White City

Goodbye Television Centre

/ mikeosbornphoto / 23 Comments

Television Centre view

So that’s the end of an era. A chapter has closed for good.

I have worked my last day at BBC Television Centre. It was an odd experience, for a building that has been winding down for months was suddenly brimming with life because of the Comic Relief charity fundraiser – the last live studio-based show to come from TVC.

I’ve worked in the building since 2004 and it’s become part of my life’s fabric, full of familiar sights which are now being consigned to memory. This set of photographs captures just some of Television Centre’s corners that I’ve encountered so many times, and the essence of this iconic building.

Television Centre’s doors will close for good in two weeks before the site is handed over to its new owners. A major and lengthy refurbishment will follow. Life goes on, doesn’t it?…

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The circular heart of Television Centre, better known as The Doughnut – and a welcome sun trap.
It’s a building full of corridors. This 2nd floor example leads to the famous BBC canteen.
TVC is a place of star talent. They need places to get ready.
The modern ‘front end’ of the building houses the BBC’s newsroom.
The newsroom has become very quiet as services move to New Broadcasting House in central London.
Signs direct confused visitors around the building. In recent weeks they’ve been mysteriously disappearing (the signs, not the visitors).
Television Centre’s Stage Door is decorated with a sumptuous mosaic.
The now derelict BBC canteen, which has been the butt of many jokes over the years.
The entrance to one of TVC’s numerous studios. These signs have been going missing too.
A maze of lights but nothing’s happening in this television studio.
BBC talent – Strictly Come Dancing hosts Sir Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly – displayed on the 4th floor, where you can find the hallowed BBC bar.
The lifts in TVC frequently need repair…
… but it’s better than clambering up and down the numerous staircases.
A statue of Helios is the centrepiece of TVC’s rotund heart.
Television Centre’s clock which has ground to a halt several times.
The lights that illuminate the Stage Door area, where you would often spot famous people and the less well known reciting their lines before an audition.
A derelict office on the 7th floor which used to be the News Online newsroom – my base for many years.
BBC Television Centre’s sign, which has been seen around the world.

Way out

See these other posts related to BBC Television Centre:

Vertigo

Vacated

Upstairs Downstairs

Winter makeover

/ mikeosbornphoto / 4 Comments

A recent spell of snow and ice here in west London had a transforming effect on the landscape. Everyday, ordinary objects of street furniture that would usually go completely unnoticed became items of interest. I saw them in a different light and wanted to photograph them with their winter coats.

BBC Television Centre and the surrounding area is a very familiar place. Fences, barriers, handrails, balconies, benches – and even a clunky yellow structure on the roof of the building – were dressed up and suddenly catching the eye.

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White City

/ mikeosbornphoto / 29 Comments

White City

This is the view from the roof of BBC Television Centre in west London. It looks across the snowy blocks of the White City housing estate and not much further – snow showers impede the way. A touch of sepia brings out the lines and depth of the buildings in a wintry scene where there is little clarity. Click on the image to enlarge.

Later I went on to capture the details of everyday architecture and features in their wintry guise – I will share these with you soon.