ATV Elstree was considered the finest TV production house in the world MARK FOY vists a new exhibition telling the story of the studios and its staff

The star-studded story of a Borehamwood television studio, once regarded as the best TV production house in the world, is being told for the first time at an exhibition this month.

For two decades, the 1960s and 1970s, a selection of the most popular programmes seen on British and American television were filmed at ATV Studios, in Clarendon Road.

Household names ranging from The Beatles to Bing Crosby, and The Muppets to Morecambe and Wise, appeared in front of rolling cameras at the renowned studio.

However, in 1983 the ATV site closed under a cloud of controversy, despite the endeavours of campaigners backed by 20,000 people, including many actors and actresses.

On Sunday Borehamwood and Elstree's Film and Television Heritage Project group launched The ATV Exhibition, a display which will run for four weeks at the town's museum.

Sheila White, the project's co-ordinator, said: "The studio was one of the only ones, in the history of the film industry, to close down at the height of its success.

"Television companies in America used to come over to ATV to make their shows because the studio was considered to be the best production venue."

ATV, a leading company in the early days of television, opened its Borehamwood studios in 1960, on a site which had been used for film production since 1914.

In 1961 the studios hosted its first joint British-American production, The Jo Stafford Show, and a year later the comedian Tony Hancock filmed a successful series there.

During the 1960s the studio was home to music shows hosted by Tony Bennet and Tom Jones, as well as several popular dramas, including Emergency Ward 10.

As a reward for its achievements, ATV received its third Queen's Award For Industry in 1972, which was accepted by the firm's owner, Lew Grade, at the Borehamwood studio.

The following year, a Marty Feldman comedy won the first of two Golden Rose of Montreux awards for the ATV studio, with the second going to The Muppet Show in 1977.

The Jim Henson Company, which made The Muppets, presented its Sesame Street characters on television for the first time in a show filmed at the site, The Julie Andrews Hour.

A memorable moment in the studio's history came in 1977 when Bing Crosby made his last-ever performance, singing with David Bowie in his Merrie Olde Christmas show.

Three years later the studio's 530 employees were shocked to hear that ATV had been told by the Independent Broadcasting Authority to open a new base in the Midlands.

They launched a campaign, supported by local MP and Minister for Trade Cecil Parkinson, and staged a rally outside 10 Downing Street, but the closure could not be stopped.

The Film and Television Heritage Project's exhibition includes a large collection of photographs, and a selection of props, relating to the many shows made at the studio.

The exhibition will be open from 11am to 3pm every day, except Mondays, until Saturday, December 1. The Community History Museum can be found at 1 Drayton Road, Borehamwood.

November 9, 2001 17:11