The Massive difference in studio size between ITV and BBC

I noticed this recently. Why is it that ITV shows such as X-Factor, Dame Edna, Al Murray have stupidly massive studio sets which it seems go on for miles compared to BBC ones, which always seem tiny in comparison. Jonathan Ross' set is a prime example. It's tiny compared to the Dame Edna Treatments set! Most of the time only 10% of the actual set is ever used. The rest of it is for show.

Perfect example - when Parky jumped. On BBC it was intimate and well suited for chats, with a well placed staging area for bands and artistes. Now on ITV it's a big wide disjointed thing. Part of the reason why I've never watched an ITV Parky since he did jump.

It's partly the way ITV do things, partly because of the facilities they like to use. Their entertainment shows have always looked big and spectacular on screen. Studio 1 at LWT/South Bank/London Studios has always looked very good on screen. It has a terrific two tiered auditorium as well as a large floor space. It's no secret that the BBC have always been a bit jealous of it - as TC8 and even TC1 ( TVC's main 'Entertainment' studios) don't look anywhere near as impressive, especially when semi-filled with seating. There were plans in the early 90s to construct a new Television Theatre at TV Centre that would have rivalled Studio 1 for size and impressiveness but John Birt put paid to that idea and the original plans for TC9 remained on paper.
Have a look at TV Studio History for a very good description of this project.

Don't ITV actually use two studios next door to each other that can be combined to make the massive space you see on X Factor? Is that Fountain Studios?

ISTR the BBC used Shepperton for the original Fame Academy series - that certainly looked spacious on air - far more so than the recent Celebrity incarnations of the programme where they've been confined to the old GLR building.

I don't think the BBC used to make Parky in TC1 or 8, was it TC4...? But remember that Parky was always produced in 4:3 at the BBC and only moved to 16:9 when it crossed to ITV. That might also give you the impression that that particular show looks bigger at ITV!

It's weird - South Bank studios look huge on screen, but when you're actually in one, they're tiny! I remember going to watch Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, which looks huge, and it feels about half that size when you're there. To compare, it's the same studio QI is filmed in - which looks a lot smaller IMO.



The X Factor is indeed at Fountain. I believe they have combined two studios - throughout the building, they have studio feeds on monitors and the 'Studio 2' feed is either blank or has the Xtra Factor feed. So they definitely have 2 studios, but i've never seen the second one!

I do think often smaller, more intimate sets tend to work better - Deal or No Deal and Millionaire are the prime examples, I don't think either would work with a massive studio audience.

Yes, Wembley's 2 studios were built with a soundproof door inbetween which when lifted creates one big studio - 13,000 square foot, the biggest in the UK

http://www.tvstudiohistory.co.uk/studio%20history.htm#wembley%20rediffusion

Although perhaps in hindsight, with TV Centre having empty studios and the main programme that used the old TV Theatre now axed (Wogan)..... it was probably a good decision not to go ahead with it

Is it just me or do The Graham Norton Show and Room 101 come from the same studios? They both seem perfect fits for the bill, and I dread to think what they'd be like if they moved to ITV.

I wonder why some sets have extra bits they rarely use.

Remember seeing a recording of Help Squad at Merdian studios in 1992 and apart from the main set where the four presenter sat round a desk there was a small area with two chairs for more informal interviews which I only saw being used once.

Grease is the Word is going to be coming from Fountain Studios. Cowell seems to like his shows coming from there, I expect they'll also do Britains Got Talent.

The Graham Norton Show & Room 101 do indeed come from the same studios - The London Studios, which are owned and operated by ITV! and leased to independent production companies for the most part.

It the programmes moved from BBC to ITV they would undoubtedly continue to be made where they are at present.

Isn't HIGNFY also filmed at LWT?