Tour of BBC Television Centre

  This month you voted for me to take a backstage tour of the world famous BBC Television Centre in Shepherd’s Bush, London not too far from our own headquarters in Hammersmith. 

 When I heard you had chosen the BBC tour as my adventure of the month I was really excited. For me, like many others, the BBC conjures up a vision of mystery, magic, creativity and all round high quality. Like most, I grew up watching programmes such as Dr Who, Blue Peter, and Monty Python's Flying Circus as well as Record Breakers, all of which were made in the television centre. So, I was excited to be getting a sense of history by seeing the inner workings of this historic institution and a tour was definitely something I was going to relish.

As I discovered on my tour BBC Television Centre is considered to be the home of BBC Television and Radio even though the BBC has now spread far and wide. The building opened in 1960 and was designed by Graham Dawbarn, built in a circular fashion surrounded by an array of offices and studios. It was quite a talking point and an architectural innovation in its day; a bit like the present Swiss Re building in the centre of London that is affectionately referred to as “The Gherkin”.

The first port of call on the tour was a visit to the news department for radio, television and internet. Expecting to see a newsroom along the lines of “Drop The Dead Donkey” with people shouting and a general air of pandemonium reigning I was very surprised to see that it was very orderly and totally under control.  Instead of a group of journalists running around shouting about breaking news, what I found was a carefully well organised machine with everyone knowing their role. It was easy to see, in such an organised environment, why the BBC is a world leader when it comes to the news and why they are nearly always the first to send their journalists to hot spots to report back first hand on major international events.

Next stop on the tour was the television studios. Whilst I have attended “live” television programmes as a member of the audience it was interesting to see how the studios are actually set up for the shows and what goes on behind the scenes.  I never realised that due to the limited number of studios in the television centre, they have to be set up each time a particular show or programme is filmed or recorded.  To help us understand the difference we were initially shown into an empty studio that they were starting to prep. Followed by a sneak peak at the backstage crew setting up for the ITV daily Alan Titchmarsh Show.

The tour ended with a practical session on becoming a newsreader and game show host. I know it looks easy on television but I soon realised just how hard it is to read the news with ease and sophistication without looking like you are a rabbit in the glare of a car’s headlights.  As the guide said, “Everybody thinks they can do it but it takes great skill to actually put the news across as if you were talking to the world sitting on your settee in your own living room”.   To make matters even worse, our favourite newsreaders also have to write their own scripts before they present them. That said, the whole experience was great fun but I can say without contradiction that I won’t be giving up the day job.

So what was the verdict?

I can honestly say it didn’t disappoint. A tour of the BBC Television Centre is a great experience for anyone aged nine years and over, and the tour lasts about two hours. During the tour you get to visit the news departments and the studios, get a preview of new productions, and you can even visit the interactive studio, which younger members of the tour will love. Through all of this you will be accompanied by a well informed guide who will ensure that you get the best out of your tour.

Comments

[Silvia]

Thank you very much for this report! I've been wanting to do this tour every time I visited London but it's never worked out. So far. Next time I go to London, I'll be sure to have the BBC tour on my itinerary! :D

[Chris]

I went on this tour and was very disappointed. I expected something like the Granada Studio Tour in Manchester which this was nothing like. We spent most of our time walking the corridors and looking at the little that we saw from behind glass.
It was reasonably priced and an experience into the familar building but don't visit with high expectations

[Niall]

Seems like you had a great time, have to say i think it would be really cool to do a tour of the BBC. Once did a tour of NBC in New York and it was amazing!