No surprise, BBC is looking at moving production of Casualty and EastEnders from their current sites to other (cheaper) locations. EastEnders looks like going to Pinewood (why?) and Casualty to a new 'Wales' base.
More cost cutting by the men in suits - remember when TV production use to be quality fun?
Casualty wouldn't be a surprise, that set is a dump. And thats probably the first time I've ever seen the words "Pinewood" and "cheap" in the same sentance.
re Moving EastEnders to Pinewood... Why, surely ti would cost more to rebuild the square at Pinewood than leave it where it is, plsu seeing as the shows dying on it's ar*e why bother?!?!
Casualty needs to move to the same site as Holby City, for creative reasons. They would be able to do that if EastEnders moves, although quite why the BBC wants to dump a purpose-built set which has provided 22 years of good service...
It is like a ghost town there though. The people working there don't like it at all and if they're thinking of closing the still fairly successfuly Television Centre then Elstree surely is a no brainer.
Ah, MediaGuardian is saying the moves are because of technical reasons rather than cost-cutting like I suspected. Which makes sense, Casualty in HD from Bristol would be a joke and apparently the 22yr old Elstree base would struggle to cope with five episodes a week.
Thinking about it, would it do TVC any good for Eastenders to relocate there and build an exterior set somewhere left vacant on the grounds? They couldn't complain of it not been utilised then could they!
It is like a ghost town there though. The people working there don't like it at all and if they're thinking of closing the still fairly successfuly Television Centre then Elstree surely is a no brainer.
It is certainly true that Elstree under the BBC isn't as busy as it once was. In the beginning there was Grange Hill and EastEnders (the latter being the reason for the BBC's purchase), then it was home to Allo Allo, Top Of The Pops and more, and until 2000 the unit formerly known as "International Recordings" which provided BBC1 and BBC2 with Ceefax music. One by one they were all axed or decamped until it was just EastEnders and Holby City left.
With so little currently in production it's understandable why staff feel unhappy there, but it can't have always been like that. Think of the many hundreds of youngsters who did Grange Hill there over 17 years and forged friendships for life, whichever way their careers went. Indeed the former series editor of GH told me of his sadness when he saw the bulldozers ripping down the "school". It's sad to think that a world-famous production centre is now in the doldrums. Perhaps the Broadcast Centre should have been sited there (wasn't Elstree being considered as the "standby" playout centre at one time?)
Just one thing - if Elstree shut where would Holby go? To Wales?
Although I would have thought by now, Holby was using their former studio space.