June 29th 2020 is the 60th anniversary of the formal opening of BBC Television Centre, or TVC as it is usually known to staff. TVC was the world’s first purpose-built television centre, providing a radical and exciting step forward from the limited facilities at Alexandra Palace and Lime Grove, although only four of the planned eight studios were open in June 1960.
You can find excellent content about TVC and its opening day on the BBC history website, at:
https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/june/opening-of-television-centre
The BBC Pensioners’ Association thought it would be interesting to see if anyone reading this attended the opening ceremony, as we know some of you worked at TVC during the early days. We are proposing a collaboration with the Royal Television Society London Centre to create an online event for public access, featuring stories and potentially recorded interviews about life at TVC in the 1960’s. As we are all in social lockdown, we will be working remotely on this so would prefer contributors to be able to access email and the internet. If you’d like to take part, please email membership@bbcpa.org.uk, or RTSLondon@rts.org.uk. Please pass this information to former colleagues whom you feel might be interested. If you or others don’t have electronic communications, please send any stories to the BBCPA mailing address at
PO BOX 676 BLACKBURN BB2 9QL and we can post written contributions as part of the online event.
Many thanks to everyone who helped make TVC great!
