ITV abandons the South Bank

A mainstream programme of course, but I would have liked to have seen some ‘real’ behind the scenes footage if only for just 30 seconds. It wasn’t all cameras wandering across the studio floors or directors being over the top in ‘real’ tv life.

You mean they are using ITN Facilities, how big is ITN?

BBC Wales in Llandaff

Nope, nothing to do with ITN.


They moved their staff from the South Bank into 3 locations - TV Centre/the former BBC White City building, and offices in Waterhouse Square in Holborn and in the same building as ITN in Greys In Road.

I don't know if they're using any ITN facilities, possibly their MCR for the OBs on their daytime shows?

Their White City offices only house the ITV Daytime shows filmed in TVC. ITV PLC certainly don’t consider it their HQ.

Their HQ is spread out. In reality their Holborn offices are their administrative headquarters, with ITV Daytime houses at White City and Television Centre. Unlike the BBC who have Broadcasting House and Channel 4 have Horseferry Road, ITV do not have a distinct headquarters anymore. Even up in Manchester where they had a decent presence through their Granada building, they are now reduced to some offices and a small studio in the Orange Tower. ITV as a company seems to not really care about a "shiny HQ" anymore, and are very happy with their lot now. ITV do not own any big studios anymore (excluding the Coronation St production in Salford and Emmerdale in Leeds), and now rely on independent studios, sound stages or the BBC for studio productions.

I've just watched it, I agree. It was also heavily slanted towards the later years.

Good to see Dickie Davies, and always good to see Sally James ! Saturday Scene was presented
from a corner of the WoS studio then (makes sense).

I didn't know the Elton John/Kiki Dee video was shot there, I remember it at the time being shown on Crackerjack and TOTP, and had assumed these last 42 years it was done by the Beeb

I was hoping they’d find the spot where it was filmed, just as they did with that lovely shot of Hale and Pace, but guessing it either isn’t there anymore or no one knows!

It might have been Studio 10, up on the tenth floor. It was used by LWT a lot. In 2003 it was converted back into office space.

That is what an HQ is though, the head office where the company is based and run from. ITVs isn't spread out, it only has one. The other buildings are just other premises they occupy

The programme showed it is a strange situation for all involved. The actions are essentially a repeat in those shutting television centre as if no one has learned the now infamous 'lessons' which professionals and government minions always say should be learned from a large cock-up!.

But It's a funny old world, perhaps the BBC could recover the license fee money wasted by Mr Hunt on local TV (plus a bit of goodwill compensation from HM Government) & buy the place. We could have Breakfast from London in the next door studio as Good Morning Britain & release TC3 for production, instead of squatting old clapped out film studios in Elstree use a purpose built building.

It all sounds unlikely & quite ridiculous I know but then so is, for example, the BBC showing Graham Norton who is on a BBC contract but whos show is owned by ITV, but made by BBC Staff in BBC studios which they used to own but sold then rented back, two of which they rent to ITV to make their own programmes.

As I said its a funny old world and my head hurts trying to understand any logical reason for any of this

Studio 10 wasn't built till the late 80s, a long time before Elton John and Kiki Dee.


I read elsewhere from a reliable source that it was shot in studio 1, oddly