Deadline reporting that the TV arm of Pinewood Studios will be shutting down end of 2025 as basically not enough telly being made so things like Taskmaster and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK (and also Gordon Ramsay’s Future Food Stars it says here, but I think it’s a bit late for that) will need to find new homes. Their film studios will still be making things. On the one hand, it’s a sad indictment on the state of TV industry and we hope that those with jobs affected will get work with Pinewood’s more profitable side.
On the other hand as an audience member Pinewood is an absolute pain in the arse to get to. So here is my OFFICIAL ranking of my favourite TV studios as someone who has to get the train from Cambridge and is too cheap/working class to get a taxi.
- The Elstrees – I’m plonking them both together here, Elstree Film and TV Studios and BBC Elstree are literally 400 yards away from each other and the experience has been pretty similar all told in both places. One has the Eastenders set. One let you marvel at the Big Brother house which really did back onto to a big Tescos, and as well as the light entertainment that drips from all pores, in the 15 minute walk from Elstree and Borehamwood train station (itself just a twenty minute ride from St Pancras) there’s a Nandos! A Big Tesco! A McDonalds! A pub! And a Wimpy! Whether you want a Bender-In-A-Bun or a quick toilet stop, A visit to Elstree and Borehamwood has you covered. Also both have audience foyers. Handy when it’s cold!
- Television Centre – although this would have been number one back in the day. Still fun to go and see recordings there, being literally opposite Wood Lane station is a big “yes”, and Shepherd’s Bush being 100 yards down the road a big plus. Also a Westfield, but last time I went the Burger King had shut up shop which was annoying. You can wander into the doughnut and “pretend you’ve gone behind the scenes of Top Gear (if they were still making it)”. One of the all time best Audience Foyers when it was proper BBC, these days you just have to stand in the rain.
- ITV Towers When It Still Existed (aka The London Studios) – Very much feeling like The Home Of Light Entertainment, ten minutes walk from Waterloo Station but you do have to go through a large tunnel complex past an IMAX to get to Upper Ground, which does run the risk of running into buskers. No foyer, lots of lining up against walls. Lots of pictures of people from GMTV and the like on the walls. Much missed.
- Wembley Studios When It Still Existed (aka The Fountain Studios) – This looks fascinatingly unassuming from the outside on the road but it was pretty massive inside – if you had to go in the back entrance a bit of a different matter. Huge amount of stairs to get back to Wembley station. Nearby McDonalds.
- Riverside Studios before they remade it – out in Hammersmith. I don’t think I’ve been back since they did it up again, I saw Two Tribes with the popular Richard Osman being filmed there before it shut. Don’t remember much about it in honesty but did have a foyer/bar area, the walk from the local tube station is much more “city” than the other ones.
- Wimbledon Studios Which May Or May Not Still Be A Going Concern, Don’t Know – Only saw one thing here, an episode of Celebrity Tipping Point where I sat next to Ben Shephard’s delightful mum. Unfortunately I apparently booked my train ticket for the wrong day and had to pay for another PEAK one from the inspector when I got down there. I remember it being a bit of a trek from Wimbledon station but not too bad. Anyway, I don’t know if it’s still a going concern, what is fun is that it’s literally the Sun Hill Police Station set from The Bill which was still dressed as the Sun Hill Police Station Set from The Bill, right down to the vending machine offering 20p cans of Coke but which turned out to be a prop.
- Vinter’s Park, Maidstone – A bit of a hassle to get there from Maidstone Station, about 40 minutes walk if I remember correctly, but as someone who grew up in TVS land will always have a special place in my heart. Don’t think I’ve been here since the first reboot of Dale’s Supermarket Sweep, mind.
- Shepperton Studios – I saw the pilot of Goldenballs here. It was about 50 minute walk from the train station. It rained.
- Salford, Glasgow, Bristol etc – Sorry, I’m sure these places are modern and lovely but I’m unwilling to pay £250 for train tickets and a hotel and two days of leave just to watch an underwhelming quiz. London I can get down and back in an evening.
- Pinewood Studios – an hour’s walk along main roads from Uxbridge station, which is already the end of the line. Your show will inevitably overrun, as big scale shows are wont to do, so it’s not much fun making the trip in the dark. Website suggested there’s a bespoke bus service but I’ve never seen it running so presume it’s been made up. If you film at Pinewood you’ve probably also used serial ticket overbookers Applause Store so will I will have thought less of you.
- Shinfield Studios – yeah naaaaah.
What’s your favourite TV studio? Let us know in the comments!
Actually I probably could have added Granada Studios but I was there as a guest so it’s probably cheating.
As far as I know, the shuttle bus from Uxbridge to Pinewood only ran during the day for staff, and not in the evening, which was ridiculous – clearly they know there’s enough of a problem with transport to put the bus on in the first place, so why not make it more convenient for audiences? I’ve only been once, to see Taskmaster, and in the end we shared an Uber back to Uxbridge station with two lads from Bradford down in London for the first time, who were blown away by the whole experience.
For the convenience, the best audience experience used to be The One Show. They don’t have one anymore but before Covid they did and obviously it was right in the middle of London with all the convenience that brings, but also you were required to be at the Media Cafe in Broadcasting House by 6.30, they got you in the studio at 6.55 and after a quick photo you were out at 7.35. It was even more convenient when I did it because I was already in the building, and it was during the referendum campaign and Chris Mason was on with lots of props and posters from the respective campaigns, which I’d seen him sort out and put in a plastic bag upstairs about an hour earlier.
Haven’t done an audience for a while, but I was quite surprised when we did QI just before Covid about how casual it all was, I was so used to the requirement to sit around for ages and not take photos (I did Alien Fun Capsule just before The London Studios were closed and they were demanding people delete any photos they took from their phones), but at QI people were happily taking photos and shuffling around right up to a take, and nobody seemed that bothered.
Fun! I know they’re very hot on audiences taking photos these days, an excuse I heard for it is that it’s to do with copyright – I guess the production company wants to sell the look of the show to the audience “officially”, but with QI everyone knows what that looks like now so nobody really cares.