Former ITV Studios in Nottingham to be sold

The site was planned by ATV in the early 1980s to create the biggest production centre in the UK in Nottingham…

Built as a replacement to the ATV Elstree Centre – now home to the BBC and currently EastEnders – the studio complex was ultimately opened by Central Television in 1984 with the late Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip cutting the ribbon. The studios were closed by ITVplc in 2004 with the University of Nottingham taking on the site the following year, including keeping one of the studios open for their media education department and also for production hire.

How the East Midlands Centre was to look when planned by ATV in 1980

This week Nottingham Live reported that an internal email has confirmed the site will now be vacated by the university leaving the future of the complex unsure. ‘The University of Nottingham’s King’s Meadow Campus is set to close following a “challenging” financial year which resulted in budget cuts and hundreds of job losses. The Russell Group institution confirmed a review has been launched into the sale of the site as the process of relocating staff and services is expected to begin.’ the local news site reported.

The facilities, with the exception of Studio 5, saw all the other studios turned into storage and are used to hold the university’s Manuscripts and Special Collections department, which consists of special documents that have been collected since the 1930s. The expansive site is also home to the university’s financial and business services, recruitment team, HR department and other administrative departments.

Lenton Lane Studios: The main building layout

During the Covid-19 pandemic it was used as a vaccination centre.

Between 1984 and 2005 the studios were home to some of ITV’s biggest shows including quiz Celebrity Squares, game show Family Fortunes, soap Crossroads, drama Boon, game show Supermarket Sweep, quiz Catchphrase and comedy drama Shine on Harvey Moon. Many independent production companies also used the facilities to produce content for the BBC, Sky and Channel 4. The site was also the location of the Central News East newscentre.

After it was closed by ITV the site was renamed as the Kings Meadow Campus, following a public competition to find the moniker. The Kings Meadow name, by coincidence, had been used in Crossroads in 2002 when the hotel was to be demolished for a housing estate with that name – this may now be the future of the land.