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Leeds Studios & Manchester Studios

(February 2005)

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HU
huddy
Unless it has been mentioned elsewhere, The YTV builings in Leeds are now marketed as the Leeds Studios (apparently with a very healthy order book, including the BBC - don't hold your breath on BBC Resources surviving then) and Manchester as - ahem - The Manchester Studios (no mention of what's booked up here). Including the London Studios, this is now being classed as the production side of Granada Productions (!)
SP
Steve in Pudsey
A Question of Sport is made at Granada, amongst other things (or it was), as part of a collaboration between the BBC and Granada, which mothballed the network studio at Oxford Road and launched 3sixty media
IS
Inspector Sands
huddy posted:
Unless it has been mentioned elsewhere, The YTV builings in Leeds are now marketed as the Leeds Studios (apparently with a very healthy order book, including the BBC - don't hold your breath on BBC Resources surviving then) and Manchester as - ahem - The Manchester Studios (no mention of what's booked up here). Including the London Studios, this is now being classed as the production side of Granada Productions (!)


No, it's the facilities side of ITV PLC

YTV studios have been home to BBC programmes before - The League of Gentlemen was made there (chosen because of its closeness to the village they did the exteriors.

It's no threat to BBC Resources - they have nothing in Leeds
NG
noggin Founding member
Yep - the Leeds YTV studios have been popular for BBC productions for a while. Wasn't The League of Gentlemen studio stuff shot there (on video - then "filmised")?

The Granada/BBC joint venture 3Sixty is still in operation as well isn't it? It'll be interesting to see what happens when (or is it if?) the BBC move CBBC and Sport to Manchester (the Governors haven't come close to approving it yet - and the cost is not insignificant)
SP
Steve in Pudsey
I'd argue that Manchester was closer than Leeds to Marsden Moor where the Local Shop for Local People is

10 days later

HU
huddy
Inspector Sands posted:
huddy posted:
Unless it has been mentioned elsewhere, The YTV builings in Leeds are now marketed as the Leeds Studios (apparently with a very healthy order book, including the BBC - don't hold your breath on BBC Resources surviving then) and Manchester as - ahem - The Manchester Studios (no mention of what's booked up here). Including the London Studios, this is now being classed as the production side of Granada Productions (!)


No, it's the facilities side of ITV PLC

YTV studios have been home to BBC programmes before - The League of Gentlemen was made there (chosen because of its closeness to the village they did the exteriors.

It's no threat to BBC Resources - they have nothing in Leeds


Silly boy, Granada Productions is the productions business of ITV plc and the studio facilities are a division of Granada productions. The exteriors for 'League of Gentlemen' were filmed in Hatfield approx. 12 miles from Manchester and Leeds was chosen for the interiors because of the closeness for the actors who live near and the large student population who need to be entertained.
IT
I T V 1
I was outside the ITV Granada studios 2 weeks back, and notice it looked quite run down. The only new thing I could see is the ITV Granada logo on little blue sign by the controlled opening. I also seen round the back there was the orginial opening with Granada TV or something in like a theatre style gates.
GA
Gareth Founding member
I T V 1 posted:
I was outside the ITV Granada studios 2 weeks back, and notice it looked quite run down. The only new thing I could see is the ITV Granada logo on little blue sign by the controlled opening. I also seen round the back there was the orginial opening with Granada TV or something in like a theatre style gates.


The theatre style gates were the entrance to the Granada Studios Tour which closed some years back. It used to be quite good but I don't think it was viable due to low visitor numbers, anyway it closed.

The original red " GRANADA TV " signs are still on the tops of the building. Parts of the studios tour section were also used as office space for other parts of the old Granada Group, such as their hospitality businesses (Service Stations and Little Chef etc.) those have since been sold on.

Gareth
HC
Hatton Cross
On a side issue.
I noticed reading the credits of Time Commanders on BBC Two, the studios were named as 'SMG Studio and media solutions'.

Is this the new and arty name for what us oldies knew as
Scottish Television, Cowcaddens, Glasgow?
IS
Inspector Sands
Hatton Cross posted:
On a side issue.
I noticed reading the credits of Time Commanders on BBC Two, the studios were named as 'SMG Studio and media solutions'.


That's almost one for Private Eye's 'Solutions' column
JE
Jez Founding member
Gareth posted:
I T V 1 posted:
I was outside the ITV Granada studios 2 weeks back, and notice it looked quite run down. The only new thing I could see is the ITV Granada logo on little blue sign by the controlled opening. I also seen round the back there was the orginial opening with Granada TV or something in like a theatre style gates.


The theatre style gates were the entrance to the Granada Studios Tour which closed some years back. It used to be quite good but I don't think it was viable due to low visitor numbers, anyway it closed.

The original red " GRANADA TV " signs are still on the tops of the building. Parts of the studios tour section were also used as office space for other parts of the old Granada Group, such as their hospitality businesses (Service Stations and Little Chef etc.) those have since been sold on.

Gareth


Does anyone what the area used for the tours is now used for?
NW
nwtv2003
Jez posted:
Gareth posted:
I T V 1 posted:
I was outside the ITV Granada studios 2 weeks back, and notice it looked quite run down. The only new thing I could see is the ITV Granada logo on little blue sign by the controlled opening. I also seen round the back there was the orginial opening with Granada TV or something in like a theatre style gates.


The theatre style gates were the entrance to the Granada Studios Tour which closed some years back. It used to be quite good but I don't think it was viable due to low visitor numbers, anyway it closed.

The original red " GRANADA TV " signs are still on the tops of the building. Parts of the studios tour section were also used as office space for other parts of the old Granada Group, such as their hospitality businesses (Service Stations and Little Chef etc.) those have since been sold on.

Gareth


Does anyone what the area used for the tours is now used for?


IIRC Nothing, I think Coronation Street's Set might have expanded, I think some of it got sold off as land in the Quay Street area is very valuable. They had plans to renovate the huge warehouse in the Studios Tour, as that was going to be the home of Granada News and other programmes, but these plans were scrapped IIRC. The plan was to demolish some of it, move some of it to the new building and sell the demolished bit off, but as some Managing Director left and because Greg Dyke left the BBC (he was interested in these plans apparently) they never went ahead.

You have to remember that Granada TV's Studios are the oldest in the UK and they've been there for almost 50 years.

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