1968: BEHIND THE SCENES in BBC STUDIO ONE | Blue Peter | Classic Children's TV | BBC Archive

Val, John and Peter take viewers on a whistlestop tour behind the scenes of Studio One at BBC Television Centre while simultaneously broadcasting a live episode of Blue Peter.
Studio One is the biggest studio in BBC Television Centre at 10,800 square feet, with huge doors measuring 18 feet high and 14 feet wide.
The studio ceiling contains 168 scenery hoists and 240 electric lighting hoists. Up to 500 individual lamps can be installed and these are all operated from the lighting control room.
The studio has six floor cameras and a Transatlantic crane called 'Big Bill', which can raise a camera and camera person up to 20 feet above the ground.
The pictures from all of these cameras go through to the production control room, where the studio director, with assistance from the vision mixer, chooses which pictures are seen by the viewers at home.
Presented by Valerie Singleton, John Noakes and Peter Purves.
Originally broadcast 25 March, 1968.
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[@nicholasm5465]

I was working at Television Centre in 1995, and once looked into TC1, then the biggest studio in Europe - they were recording The Sky At Night, maybe the smallest programme the BBC made at the time - Just Patrick Moore on an armchair and a globe on a stand, curtained off in one corner !

[@julianaylor4351]

Later in his life Patrick Moore used his own house, as his studio.

[@nicholasm5465]

@@julianaylor4351 that would have saved the programme the cost of a studio! It was John Birt as DG that brought costings into everything, so BBC programmes had to effectively hire their own studios ...

[@fraserkatie]

​@@dogbreaththe3rd851 Was your brother a VT engineer?

[@nicholasm5465]

@@fraserkatie Not exactly - he was a film editor, and later worked on lifestyle programmes

[@HowardLeVert]

I seem to recall a friend telling me who worked there that there was a bit of industrial action going on that led to Pres. A being unavailable (where it was usually made)

[@andydixon2980]

What a great slice of TV history. Great presenters.

[@Zhuk-zc8es]

I like how at 6:55 you can see the people in the video room and hear them talking and giving commands about where to switch the cameras. You can see them pressing the buttons and the camera cutting, and you can hear the studio director John say "Cut to 3, to Vel". It is so cool.

[@PP-mu4ib]

This would’ve changed my life if I’d seen it as a kid, but in Australia they didn’t do this sort of thing. It’s little things like this which made the BBC the national treasure that it is.

[@julianaylor4351]

Valerie Singleton, John Noakes, Peter Purves and their Siamese cat Jason walking around, happy childhood Blue Peter memories. ❤️

[@hilaryepstein6013]

These films of the old BBC Television Centre are historic and precious since the BBC in their infinite wisdom disposed of it.

[@tobeycat2007]

Bit ironic the GMB on itv now comes from there.

[@johnking5174]

They did another behind the scenes in November 1974 in colour. In 1991 when Studio TC1 was reopened after three years of being refurbished and refitted they did another behind the scenes. I remember that one especially, as I was six years old and watched Blue Peter every week.

[@jmalmsten]

Nice touch of them to bring in the echo of the room as the camera reveals the size of the studio. :) Also. It was fun to see that all the inputs of the vision mixer has their own faders. I'm guessing it's the logic of, sounds have them, why not the video. Pretty much in all the vision mixers I've seen it has always only been one fader which mixes program and preview. It makes me wonder what kind of shenanigans can be achieved by a skilled operator. And carrying on with observations, it was fun to see the use of cue cards taped to the cameras, I'm guessing having a teleprompter setup would be deemed ver much too expensive at the time. I would have loved to see the superimpose channel talked about a bit more, probably a fixed camera on an animation stand somewhere that could be operated in real time. But still, I would love to see it to find out if I was correct. :)

[@martinhughes2549]

From memory, Biddy Baxter, the longtime producer of Blue Peter insisted the presenters memorised the script even into the 1980s. So no teleprompter.

[@davidevans3227]

yeah they know the script don't they.. it's all really interesting.. do they still do bits like this on B.P. i wonder??

[@what-uc]

If you watch closely you can see that the first caption comes live from camera 2, the next 3 are from a source which is on the screen in the top right, then it's back to camera 2 for the zoom into the ship.

[@resourceress7]

1. Came here from Tom Scott's newsletter in Nov 2023. He says his presenting style is "partly from the later incarnations of shows like this." Cool. 2. It's a shame the credits barely listed anyone, and certainly not a 150-member staff. Wonder if they'd do it now? 3. John the floor manager who comes in at 7:30 looks a lot like early-career Hugh Laurie, including fun gestures and facial expressions.

[@sebastianapollodelavega1445]

So accuratley explained! Love you BBC xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[@43bikeguy]

I loved Blue Peter when I was a kid

[@marcse7en]

It's crap now! 👎🤣

[@juliam.mallen9019]

I'm always fascinated by the superheroes working so diligently behind the scenes 👌

[@jamierobinson9097]

I really dig the old Blue Peter theme at the end

[@lewis7515]

That actually was absolutely fascinating.........

[@bendaniels1214]

Fantastic! I love watching all of these old BBC clips. Please keep them coming BBC. As the late Bobby Caldwell sang, " Take me back to then when life was mellow, where we had golden sun".

[@LPBineli]

Brazil Here 🇧🇷

[@jerryn9496]

Great to see everyone but the presenters wearing a shirt and tie. A different era.

[@TinLeadHammer]

Because their clothes affect the quality of their work?

[@michaelturner4457]

Because that was the rules.

[@johnking5174]

Studio TC1 is still there today in 2023. It is a very busy studio in 2023. Only TC1, TC2 and TC3 remain. All the rest have been demolished.

[@davidevans3227]

five minutes ago!? don't think i seen someone so quick.. love this film thankyou for sharing this 🙂

[@fraserkatie]

I once went on a tour of BBC TV Centre and saw Studio One!

[@robinvanags912]

1968 - the year the Ladybird book 'How It Works' Television came out (with cutaway drawing of Television Centre inside the front & rear covers!).

[@matthewlawrenson3628]

Jason the cat obviously didn't think much about finding out behind the scenes at BP. You can see him bugger off in the first 20 seconds when Val starts talking.

[@fidelcatsro6948]

🐱👍🏿

[@julianaylor4351]

Cat's rules....do what you like, the servants can be dealt with later. 😼😁

[@LostsTVandRadio]

What a genius idea - broadcasting Blue Peter from London! Maybe in the next ever-so-expensive BBC shake-up they'll bring it back to TVC ;)

[@davidallinson7810]

I love these little clips of the BBC

[@robertfoster6070]

Amazing to think that video editing on a computer can be done by one person now.

[@SBAYLISS]

Hard to believe it’s all gone now😢

[@MsSteve70]

Studio One, Studio Two and Three are still in operation.

[@SBAYLISS]

@@MsSteve70 oh that’s great I thought it had been erased…thanks

[@tomasmulcahymusic]

Stunning sound quality from the boom mics! Something that gets forgotten in modern productions, the lav is over-used in studios these days I think.

[@what-uc]

Ah, the lapel mike, not the lavatory!

[@marcse7en]

Yes, it's awful when a presenter gets "caught short!" 🤣 For those who don't know: "Lav" = Lavalier (a type of clip on microphone)

[@tomasmulcahymusic]

Actually a lavalier was originally a mic on a necklace, not a clip on mic. From the French, for the type of necklace named after the actress. You can see the "necklace" mic on the other presenter in the control room (and it sounds duller than the boom).

[@marcse7en]

@@tomasmulcahymusic Yes, Peter Purves was wearing one, wasn't he? But I've always known a lavalier as a clip-on mic. Necklace or clip-on, it's just a small personal mic though.

[@tomasmulcahymusic]

@@marcse7en yes that's what it has come to mean. I think the origin of the word is interesting though. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavalier

[@leevons_home_vids]

This was so cool!

[@lordtoffingham8257]

They did it all again, almost word for word in 1974, in colour

[@johnslateril]

Indeed they did, I remember it well! kzbin.info/www/bejne/oHrbdWmCjJJ9o6M

[@misspurrr-fect3684]

Kids TV programming back then , you were being educated but didn't realise it ! 😳

[@nicholasm5465]

'Moving this knob here...' - No need to be blue, Peter ! Needless to say, I had the first laugh.

[@matthewlawrenson3628]

That probably took ages for Biddy Baxter to negotiate with the unions. They were very touchy about who operated the equipment back then.

[@nicholasm5465]

@@matthewlawrenson3628 "I'm coming down...." clack, clack, clack down the gallery steps

[@Boobypoppop]

😂

[@altebander2767]

There's actually a version of this from some years later which is in colour, but other than that not a lot seems to have changed. However since then, video mixers have gotten a considerably different layout.

[@jamessylviasyracuse-little865]

There’s a 1970’s version and 1980’s I think. It’s fascinating to see the similarities and differences.

[@altebander2767]

@@jamessylviasyracuse-little865 Yeah, here's the 1974 version kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHuWqIyfg799f7M

[@godfreypoon5148]

That was cool as heck. If I had seen that as a kid, I would have had a career in television.

[@himadioah]

So cool. Thank you

[@lasandralucas7314]

Awesome video ❤.

[@zordmaker]

Great collection of technology right there

[@RobSchofield]

Superb!

[@ianstrange5674]

The golden age of Blue Peter.

[@marcse7en]

You mean "grey age!" ... It was Black & White! 🤣

[@petergivenbless900]

That was very well staged and coordinated; now we need a behind-the-scenes making of the behind-the-scenes we just watched... (ad infinitum; cue the beloved "howlaround" effect!) I am curious to know how long the BBC backed up its programmes on kinescope, I guess it's more stable than tape.

[@TinLeadHammer]

Considering how large cameras and, especially, "portable" VTRs were in 1968, maybe they shot the whole segment on film in the first place?

[@walkingtheboogie]

Fascinating. I notice there was an edit towards the end so I assume they cut out the section telling you what was going to be on the next show.

[@tomsouzas]

Muito bom!

[@AndrewDrapper]

It would be great to see this intercut with a modern set up.

[@breakingaustin]

This is amazing.. I would have loved to work in video when everything was manual.. instant control at your fingertips.. much more human.. nowadays, to transition between two pictures, I just set a timer and my PC does it

[@Jack_Warner]

About 20 years ago, I purchased 4 16mm film picture syncs from BBC White City. I used to do a lot of 16mm filming, but they ended up down the tip with my Steenbeck.

[@PlanetImo]

Aw nice! :)

[@davedogge2280]

7:30 that's not 'John', that's Hugh Laurie !

[@Dr.Death8520]

4:46 as interesting as it is to see behind the scenes, is no one gonna comment on that smooth af pun?

[@turboslag]

Funny how they sound so frantic in their delivery!

[@simonc4077]

Fantastic!!! Just needs a pooping elephant

[@stepheng8779]

Glory days 🎉

[@electrosoundaust]

Now those control rooms fit into a box 250 x 100 cm Blackmagic ATEM Mini Pro) and cameras can be tiny.

[@marcse7en]

That's odd, a few years later, BP did the SAME behind the scenes feature, in colour with Lesley Judd taking Valerie Singleton's place, and the scripting was EXACTLY the same, word for word!

[@jamianmateja]

Is there a video of it?

[@mwscuba]

It’s all surprising the same in today modern tv environment

[@Telly_1]

I remember nearly the exact same thing happening in 1974, I wonder why

[@marcse7en]

It's not just me then? ... They did this again word for word!

[@Paul-ni4tp]

@@marcse7en It was just after they reopened TC1 and it looked rather better. Never realised before now how scruffy the floor was back in those days!

[@jourwalis-8875]

But what about the red tally lamp on the camera?

[@davedogge2280]

Valerie Singleton was before my time on Blue Peter but she seems like a very orderly lady.

[@owensmith7530]

Val was got rid of when management found out she's gay.

[@jourwalis-8875]

Was this cut down from 25 minutes to only eight?

[@dean6816]

Where was uncle Jimmys room??

[@joostvhts]

LIGHTHEADED

[@jourwalis-8875]

How big is the studio in square metres?

[@maccanorton]

Peter Purves seemed to be breathing very heavily at the start. Did he have to run up to the control room?

[@tt__ooo__4613]

Probably a frantic half hour rehearsing his lines with Val.

[@Westy1971]

How many times did they do this item, as I've seen a similar archive clip in colour?

[@lordtoffingham8257]

Yes they did it again in 1974 almost word for word

[@johnking5174]

In 1991 when Studio TC1 was reopened after three years of being refurbished and refitted they did another behind the scenes. I remember that one especially, as I was six years old and watched Blue Peter every week.

[@jourwalis-8875]

What an old picture mixer........but of course it was 1968!

[@jourwalis-8875]

Why in black and white? And why from film? I suppose it was color TV in 1968......

[@dannydougin3925]

Where are Valerie Singleton, John Noakes and Peter Purves today?

[@TheSnowdogsShorts]

Valerie is 86. She is listed as still actively being in entertainment. John passed away in 2017. Peter is 84 and lives in Suffolk. He is still active, and his most recent work has been on Doctor Who audio dramas, where has has played his original character from the show. In 2008, Valerie said that she had a brief fling with Peter, when he was between marriages.

[@user-vk5ld5uf8l]

😃

[@Jack_Warner]

Does anyone remember when John Noakes broke a stuio light bulb and he said, "I'll probably get the sack for that"?

[@doctorjohnsmithchloecharlo6711]

Yay I'm early

[@star_man]

That's because you have a TARDIS

[@thecelticdruid7707]

Fancy calling Tony a knob 😅!!.

[@northernanorak]

I have to say I prefer the Swap Shop version behind the scenes in TC7, where Noel is talking to the people who operate the kit rather than leaning over and pressing the buttons and pretending to be an expert kzbin.info/www/bejne/nWi0e2VrZ9GjnJo

[@darkdogstudios]

Ah yes, back in the day when you could understand what they were saying, and kids shows were informative without being patronising.

[@b.p4958]

This was a middle class kid show where the presenters talked down on kids as little children, it was magpie on Thames television for me! Back then!

[@darkdogstudios]

@@b.p4958 hah! Yep! I used to watch Magpie! Blue Peter was for Grammar School kids! 😆

[@bojack40]

@@b.p4958 your sad little class war is pathetic and untrue. I was a working class kid brought up with some educational and life aspirations, so i enjoyed learning instead of gossiping endlessly about pop stars and drivel. BP did not talk down at any time. Even if you watch this clip alone you would know that.

[@therealcaldini]

There’s always one

[@darkdogstudios]

@@therealcaldini always one what?

[@Chaeuraersat]

are they still alive

[@Pedro8k]

I think studios 1 to 3 are in use still but greatly modernised and no longer owned or run by the bbc

[@johnking5174]

Actually they are still owned by the BBC. Their commercial arm BBC Studioworks operates the three studios. Studio TC1 is hired out to many programmes for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 etc. Studios TC2 and TC3 are sublet to ITV daytime programming under a special agreement. TC3 has a permanent standing set for Good Morning Britain and This Morning shows on ITV1. TC2 has moveable sets for Loose Women and Lorraine for ITV1, which means in the evenings during the weekdays and all through the weekend that studio can be hired out to other programming such as Peston for ITV1 on Wednesday nights and Sunday Brunch for Channel 4.

[@milesofsky]

John? Isn't that Hugh Laurie?

[@Jack_Warner]

I was 6 in 1968 and I didn't understand Blue Peter, I thought it was for grown ups.

[@purefoldnz3070]

I wonder if any of them are still alive.

[@YorkshireBusGuy]

Yes Valerie and Peter are still alive.

[@purefoldnz3070]

@@YorkshireBusGuy must be very elderly now.

[@juliansmith1888]

Did this all again in the 1970's.

[@johnking5174]

1974 to be exact, on November 4th before Bonfire Night.

[@troelsbarreth4392]

If this was recorded with television cameras… how did it end up on film?

[@johnking5174]

Blue Peter was aired live and not videotaped. This is why so many Blue Peter editions of their first 11 years on air are not in the archive. When BBC 1 went colour, more editions were kept in the archive, but it wasn't until the 80s before every edition was kept in the BBC archives. Special editions like this one, which showed TV Centre studios were kept as they were considered special. They were filmed on 35mm film and kept in the archive.

[@marcse7en]

Telerecording; a film camera pointed at a video monitor screen.

[@HowardLeVert]

@@marcse7en One of the last programmes to be recorded on film, in fact.

[@wolfman6941]

Where's Shep and Petra?

[@julianaylor4351]

Elsewhere dogs would have been too disruptive for this sequence, at the end of the show.

[@harddriven1344]

It was Petra and Patch at that time. Shep appeared after Patch died in the early 70's.

[@garryleeks4848]

Studio 1 is enormous 🙄🙄

[@fidelcatsro6948]

wow if only they had LED lighting back then so much energy can be saved! 🐱👍🏿

[@goodiesguy]

Great video, despite Val's awful hairdo!

[@TinLeadHammer]

It is a matter of taste, I don't mind it. At least back then they had hairdos.

[@dean6816]

And in 2024 people can make better content on their mobile phone!!!

[@stevegordon5689]

00:34 The make up "GIRLS" she cant say that in 2023 that would be a disciplinary!

[@QPRTokyo]

Before the BBC went woke.

[@Red-Revolution708]

The BBC IS NOT WORTH THE LICENCE FEE !

[@andydixon2980]

Not anymore, sadly.

[@Red-Revolution708]

@@andydixon2980 I have agree, if your not Middle - Class they do not want to know. The BBC have clearly been out of touch since the 1970’s sadly, if your working class your just a cash cow to get exploited by the Rich.

[@TinLeadHammer]

@@Red-Revolution708 The BBC made a lot of quality content in the late 1990s - early 2000s, these are the only docos and docufiction I watched for a while.

[@londonlady227]

Not after Savile and that fiasco.

[@Lichtviech]

Did anyone recognize the cat?