November 2021
It has been decided that we will relaunch the heritage project with a large public exhibition, in collaboration with BBC History. In early 2022 – the BBC’s centenary year – we will mount a photographic exhibition celebrating Riverside’s history as BBC Television studios (1954-1974). So far, we have requested pertinent material from the BBC’s photographic archive and, over the next two months, we will make a selection of around thirty photographs taken during production of programmes such as Doctor Who, Hancock’s Half Hour and Top of the Pops.
February 2022
Having made our selections of photographs for the BBC exhibition (to be named ‘Time Lords to Top of the Pops: a celebration of BBC Television made at Riverside Studios’), the BBC photographic archive’s James Edwards has been hard at work restoring the images for display.
April 2022
Today, a Dalek was delivered to Riverside Studios! The BBC has kindly loaned us one of the original Dalek designs to exhibit as part of our ‘Time Lords to Tops of the Pops’ photography exhibition. It has proven an immediate hit with staff and customers alike, who have been sharing selfies with the Dalek on social media.
We are also busy hanging the photographs themselves, which have been beautifully restored and reproduced. A text panel introduces audiences to the collection of eighteen black and white images in the atrium (including the Queen Mother opening BBC Riverside Studios in 1957), while a further six colour images are displayed in the window facing the street.
------
The launch of our ‘Time Lords to Top of the Pops’ exhibition was very well attended and received, with a number of guests having worked at the old BBC Riverside Television Studios. We were delighted to be joined by actors Carole Ann Ford (Doctor Who), Frazer Hines (Doctor Who), and Anne Reid (Hancock’s Half Hour) and a former member of Playschool’s production team even brought along the original Little Ted! The unveiling of our new blue plaque was performed by ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris, who presented the music show The Old Grey Whistle Test from Riverside in the late 1970s.
The Head of BBC History, Robert Seatter, had this to say about the launch:
“In the year of the BBC’s centenary, it’s great to be working with Riverside to showcase some of the iconic and much-loved programmes made – and continuing to be made - in these studios. They are revealed in carefully restored images from the BBC Photography Archive, which we know audiences will love seeing in Riverside’s glorious new public spaces, along with a shiny blue plaque as a permanent memento!”
Taking inspiration from our BBC photography exhibition, Riverside Studios has programmed in our cinema a triple-bill of Hancock’s half Hour episodes filmed at Riverside. In total, forty-one episodes of the programme were broadcast live or recorded at Riverside between 1957 and 1960.
May 2022
The Hancock triple-bill was introduced by The Tony Hancock Appreciation Society’s President Martin Gibbons and Archivist Tim Elms, who not only provided us with material for a designated Tony Hancock exhibition, but also brought along two iconic props in the form of Hancock’s homburg hat and astrakhan-collared coat. As this event attracted a large and enthusiastic audience, Riverside are keen to schedule further Hancock triple bills.
Tony Hancock Appreciation Society President Martin Gibbons and Membership Secretary Tim Elms had this to say about our ongoing collaboration:
“The Tony Hancock Appreciation Society is delighted to work with Riverside Studios in the showing of vintage ‘Hancock’s Half Hour’ television programmes and in hosting audience question and answer sessions at these events. The studios have completed an exemplary restoration of each of these episodes to enable them to be shown on the big screen and the audiences have loved the opportunity to see these classic shows as they have never been seen before.
In addition, Riverside has celebrated its heritage through the creation of an amazing photographic exhibition representing BBC programmes made on the site and has collaborated with us in the creation of an exhibition of scripts, posters, photographs and much, much more, all rare artifacts from the Society’s huge archive.
The success of the ‘Hancock’s Half Hour’ screenings has meant that the programme is continuing into 2023 and the Society is pleased to continue to collaborate with Riverside Studios in the delivery of these wonderful events.”
------
This month, we are also recruiting for a full-time archivist. We have had a number of applications for the role and will shortly begin the interviewing process. It will be great to have someone begin the process of formally identifying and cataloguing our material – one of the first steps in making the archive accessible to the public.
June 2022 - July 2022
