Teddington Studios

History

The studio began in the early 20th century as film studios when stockbroker Henry Chinnery, owner of Weir House, Teddington, allowed filmmakers to use his greenhouse as a studio. Dedicated studio facilities were then built in the 1910s. The studio was greatly expanded by a partnership of filmmaker E. G. Norman and actor Henry Edwards, and renamed Teddington Film Studios Limited in 1931.

After only one production, Stranglehold (1931), the studio was acquired by Warner Brothers to turn out so-called "quota quickies" – British-made films which fulfilled a legal quota (created by the Cinematograph Films Act 1927) before American-made films could be shown. Warner Bros.-First National continued to make US/UK coproductions at Teddington until The Dark Tower (1943). One Teddington Studios production Murder at Monte Carlo (1934) with Errol Flynn in his first major film role, is considered a lost film. The studio was seriously damaged in a V-2 attack in July 1944, in which Jack L. Warner's studio manager, and family member, Doc Salomon was killed while recording the attack.

By the 1950s the studio's fortunes had declined, but in 1958 it was bought by Associated British Corporation (ABC) for use as a television studio. When ABC was replaced by Thames Television (in which ABC's parent company had a 51% stake), Teddington Studios became the main production centre for Thames's entertainment programming (e.g. gameshows, children's programmes, dramas and comedy), while documentary shows, news and sports programming were made at Thames's Euston Road headquarters.

After Thames lost its ITV franchise to Carlton Television, which took over in 1993, the studio became independent. Without a major broadcaster or studio group owning the studios, their future was questioned (as Carlton was going to commission most of its entertainment programming from independent producers), but it survived and stayed independent for 13 years, when in 2005, the Pinewood Studios Group bought the complex for £2.7m. Teddington was also the home of British TV Casino show Smart Live Casino until they moved to Picadilly Studios.

The media company Haymarket owned the Teddington Studios site from 2004 and occupied some of it from 2006. Part of the site was leased to Pinewood until 2014. Haymarket announced in June 2013 that it planned to redevelop the site into homes, meaning the end of Teddington Studios. In February 2016 it was reported that the site was being demolished to make way for a 213-flat development, the land having been sold to Singaporean firm City Developers for a reputed £80 million.

TV studios and facilities

The site consisted of 8 studios in total, as well as post production editing facilities.

Studio 1

Studio 1 was Teddington's largest studio at nearly 8,900 square feet (827 m²). It was a fully digital widescreen studio, with audience seating for 500, making it popular for programmes such as Harry Hill's TV Burp for ITV and sitcoms The Green Green Grass, After You've Gone, My Hero, Reggie Perrin and Not Going Out (all for BBC One).

Other notable productions made in Studio 1 included Men Behaving Badly (ITV and BBC), Pop Idol (ITV), Birds of a Feather (BBC and ITV), one series of Parkinson and Black Books (Channel 4).

Historically, many classic series were recorded in Studio 1. These include all of Tommy Cooper's shows produced by Thames Television (1973-1980), The Benny Hill Show, Bless This House, George and Mildred, Man About the House and long-running light entertainment series such as This is Your Life and Opportunity Knocks. The final four series made by Morecambe and Wise were also produced at Teddington's Studio 1 by Thames Television.

Studio 2

Studio 2 measured nearly 5,700 square feet (530 m²) and has been the home to shows such as the early series of The Sooty Show, Today with Des and Mel for ITV, Kilroy for the BBC and the first series of Trisha after moving to Channel 5. This studio was popular for programmes which required intimate medium-sized space, like Bremner, Bird and Fortune for Channel 4.

Studio 3

Studio 3 was a much smaller studio at 2,098 square feet (195 m²) and was home to many music shows productions and television commercials.

Studio 4

Studio 4 was a small studio at 1,475 square feet (137 m²). CBeebies used the studio before moving back to BBC Television Centre in 2010 and then moving to MediaCityUK in 2011.

Studio 5

Another small studio, Studio 5 was home to The Chinese Channel.

Studio 6

Until early 2008, this was a small studio at (594 square feet (55 m²).

Studio 7

Built on the site of the prop store for Studio 2, this small studio was built within weeks for participation TV channel QuizCall, whose content is produced using widescreen cameras. The studio has been used for Dick and Dom's Funny Business. and sitcom Starlings for Sky1.

Studio 8

This studio, also small, was the home of HIgh Flyer which produced Racing UK.

Other facilities

Like many studios, Teddington also included set and prop storage, green rooms, wardrobe and makeup and provided car parking. However, many businesses were based at Teddington, providing products/services that catered for all production needs.