The Maidstone Studios, formerly called TVS Television Centre is a television studio complex with radio studio facilities based at Vinters Park in Maidstone, Kent UK. It is home to a varied selection of independent British television programming including quiz shows such as Catchphrase and popular children's shows such as CITV's Art Attack. From 2011 the Maidstone Studios will now be the home of Popular ITV dating show Take Me Out
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History [link]
ITV [link]
The site was first chosen by the then incumbent South of England ITV company Southern Television in 1979, and purchased the following year, for a proposed new studio facility should they win the Independent Broadcasting Authority contract for the South and South-east of England in 1981. However, following the loss of their franchise, they sold the site to the successful applicant Television South (TVS) at a premium. In fact it was part of the agreement between TVS and the IBA that TVS must provide a studio facility for the South East region if TVS were to win the contract (although Maidstone was not specified by the IBA). The complex first opened in late 1982 and provided significant output for the company alongside long-standing facilities in Southampton (which they also purchased from Southern).
The site was used frequently for production, as a regional office and as a newsgathering hub, with the South East edition of Coast to Coast being based here from the completion of the studio complex, having previously been located in Dover.
Independent Ownership [link]
When TVS lost their ITV franchise to present licensee Meridian, the Southampton studios were sold to the new company but the Maidstone facility was retained, with a view to TVS becoming an independent production company. However TVS, including the Maidstone Studios, were quickly bought by International Family Entertainment Inc. and the studios were used as an independent production facility. Meridian continued to use a space in the building as a news gathering centre and initially to produce the south east Meridian Tonight, until this was moved to their new base at Whiteley in 2004. The studios were bought in 2001 by a local consortium of businesspeople who refurbished and relaunched the centre as 'The Maidstone Studios'. Until recently (2007) Radio Caroline broadcast from the complex.
Studio Facilities [link]
- Studio 1 - 2,000 square feet - small/medium size sets
- Studio 2 - 6,000 square feet - medium/large size sets
- Studio 3 - 500 square feet - small sets/presenting
- Studio 4 - 250 square feet - interviewing/blue screen/continuity
- Studio 5 - 12,000 square feet - large/huge sets
Studios 2 and 5 have room for seating, 200 and 2,400 respectively as well as room for sets. Studios 2 and 3 have large production galleries. Studios 1 and 2 can switch output from 16:9 to 4:3.
Studio 5 is a fully HD, with laser smoothed studio floor, large HD production gallery and equipment. Studio 5 also includes large scene dock doors to allow easy access for people, scenery and vehicles. It is the third largest television studio in the UK, only The Fountain Studios' Studio A&B and MediaCityUK's Studio 1 having a larger area.
Maidstone also had 10 edit suites, 4 dubbing suites, dressing and green rooms, production and wardrobe departments, scenery departments and transmission and playback facilities
Productions [link]
- Art Attack - TVS - later Media Merchants for Scottish Television and for ITV
- Prove It! - SMG Productions/GeronimoTV for CITV
- Finders Keepers - TVS later Scottish Television for ITV
- What's Up Doc? - TVS later Scottish Television for ITV
- It's A Mystery - Media Merchants for Meridian and ITV
- WOW! - Media Merchants for Meridian and ITV
- The Basil Brush Show - The Foundation for BBC
- Ministry of Mayhem - ITV Productions/The Foundation for ITV
- The Mint - ITV Play, April 2006
- Cape Wrath - Channel 4, September 2006
- Dale's Supermarket Sweep - TalkbackTHAMES for ITV, 2007
- Duel - for ITV
- Big Weekend After Show Party - BBC Radio 1, Saturday 10 May 2008 10pm till 6am, 2,500 people danced to sets from top DJs including Danny Rampling and Pete Tong
- Gesstimation - Initial for BBC
- 1 vs. 100 - Endemol for BBC
- Don't Stop Believing - Shine TV/GroupM for Channel 5
- Got to Dance - Sky1
- The Door - for ITV1
Other Uses [link]
- Until recently (2007) Radio Caroline broadcast from the complex.
- In 2010 Maidstone Studios will be used for an anti-speeding TV advert, it will air on ITV between January 15 and mid-February [1].
- Recently old office space in Maidstone Studios has been converted into a fully functioning data centre offering rack space to small businesses. "Custodian Data Centre" also won the "Green" data centre award 2009 which was an Europe-wide award.
External links [link]
- The Maidstone Studios Website
- TV Ark's TVS Continuity Page (Contains promotion footage for Vinters Park's opening in 1982)
Coordinates: 51°16′46″N 0°32′55″E / 51.279384°N 0.548668°E
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Maidstone
Coordinates: 51°16′19″N 0°31′44″E / 51.272°N 0.529°E
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, 32 miles (51 km) south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it with Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade as the centre of the agricultural county of Kent, known as the Garden of England. There is evidence of a settlement in the area dating back to beyond the Stone Age.
The town is in the borough of Maidstone. In 2011, the town had a population of 113,137, about 73 per cent of the population of the borough.
Maidstone's economy has changed over the years from being involved in heavy industry, to more light industry and service industries.
Toponymy
Saxon charters (c975) show the first recorded instances of the town's name, de maeides stana and maegdan stane, possibly meaning stone of the maidens or stone of the people. The latter meaning may refer to the nearby megalith around which gatherings took place. The name evolved through medestan/meddestane in the Domesday Book with possible variation Mayndenstan, in 1396. The modern name appeared by 1610. It has been suggested that the name derives from stones set into the river to allow clothes to be rinsed in the cleaner water away from the banks.
Maidstone (disambiguation)
Maidstone may refer to:
Places
Other
See also
Maidstone (UK Parliament constituency)
Maidstone was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The parliamentary borough of Maidstone returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) from 1552 until 1885, when its representation was reduced to one member. The borough was abolished in 1918 and replaced with a county division of the same name, which was abolished for the 1997 general election, and partially replaced by the new Maidstone and The Weald constituency.
History
Before the 19th century
Maidstone was first enfranchised as a parliamentary borough, electing two Members of Parliament, in 1552; at the time it was one of the largest English towns not already represented, and was one of a number of boroughs either enfranchised or re-enfranchised during the reign of Edward VI. However, barely had it won the right than its charter was cancelled after the accession of Mary I as a punishment for the town's part in Wyatt's Rebellion. This was the only recorded instance of a borough's right to return MPs being directly revoked until Grampound was disfranchised for corruption in the 1820s (although there were other cases of temporary suspension or of the right lapsing through disuse in medieval times, when representation was less valued).
