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 A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production. Film In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup". Takes of each s ...

'', ''

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. The company was originally formed as International Family Entertainment, a spin-off of the Christian Broad ...

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

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 #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

*''

Art Attack ''Art Attack'' is a British children's television programme revolving around art, currently hosted by Lloyd Warbey on Disney Junior, and originally airing on CITV hosted by Neil Buchanan from 1990 to 2007. The original programme aired on CIT ...

'' – TVS, later Media Merchants and

STV Productions STV Studios (previously STV Productions, SMG Productions, and originally known as Scottish Television Enterprises) is the television production arm of the STV Group plc. Headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, and with an office in London, England, ...

, for

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

*''

'' –

*''

The Basil Brush Show ''The Basil Brush Show'' is a British children's television sitcom series, starring the glove puppet fox Basil Brush. It was produced for six series by The Foundation, airing on CBBC from 27 September 2002 to 25 December 2007. The show is a s ...

'' – The Foundation for

*''

The Biggest Loser ''The Biggest Loser'' is a reality television format which started with the American TV show ''The Biggest Loser'' in 2004. The show centers on overweight and obese contestants attempting to lose the most weight; the winner receives a cash prize. ...

'' (2012 final) -

Shine Limited Shine TV is a British media production company and part of Banijay with offices in London and Manchester. Shine was founded in March 2001 by Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch. The company was 80% owned by Elis ...

for

*''

Cape Wrath Cape Wrath ( gd, Am Parbh, known as ' in Lewis) is a cape in the Durness parish of the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It is the most north-westerly point in mainland Britain. The cape is separated from the rest of the mai ...

'' – Ecosse Films for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

*''

'' -

*''The Coalition'' (2015) –

*''

Dale's Supermarket Sweep ''Supermarket Sweep'' is a British game show that is based on the original American version. Originally hosted by Dale Winton, it ran for exactly 8 years from 6 September 1993 to 6 September 2001 and then revived from 12 February to 31 August 2 ...

'' –

TalkbackTHAMES Talkback Thames (stylised as talkbackTHAMES) was a British television production company, a division of Fremantle (part of the RTL Group, which in turn is owned by Bertelsmann). It was formed by the merger of Talkback Productions and Thames Te ...

for ITV *''

Defectors In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

'' –

Challenge Challenge may refer to: * Voter challenging or caging, a method of challenging the registration status of voters * Euphemism for disability * Peremptory challenge, a dismissal of potential jurors from jury duty Places Geography *Challenge, C ...

*''

Don't Stop Believing "Don't Stop Believin' is a song by American rock band Journey. It was released in October 1981 as the second single from the group's seventh studio album, ''Escape'' (1981), released through Columbia Records. "Don't Stop Believin'" shares writ ...

'' –

Shine TV Shine TV is a British media production company and part of Banijay with offices in London and Manchester. Shine was founded in March 2001 by Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch. The company was 80% owned by Elis ...

GroupM WPP plc is a British multinational communications, advertising, public relations, technology, and commerce holding company headquartered in London, England. It was the world's largest advertising company, as of 2019. WPP plc owns many compan ...

for Channel 5 *'' The Door'' – ITV *''

Duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

'' – ITV *''

FIFA eNations Cup FIFAe Nations Series (FeNS) is an esports tournament series organized by FIFA and its presenting partner EA Sports. Each tournament has member nations that compete in games from the latest incarnation of the FIFA association video game series. E ...

'' (2019) –

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

*''

Finders Keepers Finders, keepers, sometimes extended as the children's rhyme finders, keepers; losers, weepers, is an English adage with the premise that when something is unowned or abandoned, whoever finds it first can claim it for themself permanently. The phr ...

'' – World Wide International Television and TVS, later

, for ITV *'' Fort Boyard: Ultimate Challenge'' – The Foundation for

and

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years ...

(filmed on location in France) *''

Fraggle Rock ''Fraggle Rock'' (also known as ''Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock'' or ''Fraggle Rock with Jim Henson's Muppets'') is a children's musical fantasy comedy puppet television series about interconnected societies of Muppet creatures, created by Jim H ...

'' (UK inserts) –

and

The Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...

*''

Got to Dance ''Got to Dance'', originally titled ''Just Dance'', is a British dance competition that was broadcast on Sky 1 in the United Kingdom from 20 December 2009 to 28 December 2014. Auditions for the show were held in specially built "Dance Domes" and ...

–

Sky1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

*''

Guesstimation ''Guesstimate'' is an informal English portmanteau of '' guess'' and ''estimate'', first used by American statisticians in 1934 or 1935.Initial In a written or published work, an initial capital, also referred to as a drop capital or simply an initial cap, initial, initcapital, initcap or init or a drop cap or drop, is a letter at the beginning of a word, a chapter, or a paragraph that ...

for

*''

'' –

*''

I Can See Your Voice ''I Can See Your Voice'' (abbreviated ''ICSYV'' and stylized as ''I Can See Your Voice — Mystery music game show'') () is an international television mystery music game show franchise that originated in South Korea. History In 2012, prod ...

'' -

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

*''

It's a Mystery ''It's a Mystery'' is the fifteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Seger, released in 1995 (see 1995 in music). As with his prior album, it is credited to the Silver Bullet Band, though many of the tracks feature a wide array ...

'' – Media Merchants and

Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

and ITV *''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...

'' - TVS for

*''Jo Brand's Great Wall of Comedy'' –

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

*'' Later... with Jools Holland'' (2013–2018) –

BBC Two 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 ...

*''

Let's Play A Let's Play (LP) is a video (or screenshots accompanied by text) documenting the playthrough of a video game, often including commentary and/or a camera view of the gamer's face. A Let's Play differs from a video game walkthrough or strateg ...

'' –

*''

Ministry of Mayhem ''Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown'' (previously titled ''Ministry of Mayhem'' and ''MoM'') was a British children's entertainment programme, which was broadcast on ITV (later CITV) from 10 January 2004 to 1 July 2006. Overview ''Ministry o ...

'' –

ITV Productions ITV Studios is a British multinational television production and distribution company owned by the British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV (TV network), ITV network and th ...

/The Foundation for ITV *'' The Mint'' – ITV *''

'' – The Foundation for

*'' Prove It!'' –

/GeronimoTV for ITV *'' The Royals'' – E! *''Scratch 'n' Sniff's Den of Doom (2007) -

CITV CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...

*''

Sport Relief's Top Dog ''Sport Relief's Top Dog'' is a British BBC Two game show hosted by Gaby Roslin. The first series began airing on 3 March 2014 and ended on 21 March 2014. The series consisted of 15 episodes aired over three consecutive weeks in the run up to ...

'' –

*''

'' –

Talkback Thames Talkback Thames (stylised as talkbackTHAMES) was a British television production company, a division of Fremantle (part of the RTL Group, which in turn is owned by Bertelsmann). It was formed by the merger of Talkback Productions and Thames Tel ...

for

*''

Trisha Goddard Patricia Gloria Goddard (born 23 December 1957) is an English television presenter and actress. She is best known for her television talk show ''Trisha Goddard (TV series), Trisha'' (1998–2010), which was broadcast on a mid-morning slot on I ...

'' (2006–2010) – Townhouse TV for Channel 5 *''Ultimate Brain'' –

*'' Was It Something I Said?'' –

*'' What's Up Doc?'' – TVS, later

Scottish Television Scottish Television (now, legally, known as STV Central Limited) is the ITV network franchisee for Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation since 31 August 1957 and is the ...

, for ITV *''

WOW! WideOpenWest (doing business as WOW!) is the sixth largest cable operator in the United States with their network passing 3,248,600 homes and businesses. The company offers landline telephone, cable television, and broadband Internet services ...

'' – Media Merchants and ITV Meridian and ITV

Other uses

*Until 2007,

Radio Caroline Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Alan Crawford initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly. ...

broadcast from the complex. *In 2010 Maidstone Studios was used for an anti-speeding TV advert, airing on ITV between 15 January and mid-February. *Some of the old office space and the former Studio 1 have been converted into a data centre offering rack space to local, national and international businesses. *Since 2010, the

University for the Creative Arts The University for the Creative Arts is a specialist art and design university in the south of England. It was formed in 2005 as University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester when the Kent Inst ...

has taught television production within the office space and studio space.

References

External links

The Maidstone Studios Website
(Contains promotion footage for Vinters Park's opening in 1982)
The Custodian Data Centre Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maidstone Studios Television studios in England ITV offices, studios and buildings Mass media in Kent Buildings and structures in Maidstone