The Maidstone Studios, formerly called TVS Television Centre, is the UK's largest independent television studio complex, and is based at Vinters Park in
Maidstone
Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...
, Kent, UK. It has been home to a varied selection of independent British television programming including ''
Later... with Jools Holland'', ''
Jools' Annual Hootenanny
''Jools' Annual Hootenanny'' is a TV show presented by Jools Holland and broadcast on New Year's Eve as an end-of-year special edition of his series '' Later... with Jools Holland''. It is generally broadcast between approximately 11pm on 31 ...
'', ''
Take Me Out'', ''
Catchphrase
A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
'', as well as popular children's shows such as ''
Mister Maker
''Mister Maker'' is a British children's television series produced by RDF Media (Series 1)/The Foundation (Series 2-3) for CBeebies. The series ran from September 2007 until December 2009, with 60 episodes produced within three series. Mister M ...
'' and ''Let's Play'' for
CBeebies
CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...
.
Other recent credits also include: ''
Bang on the Money
''Bang on the Money'' is a British game show that aired on ITV and was hosted by Rickie Haywood Williams and Melvin Odoom
Melvin Odoom is a British radio DJ and television presenter. He is best known for presenting on BBC Radio 1 alongsid ...
'', ''
The Royals'' on E!, ''Ultimate Brain'' and ''
Hetty Feather
''Hetty Feather'' is a book by English author Jacqueline Wilson. It is about a young red-haired girl who was left by her mother at the Foundling Hospital as a baby and follows her story as she lives in a foster home before returning to the Fou ...
'' for
CBBC
CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...
,
Davina McCall
Davina Lucy Pascale McCall (born 16 October 1967) is an English television presenter. She was the presenter of the reality show ''Big Brother (UK), Big Brother'' during its run on Channel 4 between 2000 and 2010. She also hosted Channel 4's '' ...
- Fitness DVDs, and ''The Coalition'' drama for Channel 4.
History
ITV
The site was originally chosen by the now defunct ITV company
Southern Television
Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as 'Southern Television Limited' and the title 'Southern Television' was con ...
in 1979 for a proposed new studio facility should they win the contract from the
Independent Broadcasting Authority
The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television (ITV and Channel 4 and limited satellite television regulation – cable television was the responsibility of the Cable Authorit ...
(the UK television regulator at the time), for the new dual South and South-east of England region in 1981. As Southern Television lost their franchise, they sold the site to the successful applicant
Television South
Television South (TVS) was the ITV (TV network), ITV franchise holder in the South East England, South and South East of England between 1 January 1982 at 9.25 am and 31 December 1992 at 11.59 pm. The company operated under various names, ini ...
(TVS) at a premium. It was part of the agreement between TVS and the
IBA, that TVS needed to provide a separate studio facility for the South East region.
The complex first opened in late 1982 providing broadcasting and production output for TVS. The site was also used as a regional office and a newsgathering hub, broadcasting the South East daily edition of ''
Coast to Coast''. TVS continued to use Maidstone until the end of their franchise, which they lost in 1991.
Independent ownership
When TVS lost its franchise from ITV, the Maidstone facility was retained, with a view to TVS becoming an independent production company. The new south and south east ITV contractor, Meridian, initially continued to rent space in the building as a production centre for the south east edition of ''
Meridian Tonight
''ITV News Meridian'' is a British television news service broadcast and produced by ITV Meridian.
Overview
The news service is produced and broadcast from ITV Meridian's studios in Whiteley, near Fareham with reporters also based at bureaux i ...
'', before moving to its own centre at nearby
New Hythe
New Hythe is a village in mid-Kent, England on the banks of the River Medway approximately northwest of the county town of Maidstone. It derives its name from the Old English word Hythe, meaning haven or landing place. It is in the parish of Ea ...
between 1994 and 2004. The Meridian newsgathering operation returned to Maidstone Studios in 2004, though the studio for the programme moved to Meridian's new base at
Whiteley
Whiteley is a community in the county of Hampshire, England, near Fareham. The development straddles the boundary between two council districts: the Borough of Fareham to the south and east, and the city of Winchester to the north and west.
L ...
in Hampshire.
TVS, including the Maidstone Studios, was quickly bought by
International Family Entertainment Inc.
ABC Family Worldwide is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Television that is responsible for the operations of the U.S. cable network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform.
The company was originally formed as International Family Entertainment, a spin-off ...
and the studios were used as an independent production facility. IFE subsequently launched a UK version of The
Family Channel based in The Maidstone Studios, using some elements of the TVS programme archive.
Flextech
Living TV Group was a British television consortium originally called Flextech before becoming a subsidiary of British Sky Broadcasting, with Challenge still broadcasting.
Living TV Group had several owned channels, available in the United K ...
was a partner in the venture, taking a 39% stake in the business. In 1996, the studio complex was sold by
International Family Entertainment Inc.
ABC Family Worldwide is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Television that is responsible for the operations of the U.S. cable network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform.
The company was originally formed as International Family Entertainment, a spin-off ...
to Flextech when it acquired the remaining 61% of the UK Family Channel business.
During 2002 the new owner of Flextech, Telewest Communications, overhauled the structure of the operations which resulted in the disposal of the studios.
The studios were bought in 2002 by a local consortium of businessmen under the name Dovedale Associates for £4.25 million, headed by ex-BBC producer Geoff Miles. In 2005 a £2 million refurbishment programme took place, as part of the new owner's plans for the complex. A new Studio 5 (now known as Studio 1) was opened, which covers able to accommodate a 2,000-strong audience; it is now their flagship HD studio, and between April 2013 and December 2018 was the home of
BBC2
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
's ''
Later... with Jools Holland''.
[
From 2006 to 2012 a company called "TVS Television Productions Ltd" was based in offices at The Maidstone Studios. The name "Television South Ltd", "TVS" and the colour logo device had been re-registered to lighting cameraman Keith Jacobsen, who traded as an independent production company with no links to the original. The 'new' TVS ceased trading on 9 March 2012, but as of May 2017 is owned by another independent production company.
The area including car-parks and outbuildings to the east of the studio premises were bought by Hillreed Homes – planning permission was granted in 2014 for 77 dwellings, and work to redevelop the site started in 2017. It is planned for vehicular access to the studios (including for production trucks) to be retained through the new housing estate.
]
Studio facilities
As of October 2017, Maidstone Studios is only advertising its two largest studios, and is no longer advertising the three other studios on site.
*Studio 1 – – large/huge sets
*Studio 2 – – medium/large size sets
Studios 1 and 2 have room for audience seating as well as room for sets. Studio 1 can handle 2,400 standing, 1,200 seated; Studio 2 can handle 250 seated. Both have large production galleries, are fully air-conditioned and can operate in SD or HD. Studio 1 also includes two large scene dock doors to allow easy access for people, scenery and vehicles. Access to Stage 2 is via the studio's scene dock area. The studios do not currently have any camera equipment other than a limited number of tripods and pedestals, and hence visiting productions are required to hire-in equipment from elsewhere.
Maidstone also has four edit suites, one dubbing suite, dressing rooms and green rooms, production and wardrobe departments, scenery departments, transmission and playback facilities.
On the Maidstone Studios premises is a data centre
A data center (American English) or data centre (British English)See spelling differences. is a building, a dedicated space within a building, or a group of buildings used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunic ...
that offers rack space for servers for local, national and international companies.
Other studios on the site:
*Former Studio 1 – – small/medium size sets
*Former Studio 3 – – small sets/presenting
*Former Studio 4 – – interviewing/blue screen/continuity
*The American Diner – – filming location
Productions
*''1 vs. 100
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...
'' – Endemol
Endemol B.V. was a Dutch-based media company that produced and distributed multiplatform entertainment content. The company annually produced more than 15,000 hours of programming across scripted and non-scripted genres, including drama, reality ...
for BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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