | 1,225 | 1968 | Marconi Mk VII colour | Studio no longer operational. |
3 | 4,430 | 1968 | Marconi Mk VII colour | Former location for the Countdown set. Now used by Emmerdale |
4 | 7,650 | 1969 | EMI 2001 | Often used for drama series, has also been used for Mastermind and snooker . Now used by Emmerdale.
|
Calendar | not stated | 1989 | unknown | The Calendar studios are in the adjacent Calendar building (officially 104 Kirkstall Road). |
There are other studios in adjacent buildings, some owned by ITV plc and others being independent, however none of these studios were purpose built. A notable one which is not run by ITV plc is Studio 81, which is particularly large at 16,000 sq ft (230 ft × 70 ft) and used for the filming of single-camera dramas.
Drama
Over the years the studios, particularly Studio 4, have been used for filming television drama, mostly for Yorkshire Television. These series have included
The adjacent Studio 81, has been used recently in the filming of
Other uses
The site is now home to advert and regional programme playout for ITV plc's northern transmission areas (ITV Granada, ITV Yorkshire, ITV Tyne Tees and ITV Border), and a number of independent producers. The production facilities are marketed as The Leeds Studios and sister companies ProVision, Film Lab North and The Finishing School occupy adjacent buildings. While Prism also have set up studios in an older building adjacent to the complex.
The ITV Archive (including the Rank, Korda and ITC Film libraries) is also based at the Leeds campus.
References
- ^ Studios – Leeds – The Leeds Studios 4rfv.co.uk
- ^ www.tvstudiohistory.co.uk TV Studio History
- ^ "Troubled ITV cuts jobs and costs". BBC News Online. BBC. 4 March 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
- ^ "Leeds ITV studios saved". Yorkshire Evening Post. Yorkshire Evening Post. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
External links
- leedstelevision.com Leeds Television.