BBC Elstree Centre
The BBC Elstree Centre, sometimes referred to as the BBC Elstree Studios,[1] is a television production facility, currently owned by the BBC. The complex is located between Eldon Avenue and Clarendon Road in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England.
For the film & TV studios also used by BBC Studioworks, see Elstree Studios (Shenley Road).BBC Elstree Centre
- Neptune Film Studios
- Blattner Studios
- Rock Studios
- British National Studios
- National Studios (a.k.a. Fairbanks)
- ATV Elstree Studios
- Eldon Avenue Studios
- Clarendon Road Studios
named after Elstree parish
Between Eldon Avenue and Clarendon Road in Borehamwood
Eldon Avenue
England
1914
- Neptune Film Company (1914–1917)
- Ideal Film Company (1917–1924)
- Ludwig Blattner (1928–1936)
- Joe Rock Productions (1936–1939)
- British National Films Company (1939–1948)
- Douglas Fairbanks Junior (1953–1958)
- ATV (1958–1981)
- Central Television (1982–1983)
- BBC (1984–present)
This site was the first of several such complexes colloquially referred to as Elstree Studios located in the area. Originally created as a film studio in 1914, the site was converted for use as a television studio in 1960, becoming the main television production site for Lew Grade's ATV franchise for the ITV network. After ATV became Central Television in the early 1980s and moved to a new Midlands-based complex, this site was sold to the BBC in 1984. It is currently a main production base for BBC Television, with the television studios being run by the BBC's commercial subsidiary BBC Studioworks, previously known as BBC Studios and Post Production.[1]
The BBC Elstree Centre site includes the external set for the long-running soap opera EastEnders[1] and, until December 2021, the medical drama Holby City. With the sale and partial demolition of BBC Television Centre in West London, BBC Television's original head office and primary TV production site, Studio D at Elstree has since been utilised for many of the BBC's large studio productions; such as Children in Need,[1] Comic Relief and the BBC's 2015 General Election coverage.
During the 2010s, BBC Studioworks began operating three additional sound stages, newly equipped for television, at the nearby Elstree Studios in Shenley Road.