BBC Television Centre BBC Television Centre was a television production facility in Shepherd ' s Bush in the London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham . It was located within walking distance of the former site of Lime Grove Studios and close to Riverside Studios . It is one of the oldest buildings in the world specially built for television production , officially opened on 29 June 1960 . It closed as a BBC facility on 31 March 2013 , more than 50 years after its opening . Although most intimately connected to the colour era of the original series of " Doctor Who " , it has been used to record at least parts of stories of each of the first nine Doctors , except the Eighth , and has been the subject of an episode of " Doctor Who Confidential " directed and hosted by David Tennant . Site history . Building commenced on Television Centre almost at the dawn of the television age in Britain . Groundbreaking was in 1951 , and the building was officially opened in 1960 . At the time it was possessed of a highly innovative design that allowed all its studios to be essentially interchangeable . Even the exterior was remarkable , as it deliberately formed the shape of a question mark . The first " Doctor Who " episodes to be recorded in Television Centre ' s studio space were " The Warriors of Death " and " The Bride of Sacrifice " , the second and third episodes of the First Doctor serial " The Aztecs " , which were shot in Studio TC3 in May 1964 . After principally taping at Lime Grove and Riverside in the show ' s early years , Television Centre became the new primary home of " Doctor Who " s studio recording beginning with the second episode of the Second Doctor serial " The Space Pirates " , shot in February 1969 , although episode 2 was unusually shot on 35mm film , rather than on videotape , which was how the remaining episodes of the serial were recorded that March . The final " Doctor Who " story to contain major studio recording at Television Centre was the Seventh Doctor serial " Ghost Light " , taped in Studio TC3 in July and August 1989 . Numerous upgrades to the site allowed it to maintain its utility as a producer of drama into the 1990s . However , as the whole basis of the design had assumed multi - camera , video recording , TV Centre suddenly became useless when most dramas switched to single camera set - ups . The BBC Wales version of " Doctor Who " , for instance , simply could not be filmed at Television Centre due to this inherent design element . In the mid - 1990s , it switched its focus from drama to news and other forms of non - fictional entertainment that still use multiple cameras . Subsequent to the original run of " Doctor Who " , studio filming of the 1996 " Doctor Who " movie took place on a sound stage in Burnaby , British Columbia in January and February 1996 , while the Unit Q2 warehouse in Newport became the 2005 series ' studio space from August 2004 when production resumed in the United Kingdom after a fifteen - year hiatus . Although Television Centre was never used as a primary filming location for BBC Wales " Doctor Who " , in October 2004 , Studio TC4 was used to film an insert of a fake episode of " Blue Peter " on Television Centre ' s " Blue Peter " set specifically for the purposes of the 2005 Ninth Doctor episode " Aliens of London " . ( TCH 49 ) A 2007 assessment determined that , even with the change of emphasis , the facilities were still under - used . As a result , a decision was taken to sell off the property in an effort to make better use of the BBC ' s assets . On 16 July 2012 , it was announced that Centre was sold to Stanhope plc for around 200 million pounds . The building was closed as a BBC - owned facility on 31 March 2013 . As a , it was not demolished thereafter , but instead extensively refurbished by its new owners . Space was then rented to several parties , including various BBC " commercial " entities , like BBC Worldwide and BBC Post Production . But the non - profit " BBC proper " , which had owned the facility , moved to . A highly publicised grand opening , which included a brief meeting between HM Elizabeth II and Jenna Coleman , formally launched the new age of BBC television production . Alternate name . Television Centre is sometimes referred to as " Shepherd ' s Bush " by BBC employees , perhaps because it is the usual penchant for studios to have simple geographic names , like " Ealing " , " Lime Grove " , or " Teddington " . This would have been especially appropriate during the period Television Centre was being most heavily used by " Doctor Who " , as it was merely the centre of a whole cluster of buildings in Shepherd ' s Bush that the BBC used in various capacities to produce their content . As documentary subject . Television Centre was the subject of David Tennant ' s documentary , " Do You Remember the First Time ? " , aired as episode 10 of the third series of " Doctor Who Confidential " . Extensive historical and modern footage of the building was featured , including a cursory examination of which episodes of classic " Doctor Who " were filmed in which specific studios . For most of the " walkabout " tour of the complex , Tennant was accompanied by writer and future " Doctor Who " showrunner , Steven Moffat . It also serves as the backdrop to some of Jon Pertwee ' s narration of " The Pertwee Years " , a direct - to - video retrospective on his era in " Doctor Who " . In the DWU . Television Centre was bombed - knocking the BBC off the air — during the Internal Counter - Intelligence Service ' s attempted coup in " The Longest Night " . Television Centre is the location of an Eighth Doctor comic , " TV Action ! " , in which the Eighth Doctor and Izzy Sinclair chase Beep the Meep into an alternate universe . There , they land on 12 October 1979 just outside what is presumably the " real " Television Centre . A mad chase through various studios ensues , but Beep has mistaken Tom Baker for the real Fourth Doctor . Beep wishes to extract revenge against Baker for the events of the Fourth Doctor strip , " Doctor Who and the Star Beast " , but in the end , the actor ' s tendency to ramble subdues the alien long enough to allow Izzy to overload Beep ' s Black Star drive , ending the adventure . Much of Television Centre is reasonably accurately portrayed , with the main entrance , central fountain , " Blue Peter " garden , and circular studio space being recognisably captured by artist Roger Langridge .