The Newsroom

The BBC World News Thread

BBC World | 30 Years Anniversary - Page 127 (October 2019)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
JW
JamesWorldNews

If you were part of a tour group I came across what looks like one, in a level 2 corridor!

https://goo.gl/maps/41o2panNA63k2v2bA

Good spot! That was outside the weather centre. The screens next to the guide are showing a quad split of the weather studios - but there was a switch (on a standard domestic lighting pull cord) which would change them to the output of a camera concealed behind a glass panel on the wall, chromakeyed to the blue noticeboard opposite, to let the visitors have a try at presenting.

You can go inside too - in the (very) dim and distant past, some forecasts were done from a desk in the office, and you can still see lighting mounted on the ceiling for this purpose.


What are the stairs to the window for? Some sort of emergency exit where a ladder truck could evacuate people? If it is I’ve never seen stairs for that before.


I guess so. The green “escape exit” sign above would seem to indicate the very situation you mention, Ryan.

Probably over the years, with legislation changing, buildings with a certain number of occupants needed to have “x” number of fire exits for the population inside. This looks like it may have been such a retrofit.

Unless it was an original quirky design feature of TVC.
GE
thegeek Founding member

If you were part of a tour group I came across what looks like one, in a level 2 corridor!

https://goo.gl/maps/41o2panNA63k2v2bA

Good spot! That was outside the weather centre. The screens next to the guide are showing a quad split of the weather studios - but there was a switch (on a standard domestic lighting pull cord) which would change them to the output of a camera concealed behind a glass panel on the wall, chromakeyed to the blue noticeboard opposite, to let the visitors have a try at presenting.

You can go inside too - in the (very) dim and distant past, some forecasts were done from a desk in the office, and you can still see lighting mounted on the ceiling for this purpose.


What are the stairs to the window for? Some sort of emergency exit where a ladder truck could evacuate people? If it is I’ve never seen stairs for that before.

It led to the roof between TC2 and TC3, and then originally down an external staircase.
IS
Inspector Sands

You can go inside too - in the (very) dim and distant past, some forecasts were done from a desk in the office, and you can still see lighting mounted on the ceiling for this purpose.

That doesn't look like it would have been used for the forecasts that came from there, they were in the 80s and were done in front of a window (might not even have been that office, I'm sure you could see a floodlight of QPRs outside.

Possibly the lighting was for one of the weather shows they made, or just for when they were contributing to the news
HA
harshy Founding member
Willz posted:
I would LOVE to work in a building like Television Centre or Broadcasting House.

Me too!

Me as well I would have checked out N9 and seen how cramped it was yet they did fantastic presentation out of it 20 or so years ago.
IT
itsrobert Founding member
No.
The news story referenced on this screen was 12th February 2013. Perhaps there's a website that's archived who presented the news on any particular day, though frankly my life's exciting enough without going looking for it.


Crikey, that's the exact day I visited TVC before it closed! I definitely remember it was Sophie on the Six from TC7 as I stood behind the cameras on the studio floor for the whole bulletin. So, I must surely have been captured somewhere by Google that day - I'm going to have to have a really good look.


If you were part of a tour group I came across what looks like one, in a level 2 corridor!

https://goo.gl/maps/41o2panNA63k2v2bA


Alas, I'm not in that tour group. I was on an individual tour with a friend who worked at the BBC - but I do remember seeing a tour group as we were pottering about.
VM
VMPhil
The faces behind Radio 4! Old publicity cards with one of them dating back to the Radio Radio Radio Radio 4 era:

https://goo.gl/maps/aeaNvV8D3JMiQJwF6
CH
chris
I've dug out some photos I took on the 12th February 2013 that you might not find on the Street View images - thought they might be of interest?

TC7 from the gantry:
*

TC7 Sound control room:
*

1/4" reel-to-reel tape machine in TC7 control room:
*

Old N2 control room:
*

Old N1 sign:
*

Old N1 studio - at the time either TC10 or 11, I can't remember which:
*


What were TC10 and TC11 used for apart from Charlie Brooker? Just wondering why N6 was built rather than N1 or N2 were refurbed?
IS
Inspector Sands
chris posted:

What were TC10 and TC11 used for apart from Charlie Brooker? Just wondering why N6 was built rather than N1 or N2 were refurbed?

They were used for lots of things, smaller studio based things for digital channels. One of them was home to the BBC Choice/Three shows like Celebdaq, Liquid News, BBC Three news, 60 seconds etc.

I can't find the whole clip online but when BBC Three launched Johnny Vaughan opened it in either TC10 or 11 and then was shown walking out of the studio into a lift and down to TC8 where his chat show was about to start.

One of the kids channels used one of them for their links too I think. There was also a TC0 on the ground floor which was an old music studio. Zero was chosen because it was a virtual studio, but it was used a lot for non virtual stuff like Cbeebies links and programmes for UK Play such as The Chris Moyles show


N6 was closer to the then new News Centre. N1 and N2 were nearer the circular section, as I say almost directly above TC8
NE
Newsroom
Well, that's interesting, because when it was first posted her face wasn't blurred (it is Sophie Raworth by the way)

https://www.tvforum.co.uk/forums/post894124#post-894124


You can clearly see it’s Sophie here.

[url] https://goo.gl/maps/7vHgTfFEJmf79Qeh6[/url]

And it was probably one of the few times she did an afternoon shift on the News Channel. I’m assuming she popped upstairs after doing the 1 and continued on the NC. Can hardly see her sitting around for google maps.

That link does not work.

Maybe she did the 6 that day??


Apologies.

https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5112244,-0.2252771,2a,38.3y,105.13h,83.29t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sVkIux_XQqZBC39UYNd-upw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
JW
JamesWorldNews
Hairspray still in place!
IT
itsrobert Founding member
I think one of either TC10 or TC11 was also used by BBC World for a programme called UK Report at one point in about 2004. TC10 was also used as the temporary home of News 24 in the run up to the December 2003 rebrand.

As the Inspector has said, N6 was close to the new News Centre that opened in 1998. I think the original newsroom was up on the 6th floor near N1 and N2. On my tour in 2013, we peered through some doors into an empty office that was, according to my friend, approximately the location of the old newsroom.
GI
ginnyfan
Wow, it's absolutely surreal going through the old BBC newsrooms and World studio. I can see so many details, this is amazing! I had no idea that studio was basically surrounded by newsrooms.

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