The new NEW Central West and BBC Midlands thread

I remember one time they did this, could have been 2002/3 or so (maybe even the junction in question on the YouTube clip) that they kept the late Nigel Jay on after the late News annoucing the rest of the evening's programmes. Although by that time BBC Manchester was looking shoddy and dated, they couldn't broadcast in true 16:9, things would often go wrong, ISTR one time when the Acrobats ident rewound on air live once, tape jamming and the like weren't uncommon at BBC Manchester around this time.

It's Martin Henfield announcing on the clip I posted.

Haven't you thought that the BBC Midlands Today studio is a little cramped? It's also quite different to any of the other regional news studios.

It's because it was never designed to be used as a studio... It was a conference room with the walls painted black (an exaggeration, I assure you) - it had soundproofing done, the glass window which is still present was very good at keeping sound out too. There's a black cyc covering the window which is still branded up with the frosting.

The studio was deceptive on camera when the window was there as that gave the feeling it was located within the newsroom/offices.

It looks different in design because it was one of the first of the NBH style sets (not that you'd think it as it debuted before NBH!) and as such it wasn't sure if it was a BDA Jago set from 2008 or a new layout. It was a much needed update though, the previous MTD set's bare bones (walls, screens etc) were the originals from 2004. They did remove the laminate lino and sofa/desk but it was very dated.

Not many would notice but the newsroom design on the screens has actually changed since launch in 2012!

If the studio was designed to be a conference room, where was the studio supposed to go?

I guess the Midlands Today move happened in a similar era to the BBC London Marylebone High Street and BBC South East Tunbridge Wells moves, which were all designed around newsroom presentation, and so didn't have "proper" studios in their plans?

That's why there were wallboxes in the newsroom, ISTR. They wanted to have the presentation end where the Politics Show came from for the first few years, with the ability to spin around and ad-hoc present from newsroom desks, but a decision was made in 2003 that a true studio was required.

It lasted for the Politics Show, but nothing else! Occasionally MTD decamped there too when the studio flooded many times!

One of the biggest clues that the studio wasn't intended to be a studio was the fact that the glass window had a door in it!

No more so than most of the BBC regional studios.

I think it is bigger than the original BBC LDN Marylebone High St space, and also than the South East Today space in Tunbridge Wells. Not sure how it compares to the Look East studio in the Forum in Norwich.

The older regional centres - Newcastle, Southampton, Plymouth - all have very decent sized studios, as they were built in an era when the BBC still built "proper" studios (and there was half a thought that some network production could be made in them - particularly Newcastle)

Marylebone High Street was planned with the intention of using the BBC's training studio for the main programme. However that idea got ditched because they could only use it after 5pm, it was across a mews, and they realised that the mini studio they had looked much nicer than a traditional studio.

Just throw this one open to see if anyone knows - regarding the Central News studio at Gas Street - is it downstairs on the ground floor or adjacent to the newsroom on a higher level?

Appears to be on the ground floor

http://www.22gasstreet.co.uk/dl/GROUND_FLOOR_PLANS.PDF