Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Granada Studios
Granada Studios was a television studio complex and events venue on Quay Street in Manchester, England, with the facility to broadcast live and recorded television programmes. The studios were the headquarters of Granada Television from 1956 to 2013. After a period of closure, five of the six studio spaces reopened in 2018. The studios are the oldest operating purpose-built television studios in the United Kingdom pre-dating BBC Television Centre by five years.
They were previously home to the world's longest-running serial drama, Coronation Street, as well as other long-running shows such as the quiz show University Challenge and the current affairs documentary series World in Action. As well as being the oldest television studios in the United Kingdom, the studios also held the Beatles' first television performance in 1962 and the first general election debate in 2010.
Until 2010, the main building, Granada House, had a red neon "Granada TV" sign on the roof, which was a landmark for rail passengers travelling from the west into Manchester city centre. A broadcasting tower was erected at the behest of Sidney Bernstein to give the studios an embellished and professional appearance. The three largest studios each covered over 4,500 square feet (420 m2).
The studios were managed by ITV Studios and BBC Resources through a joint venture company, 3SixtyMedia from 2000 until 2013. After a dip in production during the early 2000s, the studios underwent a revival from 2009 until their closure. Countdown moved to Manchester from the Leeds Studios in 2009 and the facility had numerous new commissions including The Chase, Divided, Take Me Out and High Stakes.
The studios closed in 2013, and ITV Granada and ITV Studios moved to Dock10's studios at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays. Later that same year, the Granada Studios was sold for £26 million to Allied London and Manchester City Council. Allied London's initial plans for the site involved transforming the studios into residential space. However, plans were changed in 2017 to maintain the studio complex due to demand, and most studio spaces were reopened in 2018. Although there were calls to preserve the old Coronation Street exterior set, it was demolished as part of redevelopment work in 2017. Other areas knocked down were Studio 4 and the remaining Granada Studios Tour entrance. The studios' former office block, Granada House is being converted into a hotel and office space.
After Granada secured the contract for broadcasting to the north of England on weekdays, the company built a television studio complex while BBC Manchester and ABC (originally Granada's weekend counterpart) respectively converted a former church/film studio and a cinema in the city for television use. The transition for the other broadcasters was that new areas were required for transmission facilities. Granada bypassed these problems by creating entirely new studios.
Sidney Bernstein chose its base for northern operations from Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester. Granada executive Victor Peers believed Manchester was the preferred choice even before Granada executives, Peers, Denis Forman, Reg Hammans and Sidney Bernstein, toured possible locations. One site was identified by Hammans in Leeds and three were found in Manchester which convinced Bernstein to explore further. Two sites were deemed expensive, and another in Salford Quays was rejected by Bernstein as inadequate. A site on Quay Street in Manchester city centre owned by Manchester City Council was bought for £82,000. Part of the Manchester and Salford Junction Canal, which linked the River Irwell to the Rochdale Canal from 1839 to 1922, ran in tunnel underneath the site.
The studios were designed by Ralph Tubbs, but Sidney Bernstein was instrumental in influencing designs and giving regular plan briefings. Bernstein was believed to have some architectural knowledge despite no experience or formal training, and was referred to as a "genial tyrant" by Granada producer Jeremy Isaacs for his influence in many decisions at Granada. In his memoirs, Forman wrote: "Anyone who witnessed Sidney at work in one of these sessions had to acknowledge his practical genius as an architect" as Bernstein lectured and demonstrated his plans for the studios to colleagues. Forman wrote that Tubbs looked "sometimes enthusiastic, sometimes disconsolate" during Bernstein's lecture briefings.
Hub AI
Granada Studios AI simulator
(@Granada Studios_simulator)
Granada Studios
Granada Studios was a television studio complex and events venue on Quay Street in Manchester, England, with the facility to broadcast live and recorded television programmes. The studios were the headquarters of Granada Television from 1956 to 2013. After a period of closure, five of the six studio spaces reopened in 2018. The studios are the oldest operating purpose-built television studios in the United Kingdom pre-dating BBC Television Centre by five years.
They were previously home to the world's longest-running serial drama, Coronation Street, as well as other long-running shows such as the quiz show University Challenge and the current affairs documentary series World in Action. As well as being the oldest television studios in the United Kingdom, the studios also held the Beatles' first television performance in 1962 and the first general election debate in 2010.
Until 2010, the main building, Granada House, had a red neon "Granada TV" sign on the roof, which was a landmark for rail passengers travelling from the west into Manchester city centre. A broadcasting tower was erected at the behest of Sidney Bernstein to give the studios an embellished and professional appearance. The three largest studios each covered over 4,500 square feet (420 m2).
The studios were managed by ITV Studios and BBC Resources through a joint venture company, 3SixtyMedia from 2000 until 2013. After a dip in production during the early 2000s, the studios underwent a revival from 2009 until their closure. Countdown moved to Manchester from the Leeds Studios in 2009 and the facility had numerous new commissions including The Chase, Divided, Take Me Out and High Stakes.
The studios closed in 2013, and ITV Granada and ITV Studios moved to Dock10's studios at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays. Later that same year, the Granada Studios was sold for £26 million to Allied London and Manchester City Council. Allied London's initial plans for the site involved transforming the studios into residential space. However, plans were changed in 2017 to maintain the studio complex due to demand, and most studio spaces were reopened in 2018. Although there were calls to preserve the old Coronation Street exterior set, it was demolished as part of redevelopment work in 2017. Other areas knocked down were Studio 4 and the remaining Granada Studios Tour entrance. The studios' former office block, Granada House is being converted into a hotel and office space.
After Granada secured the contract for broadcasting to the north of England on weekdays, the company built a television studio complex while BBC Manchester and ABC (originally Granada's weekend counterpart) respectively converted a former church/film studio and a cinema in the city for television use. The transition for the other broadcasters was that new areas were required for transmission facilities. Granada bypassed these problems by creating entirely new studios.
Sidney Bernstein chose its base for northern operations from Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester. Granada executive Victor Peers believed Manchester was the preferred choice even before Granada executives, Peers, Denis Forman, Reg Hammans and Sidney Bernstein, toured possible locations. One site was identified by Hammans in Leeds and three were found in Manchester which convinced Bernstein to explore further. Two sites were deemed expensive, and another in Salford Quays was rejected by Bernstein as inadequate. A site on Quay Street in Manchester city centre owned by Manchester City Council was bought for £82,000. Part of the Manchester and Salford Junction Canal, which linked the River Irwell to the Rochdale Canal from 1839 to 1922, ran in tunnel underneath the site.
The studios were designed by Ralph Tubbs, but Sidney Bernstein was instrumental in influencing designs and giving regular plan briefings. Bernstein was believed to have some architectural knowledge despite no experience or formal training, and was referred to as a "genial tyrant" by Granada producer Jeremy Isaacs for his influence in many decisions at Granada. In his memoirs, Forman wrote: "Anyone who witnessed Sidney at work in one of these sessions had to acknowledge his practical genius as an architect" as Bernstein lectured and demonstrated his plans for the studios to colleagues. Forman wrote that Tubbs looked "sometimes enthusiastic, sometimes disconsolate" during Bernstein's lecture briefings.