BBC Four to mark the end of BBC Television Centre

A star-filled celebration in Goodbye Television Centre will mark the end of the BBC’s ownership of the studios after five decades.

The one off 120 minute programme charts 53 years of history and programmes behind the iconic building. Some of the biggest BBC stars of all time will gather together at the centre in a last fond farewell.

Airing in March 2013, former BBC Chairman and BBC One controller Michael Grade, nephew of ITV co-founder Lord Lew Grade, will invite an exciting array of people from the worlds of sport, acting, journalism, music and entertainment to assemble in the BBC’s Studio One in front of a studio audience, where they will talk about their favourite Television Centre memories.

Richard Klein, Controller of BBC Four, says: “TVC is quite simply the greatest television stage on Earth and BBC Four is going to celebrate all that is wonderful about it in a whole night of programming in March. What was made at TVC – the dramas, the sit-coms, the music shows, the glitzy dance and entertainment extravaganzas, the comedies, the news – everything – form part of Britain’s collective history. These shows, from The Two Ronnies to The Old Grey Whistle Test, from Newsnight to Grandstand, from Strictly Come Dancing to Morecambe and Wise – are lodged in our memories and Four intends to salute the passing of this era with a fond and uplifting farewell night.”

The beeb guest stars will recount stories as they reminisce about the times they spent at the BBC’s flagship studios. What did they do when there was a power cut on the launch night of BBC Two, and why did everyone blame Michael Bentine for the 1965 armed robbery? All of them will be giving the show a personal insight into their experiences at TVC.

Viewers will gain an exciting vision into some of our most loved BBC shows, all produced in the great Television Centre. Roving reporter Victoria Coren will also take the viewers on a special tour of the BBC – from the studios that housed Monty Python’s Parrot sketch, Del Boy’s Living Room and Miranda’s shop, to the path Alan Partridge took while running through the building with some stolen Stilton!

Joining him on the sofa will be a whole host of legendary corporation celebrities including Sir David Attenborough, Penelope Keith, Ronnie Corbett, Sir Michael Parkinson, Jeremy Paxman, Noel Edmonds, Sir Terry Wogan, Mark Lawson, Richard Briers, Sir David Jason, Zoe Ball, Philip Schofield, Gary Lineker, Chris Hollins, Bob Harris, Fiona Bruce and a collection of other faces talk with Victoria Coren including Barry Cryer, Brian Blessed and controversial boss-turned-presenter Alan Yentob.

The famed building has brought us decades of programming and has created treasured household names. Goodbye Television Centre will look at the nostalgic history created by the stars of the small screen, both on and off camera, since the 1960s. Comedy shows, talk shows, entertainment shows, children’s television, music and drama – they were all born from the famous Television Centre.

London’s TVC has been a hub of creativity from the moment it opened its doors on 29 June 1960, to the moment it will close them on 31 March 2013. Obviously the recent scandal concerning Jimmy Savile and others with alleged incidents taking place at the studios will be left to one side as investigations into abuse on the premises is on going.

The filming of Good Bye Television Centre takes place on the 18th March 2013. The studio complex was sold off last year, with plans released last week showcasing its future as apartments, shops, a hotel and a smaller scale media hub including office space and studios. ATV Icons celebrated the studios recently.

BBC Four previously aired a celebration of the studios in 2012, Tales of Television Centre.