On this Day 1971: BBC Pebble Mill Studios’ official opening

On this Day: November 10th, 1971

ATV Today popped over to the BBC as the corporation’s BBC Pebble Mill Studios were officially opened by Princess Anne. The studios were the latest to be built in the city following the grand opening of ATV Centre the year previous.

It was a double royal feature with firstly a look at the BBC Pebble Mill Studios royal opening by Princess Anne and later in the feature the Queen Mother arrives in Northampton to open extensions to Hereward Wake House youth club training centre.

The Pebble Mill studios were home to several high profile network programmes including car show Top Gear, some editions of Doctor Who, medical saga The Doctors, drama All Creatures Great and Small, Good Morning with Anne (Diamond) and Nick (Owen) and chat show Pebble Mill at One to name only a few. The site closed in 2005 and was demolished in 2006.

Its ITV counterpart, ATV Centre, remained in operation until 1997 and was demolished in 2015. The BBC moved to a specially reimaged Mailbox site in the former Birmingham Post Office HQ while Central Television relocated to Gas Street in a site especially built for ITV in the Midlands.