The Leeds Studios

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Front of the main Leeds Studios building
Front of the main Leeds Studios building

The Leeds Studios also known as the Yorkshire Television Studios or YTV Studios is a television production complex on Kirkstall Road in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

[edit] Background

The Leeds Studios are the home of Yorkshire Television and is now owned by ITV Plc. [1]

ITV programmes produced there include: 3-2-1, My Parents Are Aliens, Where the Heart Is, The Royal, Heartbeat, Wire In The Blood, and A Touch Of Frost. Countdown is still regularly made for Channel 4 here as was Win My Wage, a new gameshow for Channel 4 made by independent company Hotbed Media in 2007. The studios are also home to Through the Keyhole, (which began as a YTV production on ITV, but is now made by David Frost's company Paradine Productions for the BBC. It has also been shown on Sky One). The BBC have used the studios in the past for the interior shots on hit comedy The League of Gentlemen and medical drama Bodies.

The studios were built on slum clearance land on Kirkstall Road, purchased from the former Leeds Corporation.

Construction commenced in early 1967: A mild winter aided building work and by mid-1968 studios one and two were equipped for transmission (studios three and four being completed by early 1969). The studio was officially opened by the Duchess of Kent on 29 July 1968. It was the first purpose-built colour television production centre in Europe and cost over £4 million to build and equip (at 1968 prices). Colour cameras were initially provided by Marconi, although later replaced by EMI 2001 colour cameras.

The regional news show Calendar was produced at the centre for many years but in 1989 was moved to a dedicated newsroom and broadcast facility based in a converted swimming pool next to the main studios.

The site is now home to advert and regional programme playout for ITV's northern transmission areas (although this is now managed, along with its southern counterpart, by Technicolor Network Services[2]) and a number of independent producers. The production facilities are marketed as The Leeds Studios and sister companies ProVision, Film Lab North and The Finishing School occupy adjacent buildings.

[edit] External links