BBC Studios and Post Production has announced that it is continuing its partnership with Elstree Studios for a further two years, until spring 2017.
The BBC commercial subsidiary currently hires Stage 8, Stage 9 and George Lucas production gallery space from Elstree and operates studios across the road at BBC Elstree. The relocation was initially launched as a result of the redevelopment and upgrade of the Television Centre site, where BBC Studios and Post Production will be returning to operate Studios 1-3.
With co-funding by Elstree Studios, BBC Studios and Post Production has upgraded parts of the Elstree site, turning Stages 8 and 9 into fully equipped TV studios with HD galleries, with laser-levelled resin floors and upgraded lighting provision, and installed HD galleries in the expansive George Lucas Stages to support large-scale entertainment productions. BBC Studios and Post Production was able to repurpose and reuse high-end technology and equipment from Television Centre to save on cost.
Anna Mallett, CEO BBC Studios and Post Production, said, “Our partnership with Elstree Studios has been really successful and has allowed us to make fantastic use of the technologies we redeployed from Television Centre whilst it is being redeveloped. Customer feedback and demand at Elstree has been strong. We’ve hosted some of the BBC’s biggest shows here, like Strictly Come Dancing and The Voice as well as other prime time shows like Pointless, Channel 4’s Fifteen to One and ITV’s The Chase. We’re looking forward to continuing to enhance the customer experience at Elstree.”
Roger Morris, Managing Director, Elstree Studios said: “This is the ideal partnership – combining the world famous Elstree Studios with the state of the art television technical production facilities and expertise of world renowned BBC Studios and Post Production. Now producers can use first class television studios at Elstree Studios.”
Morris continues: “We have just cleared, to make ready for development, the old four acre back lot at Elstree Studios and we are now appraising how we can further increase production services on the Elstree site for both television and feature film clients.”