BBC London
Encyclopedia
BBC London is the BBC English Region
producing local radio, television, teletext and online services in London
and parts of the surrounding area. Its output includes the daily BBC London News
and the weekly Politics Show on television, the BBC London 94.9
radio station and local coverage of the London area on BBC Online and Ceefax
. The region's headquarters are situated in the new Egton Wing complex of Broadcasting House
.
which broadcasts daily on BBC One
, appearing with short bulletins during BBC Breakfast
, after the BBC News at One and after the BBC News at Ten. The flagship programme is broadcast between 18:30 and 18:55 each weekday evening, following the end of the BBC News at Six and has been presented by Riz Lateef
since she succeeded Emily Maitlis
who left to join BBC News and Newsnight
in March 2006. Comparisons are inevitably made to the commercial TV regional competition, in this case ITV1
's London Tonight
, which is produced for ITV
by ITN. The programme can be viewed in any part of the UK (and Europe) on digital satellite channel 974 on the BBC UK regional TV on satellite
service.
BBC London also produces current affairs, features and sports programming for the region including the topical magazine series Inside Out, a 20-minute opt-out during the weekly Politics Show
and a football magazine show Late Kick Off
, co-produced with BBC South East
.
, DAB
, Virgin Media
Channel 930, Sky Channel 0152 (in London area only) and also online. The station was previously known as BBC London Live, GLR (Greater London Radio) and Radio London.
The current Breakfast show presenters are Gaby Roslin
and Paul Ross
and the mid morning phone-in show is presented by Vanessa Feltz
. The Breakfast and Drivetime shows feature a wealth of local London news and comment with roving reporters out and about. Other programmes such as Danny Baker
or Robert Elms
include varied speech and music with local news bulletins every half hour.
News bulletins on BBC London 94.9 at the top of the hour are traditionally longer than other BBC radio services at 5 minutes to fit in international, national and local stories with local sport and weather. In addition to the News service, a dedicated travel news service is operated by BBC London on TV, Radio and Online using information supplied by Trafficlinks Regis service, Transport for London
, National Rail
and the Highways Agency
. The travel news on BBC London 94.9 FM is updated at 31 and 58 minutes past each hour during off peak times, and every 15 minutes, starting at the top of the hour, during evening and morning peaks.
It's one of the few radio stations to have access to TfL cameras. The travel news online is updated from an independent travel information supplier. This data is fed from their main system onto BBC London's website, via the BBC Travel News portal. The online section also has features on various aspects of travel in London.
Sport is a very major part of the radio schedule, with a 3-hour sports based programme each weeknight evening and 4-hour sport specials on Saturdays and Sundays. This is considerably more than most other BBC local radio stations and reflects London's large number of sporting teams and events.
London News launched on 1 October 2001 following changes to the coverage areas of BBC transmitters allowing for the establishment of new editorial areas. The main result was a reorganisation of the BBC's South East
region; the London area was to break away entirely, while a new programme, South East Today
was to be created for the new South East region. BBC London, as it came to be called, replaced the long-running Newsroom South East
.
Greater London
and its environs have had a regional BBC television news service for many decades, but the boundaries of the region have always been somewhat nebulous due to the coverage areas of the transmitters used, as television signals do not tend to stick neatly to administrative or historical boundaries. Therefore, while the main focus of "regional" news coverage for this area has always been on the capital itself, it has for much of the BBC's life had to offer coverage of other parts of the Home Counties
as well.
There were many incarnations of regional news programmes in this area before the current programme was introduced in 2001. These included the London
segment of the Nationwide
from Lime Grove Studios
; in this case, the regional presenters for London
were also usually the main presenters of the national sequence of the programme which followed. Other identities for the London
area coverage were London Plus
, and finally Newsroom South East.
Originally, the BBC London and the South East
region took in the whole of Greater London
, together with parts of Essex
, Hertfordshire
, Kent
, Surrey
, Hampshire
, Buckinghamshire
, Berkshire
, Sussex
, Bedfordshire
, and Oxfordshire
. This meant that sizeable communities which probably deserved dedicated programming of their own - such as Oxford
, Luton
, Crawley
and the Medway
towns - were often ill-served by a London
-biased programme.
The area created for the BBC London programme to broadcast to now covers a much more tightly-defined area, chiefly Greater London
but still including parts of Bedfordshire
, Essex
, and Hertfordshire
in the East of England
region and parts of Berkshire
, Buckinghamshire
, Kent
, parts of South Oxfordshire
, Surrey
and Sussex
in the South East England
region. There is also some overlap with the editorial areas of other BBC regions in this part of England.
Most of the south midlands, including Oxfordshire
(excluding Henley-on-Thames
), most of Buckinghamshire
, north Berkshire
, north east Wiltshire
, south east Gloucestershire
and south west Northamptonshire
, now take an opt-out of South Today
while most of Kent and East Sussex
is now covered by the new BBC South East region based in Tunbridge Wells
, which produces South East Today.
The previous new services for the area, in the old BBC South East
region, were variously based in Shepherds Bush, White City
and Elstree
in Hertfordshire
. Following the launch of BBC London, the region moved into facilities in Marylebone High Street
, where the news service was based alongside BBC London News and the BBC's Governance Unit.
The arrangement was only a temporary one, as at the time the BBC was trying to consolidate its London portfolio into a few properties. This included, most notably, the planned closure of BBC Television Centre
and the extension and renovation of Broadcasting House
, stage one of which would construct a huge wing, mirroring Broadcasting House in shape, size and structure. Egton Wing, as it is now known, is now the home of a number of BBC services including BBC London, who moved there in 2009 following the structure's completion and fitting.
BBC English Regions
BBC English Regions is the division of the BBC responsible for local television, radio, web and teletext services in England. It is one of the BBC's four 'Nations' - the others being BBC Scotland, BBC Wales and BBC Northern Ireland....
producing local radio, television, teletext and online services in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and parts of the surrounding area. Its output includes the daily BBC London News
BBC London News
For other uses of the BBC London brand, see BBC London .BBC London News is the BBC's regional television news programme for the English region encompassing London and surrounding suburbs...
and the weekly Politics Show on television, the BBC London 94.9
BBC London 94.9
BBC London 94.9 is London's BBC Local Radio station, and part of BBC London. Broadcasting across Greater London and beyond on 94.9 FM, DAB, Virgin Media Channel 930, Sky Channel 0152 and also online...
radio station and local coverage of the London area on BBC Online and Ceefax
Ceefax
Ceefax is the BBC's teletext information service transmitted via the analogue signal, started in 1974 and will run until April 2012 for Pages from Ceefax, while the actual interactive service will run until 24 October 2012, in-line with the digital switchover.-History:During the late 60s, engineer...
. The region's headquarters are situated in the new Egton Wing complex of Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House is the headquarters and registered office of the BBC in Portland Place and Langham Place, London.The building includes the BBC Radio Theatre from where music and speech programmes are recorded in front of a studio audience...
.
Television
The staple of the local television service is BBC London NewsBBC London News
For other uses of the BBC London brand, see BBC London .BBC London News is the BBC's regional television news programme for the English region encompassing London and surrounding suburbs...
which broadcasts daily on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, appearing with short bulletins during BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast is the morning television news programme simulcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. It is presented live from BBC Television Centre in White City, West London, and contains a mixture of news, sport, weather, business and feature items...
, after the BBC News at One and after the BBC News at Ten. The flagship programme is broadcast between 18:30 and 18:55 each weekday evening, following the end of the BBC News at Six and has been presented by Riz Lateef
Riz Lateef
Rizwana Lateef is a newsreader and main presenter of the BBC's regional television news service for London, BBC London.-Early life:After secondary school, Riz undertook a journalism course at the Polytechnic of Central London and then attended the Cranfield School of Management, in Bedfordshire,...
since she succeeded Emily Maitlis
Emily Maitlis
Emily Maitlis is a Canadian-born British journalist and newsreader, currently employed by the BBC.-Career:Raised in Sheffield, she was educated at the local King Edward VII School...
who left to join BBC News and Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
in March 2006. Comparisons are inevitably made to the commercial TV regional competition, in this case ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
's London Tonight
London Tonight
London Tonight is a regional news programme broadcast on ITV London . Produced by ITN, the programme is broadcast at 6pm every weeknight, also including local sports news and local features of interest.Like all regional news programmes on ITV in England and Wales and Channel Television, it uses...
, which is produced for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
by ITN. The programme can be viewed in any part of the UK (and Europe) on digital satellite channel 974 on the BBC UK regional TV on satellite
BBC UK regional TV on satellite
The BBC broadcasts all of the BBC One and BBC Two regional variations on digital satellite television from the SES Astra satellites at 28.2° east; providing local news programmes and other regional programming with local continuity and presentation for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales...
service.
BBC London also produces current affairs, features and sports programming for the region including the topical magazine series Inside Out, a 20-minute opt-out during the weekly Politics Show
The Politics Show
The Politics Show is an hour long BBC One television political programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sundays. The programme usually starts at midday, but is often earlier or later when sporting events clash in the schedules. It was launched in 2003 and was originally presented by Jeremy...
and a football magazine show Late Kick Off
Late Kick Off
Late Kick Off was a BBC One regional television football programme which was launched on 18 January 2010 and ran up to and including the 2010-2011 football season...
, co-produced with BBC South East
BBC South East
BBC South East is the BBC English Region serving East Sussex, Kent, and parts of Surrey and West Sussex.The BBC region was created in September 2001 by the joining of the Heathfield transmitter , with the Bluebell Hill and Dover transmitters to form a new regional TV service...
.
Radio
BBC London 94.9 combines speech and music based programmes 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Broadcasting across London on 94.9 FMFM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
, DAB
Digital audio broadcasting
Digital Audio Broadcasting is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format....
, Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
Channel 930, Sky Channel 0152 (in London area only) and also online. The station was previously known as BBC London Live, GLR (Greater London Radio) and Radio London.
The current Breakfast show presenters are Gaby Roslin
Gaby Roslin
Gaby Roslin is an English television presenter and actress. She rose to fame while co-presenting The Big Breakfast on Channel 4 between 1992 and 1996, and also presented the BBC's Children in Need charity appeal from 1994 to 2004....
and Paul Ross
Paul Ross
Paul Ross is an English television and radio presenter, journalist, and media personality. He is the son of Martha Ross and the elder brother of Jonathan Ross.-Early life:...
and the mid morning phone-in show is presented by Vanessa Feltz
Vanessa Feltz
Vanessa Jane Feltz is an English television personality, broadcaster and journalist. She currently presents an early morning radio show on BBC Radio 2, a mid morning phone-in show on BBC London 94.9. In 2011, she started hosting The Vanessa Show on Channel 5. The first series ended on June 24th...
. The Breakfast and Drivetime shows feature a wealth of local London news and comment with roving reporters out and about. Other programmes such as Danny Baker
Danny Baker
Danny Baker is an English comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter. Since the late 1970s, he has worked for a wide range of publications and broadcasters including NME, LWT, the BBC, and Talk Radio....
or Robert Elms
Robert Elms
Robert Elms is an English writer and broadcaster. Elms was a writer for The Face magazine in the 1980s, and has a self-confessed love of clothes and fashion...
include varied speech and music with local news bulletins every half hour.
News bulletins on BBC London 94.9 at the top of the hour are traditionally longer than other BBC radio services at 5 minutes to fit in international, national and local stories with local sport and weather. In addition to the News service, a dedicated travel news service is operated by BBC London on TV, Radio and Online using information supplied by Trafficlinks Regis service, Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
, National Rail
National Rail
National Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...
and the Highways Agency
Highways Agency
The Highways Agency is an executive agency, part of the Department for Transport in England. It has responsibility for managing the core road network in England...
. The travel news on BBC London 94.9 FM is updated at 31 and 58 minutes past each hour during off peak times, and every 15 minutes, starting at the top of the hour, during evening and morning peaks.
It's one of the few radio stations to have access to TfL cameras. The travel news online is updated from an independent travel information supplier. This data is fed from their main system onto BBC London's website, via the BBC Travel News portal. The online section also has features on various aspects of travel in London.
Sport is a very major part of the radio schedule, with a 3-hour sports based programme each weeknight evening and 4-hour sport specials on Saturdays and Sundays. This is considerably more than most other BBC local radio stations and reflects London's large number of sporting teams and events.
History
BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
London News launched on 1 October 2001 following changes to the coverage areas of BBC transmitters allowing for the establishment of new editorial areas. The main result was a reorganisation of the BBC's South East
BBC South East
BBC South East is the BBC English Region serving East Sussex, Kent, and parts of Surrey and West Sussex.The BBC region was created in September 2001 by the joining of the Heathfield transmitter , with the Bluebell Hill and Dover transmitters to form a new regional TV service...
region; the London area was to break away entirely, while a new programme, South East Today
South East Today
BBC South East Today is the BBC South East regional television news programme, serving Kent, East Sussex and the eastern fringes of Surrey. Prior to its launch on 3 September 2001, most of the viewers in the region received Newsroom South East, though some had been receiving South Today.South East...
was to be created for the new South East region. BBC London, as it came to be called, replaced the long-running Newsroom South East
Newsroom South East
Newsroom South East was the name of the BBC's regional news programme for southeastern England. It was launched in March 1989 as the successor to London Plus, the South East's previous news programme...
.
Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
and its environs have had a regional BBC television news service for many decades, but the boundaries of the region have always been somewhat nebulous due to the coverage areas of the transmitters used, as television signals do not tend to stick neatly to administrative or historical boundaries. Therefore, while the main focus of "regional" news coverage for this area has always been on the capital itself, it has for much of the BBC's life had to offer coverage of other parts of the Home Counties
Home Counties
The home counties is a term which refers to the counties of South East England and the East of England which border London, but do not include the capital city itself...
as well.
There were many incarnations of regional news programmes in this area before the current programme was introduced in 2001. These included the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
segment of the Nationwide
Nationwide (TV series)
Nationwide was a BBC News and Current affairs television programme broadcast on BBC One each weekday following the early evening news. It followed a magazine format, combining political analysis and discussion with consumer affairs, light entertainment and sports reporting...
from Lime Grove Studios
Lime Grove Studios
Lime Grove Studios was a film studio complex built by the Gaumont Film Company in 1915 situated in a street named Lime Grove, inShepherd's Bush, west London, north of Hammersmith and described by Gaumont as "the finest studio in Great Britain and the first building ever put up in this country...
; in this case, the regional presenters for London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
were also usually the main presenters of the national sequence of the programme which followed. Other identities for the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
area coverage were London Plus
London Plus
London Plus was the name of the BBC's regional news programme for southeastern England. Launched in 1984, the programme represented the BBC's attempt to boost regional news service for the South East...
, and finally Newsroom South East.
Originally, the BBC London and the South East
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
region took in the whole of Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
, together with parts of Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, and Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
. This meant that sizeable communities which probably deserved dedicated programming of their own - such as Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
, Crawley
Crawley
Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
and the Medway
Medway
Medway is a conurbation and unitary authority in South East England. The Unitary Authority was formed in 1998 when the City of Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with Gillingham Borough Council and part of Kent County Council to form Medway Council, a unitary authority independent of Kent County...
towns - were often ill-served by a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-biased programme.
The area created for the BBC London programme to broadcast to now covers a much more tightly-defined area, chiefly Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
but still including parts of Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, and Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
in the East of England
East of England
The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. It was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Essex has the highest population in the region.Its...
region and parts of Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, parts of South Oxfordshire
South Oxfordshire
South Oxfordshire is a local government district in Oxfordshire, England. Its council is based in Crowmarsh Gifford, just outside Wallingford....
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
and Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
in the South East England
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
region. There is also some overlap with the editorial areas of other BBC regions in this part of England.
Most of the south midlands, including Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
(excluding Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead...
), most of Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, north Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, north east Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, south east Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
and south west Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, now take an opt-out of South Today
South Today
South Today is the BBC's regional television news programme for East Dorset, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Berkshire, West Sussex and the western fringes of Surrey...
while most of Kent and East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
is now covered by the new BBC South East region based in Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in west Kent, England, about south-east of central London by road, by rail. The town is close to the border of the county of East Sussex...
, which produces South East Today.
Studios
BBC South East
BBC South East is the BBC English Region serving East Sussex, Kent, and parts of Surrey and West Sussex.The BBC region was created in September 2001 by the joining of the Heathfield transmitter , with the Bluebell Hill and Dover transmitters to form a new regional TV service...
region, were variously based in Shepherds Bush, White City
White City, London
White City is a district in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, to the north of Shepherd's Bush. Today, White City is home to the BBC Television Centre and BBC White City, and Loftus Road stadium, the home of football club Queens Park Rangers FC....
and Elstree
Elstree
Elstree is a village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire on the A5 road, about 10 miles north of London. In 2001, its population was 4,765, and forms part of the civil parish of Elstree and Borehamwood, originally known simply as Elstree....
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. Following the launch of BBC London, the region moved into facilities in Marylebone High Street
Marylebone High Street
Marylebone High Street is a shopping street in London, running sub-parallel to Baker Street and terminating at its northern end at the junction with the Marylebone Road...
, where the news service was based alongside BBC London News and the BBC's Governance Unit.
The arrangement was only a temporary one, as at the time the BBC was trying to consolidate its London portfolio into a few properties. This included, most notably, the planned closure of BBC Television Centre
BBC Television Centre
BBC Television Centre at White City in West London is the headquarters of BBC Television. Officially opened on 29 June 1960, it remains one of the largest to this day; having featured over the years as backdrop to many BBC programmes, it is one of the most readily recognisable such facilities...
and the extension and renovation of Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House is the headquarters and registered office of the BBC in Portland Place and Langham Place, London.The building includes the BBC Radio Theatre from where music and speech programmes are recorded in front of a studio audience...
, stage one of which would construct a huge wing, mirroring Broadcasting House in shape, size and structure. Egton Wing, as it is now known, is now the home of a number of BBC services including BBC London, who moved there in 2009 following the structure's completion and fitting.
See also
bbc london will be having cutbacks- BBC English RegionsBBC English RegionsBBC English Regions is the division of the BBC responsible for local television, radio, web and teletext services in England. It is one of the BBC's four 'Nations' - the others being BBC Scotland, BBC Wales and BBC Northern Ireland....
- London TonightLondon TonightLondon Tonight is a regional news programme broadcast on ITV London . Produced by ITN, the programme is broadcast at 6pm every weeknight, also including local sports news and local features of interest.Like all regional news programmes on ITV in England and Wales and Channel Television, it uses...