When the BBC began its television service in 1936 there were already three
sophisticated examples of popular entertainment media with which it had to compete.
Theatre, film, and radio. Had Baird's intermediate film system proved successful
against the EMI high-definition 405 line system, BBC Television might have taken
a different course, with its drama and light entertainment being made very much
as feature films are made today. Instead, the EMI system quickly showed its
superiority, and was chosen. Not only were its pictures better, but it was cheaper,
immediate, and less subject to complete breakdown.
The opportunities of multi-camera working, with mobile camera mountings and the requirement for a live complete show led rapidly to a form of televising which, from the artiste's point of view, has more in common with the theatre than with the film set. Because theatres and television studios are an expensive resource to use for blocking positions and rehearsing moves, both have made use of outside rehearsal places: low-cost halls which in television terms are where a script takes solid form and where shots are worked out.
There were two studios at Alexandra Palace and they had to accommodate talks,
continuity, plays and musical variety, all live, and without too much going
wrong. At least one rehearsal area was used by the BBC within AP, and several
external rooms were used, principally within the West End, for it was felt that
many actors were also in the theatre and would be reluctant to place themselves
out of Theatreland so near to performance. In early 1950 the BBC had 13 television
rehearsal rooms on its books, on various continuing contracts. The very preferential
rates of a year's contract and the additional controls which the BBC could apply
to the hall's owners, resulted in this being the standard way the BBC operated
these rooms, individual productions were then allocated the room by the Television
Service. Bill Cotton Jr, being shown around the Centre for the first time, nonplussed
the assembled top brass by agreeing that it was all wonderful but then going
on to ask; "Where are we supposed to rehearse?" Bill was just a Light
Entertainment producer at the time but in 1962 was made Assistant Head of Light
Entertainment until moving further upwards in 1970. The architect, however, was an up-and-coming BBC man, Graham Bickmore. Later
on he was to design BBC Manchester's Oxford Road building. He describes the
building's external appearance as 'rugged' and 'minimalist'. It was built on
a steel frame, with concrete panels given a special treatment which exposed
the aggregate. This gave it the surface texture which has lasted without obvious
staining or ageing. In 1970 BBC costs for the Television Rehearsal Rooms' lease alone was £
82,700 per annum,and there were rates and running costs on top of this, whereas
the highest price of an external room was £3500 per annum, with almost
no extras to pay. It is important to appreciate that TRR was more than twice
as expensive as eighteen external rooms, but the Television Service wanted to
offer much better facilities to artists and also wanted security at a time that
it seemed demand was steady and supply was diminishing.
During the 1950s the BBC built TV studios in Lime Grove, Riverside Hammersmith,
and the Shepherds Bush Empire. Output increased in terms of hours of transmission,
there was a stated aim of achieving 49 hours per week of programmes which Television
management in 1953 said would need 30 rehearsal rooms.Two producers from Light
Entertainment, Michael Mills and Tom Sloan, made representation to their managers
about the inadequacy of the external rooms.(see
Times article)
In 1955 ITV brought the challenge of competition to the BBC both in the amount
of money that was spent on production and ever more hours of transmission. In
1960 the Television Centre started to come online eventually bringing eight
new studios and a new channel, BBC2, to be fed. Although ITV companies were
prepared to establish rehearsal rooms within their various complexes, BBC found
no reason not to continue to use its legions of church halls and boys clubs
scattered across west London. Well that's not quite true. Television Centre,
in its outline proposal promised "Seven production studios with dressing
rooms and rehearsal rooms on the lower floors and control rooms and apparatus
rooms above." BBC Written Archives have a memorandum from L. Harvey, saying
that originally nine rehearsal rooms had been contemplated to be housed within
the Television Centre building, but their inclusion was felt to lead to a too
serious reduction in operational areas.
Bill Cotton
Another challenge to the status quo appeared in the form of a letter
to The Times in 1962 from William Compton Carr, MP for Barons Court. He
seemed to think the BBC should comply with the Offices Shops and Railway Premises
Act especially with regard to "drill halls and other unsatisfactory places
scattered all over London." Despite a robust rebuttal in the letter's column
the next day from the BBC's Director of Administration, there was an implied
admission that some halls had not met the standards, (possibly in fire-signage,
hygienic tea making, heating, or separate toilet facilities for mixed casts)
The BBC, he said, had now inspected and approved 31 halls, rejecting fourteen
on the way. In fact behind the scenes the BBC had been working hard with the
various clubs, charities, churches etc to finance heating systems, to redecorate,
to provide elemental catering facilities. The BBC would pay for the work to
be done, recouping the cost in reduced rental afterwards. One of the activities
taking place during rehearsals was fittings for costumes, and several memos
sought to emphasise the lack of privacy which artists using these rooms had
to endure. Folding canvas screens were the answer from BBC management and could
be sent from the scenic store to any rehearsal room which needed them.
Just when things were looking good, and the 1966 World Cup was in the bag, Harold
Wilson's government took the bold step of reorganising downward the capacity
of the Territorial Army. Signaling to anyone in the South Atlantic that our
armed capacity was reduced, and aiming to sell-off two thirds of the Drill Halls.
Supported by Kenneth Adam, M.D. Tel. the BBC drew up plans, published in May
1967, for the Television Rehearsal Rooms:- eighteen large rooms in a purpose-designed
block complete with restaurant. Situated on Victoria Road, North Acton, just
opposite North Acton underground station, - two stops west of Television Centre.
But it was not the BBC which built them. Starting work in late 1968, the builders,
and owners, were a property development company, Allnatt (London).