Television Centre

Yeah, with the plasmas all showing News 24 and the coloured lighting and light logos. Thats where the tea bar and Costa Coffee area is I think. We had to fill in a survey about the BBCs programmes and what you enjoy watching for a chance to win a Freeview box if I remember.

There is also a BBC Shop at TVC, but it's closing soon. Seems a bit silly to me, as the shop is in the foyer area which is the holding area for audiences. I would have thought that it should do a decent enough trade in souvenirs!

The shops at TVC have been a part of the place for years, but it's only recently that they've become more commercialised franchise opearations. The florist, dry cleaners and hairdressers are still small businesses but as already mentioned, the newsagents changed to a WHSmith a couple of years ago. The tea bars which were once literally all over the building have slowly either closed or become Costa Coffee / Coffee Cart type things. It was never exactly the be-all and end-all of quality, but paying 30p for a reasonable filter coffee in the tea bar was always better IMO than paying £2 for a Medio Americano... whatever one of those is. In it's real hey day, there were at least 6 tea bars, two canteens and a waitress service restaurant at TC plus the Club and Hospitality...!

I knew lots of BBC shops were closing, but surely not the flagship one at TVC? That seems very silly..

I know - when I went it seemed to do a roaring trade in books, video's and mugs and stuff - I got my BBC mug from there! And all the others (Birgingham, Nowrich etc.) always seem busy

Anyway, yes there is a good Smiths in TVC, it's quite big and a good costa

BBC Worldwide has decided that it's going to close all its shops as competition from the web is too much for them to compete with. They're keeping bbcshop.com going though and the shops operated by English Regions aren't affected.

The Smiths at TVC is ok, but despite being at least three times the size of the shop it replaced, doesn't have anywhere near the range of stuff that the old unit had! It was an Aladdin's cave of mags, newspapers, wrapping paper and cards, chocs, gifts, stationary and so-on. It was family run too, and lots of the staff at TVC knew them well.

So what will they replace the BBC Shop at TVC with?

I understand about web competition but the one at TVC should stay

It's losing money, that's why its going

Not much probably. It's not particularly big.