Albert Barber

And I thought there was little studio space in London to warrant this desecration.
I bet some shareholders at Pinewood are rubbing their hands.

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However … not all bad news … from http://www.riversidestudios.co.uk.

“ … A major three year redevelopment of Riverside Studios is now underway. Our existing facilities and the neighbouring Queen’s Wharf are being replaced by a new building across both sites. Riverside Studios will have much improved facilities including three studios, a cinema and screening room, a community & rehearsal area and a much enhanced public entertainment space…”

Alasdair Lawrance

Presumably Riverside 3 will be licensed, as in the past?

Mike Jordan

(09 April 2015)
Nothing left recognisable AT ALL!

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… Sob sob …

3 happy years doing “TFI Friday” there.

Lots of pictures still on the walls of The Chancellors though.

Memories of Riverside

Mike Cotton

November 11 1956 – I had been with the Corporation for10 months, been to Evesham, done the Smith’s Circus and was about to step into the unknown world of Television. I have memories of Jean Anoullh’s play "The Lark", about Joan of Arc in R1. The fire was in the centre of the studio and one of my jobs was to push the whole boom behind a black drape for a long panning shot. I think it was Syd Lotterby on a Mole crane who also had difficulty getting out of shot. I remember that one rehearsal finished in the early hours and I had to walk back to Acton to my wife of 6 weeks. I have a feeling that we never finished the run through. It was the first TV appearance of Michael Caine.

A memory of R2, one Saturday Robin Luxford and Alan Fogg had gone sick and as SA2 I was the next senior person and mixed my one and only live “Dixon of Dock Green” with help from Derek Saunders (grams), having had some mixing experience on small shows when crewing down was allowed – before SSs were taken off the crews. Probably Crew 7 as Cyril Wilkins was TOM.

Pat Heigham

It was in Studio 3 (Chancellors) that we were having a pint with Attenborough, D, after a hairy session dubbing on the fly, some mute footage of “Natural World” to make another couple of programmes. He had just been made Controller of BBC2, and I asked him how it was for him. He sadly said that he would rather be making wildlife films.

Yet another example of lousy management from the top!

Now that the BBC has been fragmented and all but destroyed, all we have are our memories, and good ones!

I still love watching Richard Cawston’s documentary "This is the BBC" 1958, but we’ll never see the like of that again.

Janis Goldring

I do remember those halcyon days when David Attenborough and Bill Cotton were not only Controller  BBC2 and BBC1 respectively but also had other jobs as M. D. Tel. and D. P. Tel. which they carried out with ease, proving that today there are supernumerary people at the very top as well as lower down!

Bob Auger

Happy memories of Riverside, including the first Doctor Who regeneration and the episode of “Doctor Finlay’s Casebook” when the chickens flew up into the lighting grid (via the "chimney breast" in the farmhouse set) and the animal handlers had to clear the studio and work in blue light to get them down.

Sad to hear it is all gone.

Alec Bray

Apart from one episode (episode 2), we did “The Idiot” at Riverside (R1).

See: “The Idiot”