End of an era as BBC TV Centre closes

BBC Television Centre closes its doors after 53 years of broadcasting.

The Grade II listed building in west London has been a centre of creativity since opening in June 1960.

The one-time home of Top of the Pops and Blue Peter has been sold for £200 million and will be converted into a retail office and leisure complex.

The final event to be produced from the studio will be the pope’s Urbi et Orbi address, which will use voiceover facilities today.

Approximately 3,500 BBC staff have moved to New Broadcasting House in central London, a transition that began in October last year. But the TV Centre studios will be refurbished for leasing out to production companies, including the BBC, from 2014.