The famous Quay Street studios during the good old days. The Granada TV sign and the tower were removed during 2010 ‘for health and safety reasons.’ Of course. image thanks to Wikipedia
The first purpose-built television studios to open in the UK were Granada’s in Manchester. The BBC would have got there before with TV Centre but due to finance problems, construction was put on hold for a few years during the Centre’s development. Granada started broadcasting from its new studios in Quay Street on 3rd May 1956. The company was awarded the franchise eighteen months before going on air and were determined to design a centre that fully met their needs. The two-storey building seen in the foreground above was the first to be built, along with studios 2 and 4. Ralph Tubbs was the architect – he would also go on to design the distinctive Granada House a few years later.
Sidney Bernstein, the owner of the company, decided to name the studios in even numbers only so it would appear that he had twice as many. Apparently, the rehearsal rooms in the main office block were also named ‘studios’ and given odd numbers. Which is odd.
Bernstein was one of the great media executives who, along with rivals like ATV’s Lew Grade and Val Parnell had control of much of independent television in the ’50s and ’60s. He and his brother Cecil owned a circuit of some 60 theatres specialising in variety entertainment and converted most of them into Granada Cinemas. (It is said that Cecil came up with the name ‘Granada’ when on holiday in Spain and experiencing a beautiful sunrise in that region which moved him deeply.) In 1954 Sidney won the franchise to provide television to the north of England and set about designing the best purpose-built TV studios in the country.
He was not without his foibles however and ensured that the new HQ building on the corner of Quay St and Atherton Street had a penthouse flat, with private lift access. I have been told that he was remote and lived the life of luxury up there with his own chef and servants but this appears not to be the case. Esther Dean, who worked with him, remembers differently:
“Bernstein always used to walk round the building in a white shirt with rolled up sleeves. So all the managers used to walk round the building with white shirts and rolled up sleeves. He always used to eat in the canteen. Most places had a posh place for the posh people to eat but at Granada there was always just the one canteen, which was eventually closed. When he was there he would always eat in there.” She also recalls that he just had one housekeeper and used the Granada wardrobe department to mend his shirts, rather than buying new ones. (Thanks to granadaland.org for this recollection.)
In fact, it seems that although the staff were in fear of him as he would suddenly appear anywhere in the building checking up on what was going on, they had enormous respect and admiration for him.
I don’t know about you but I do love an old map. And this old map is really interesting if you happen to be familiar with Granada Studios – and maybe even if you don’t. That’s the River Irwell on the left and just above the middle you’ll see the Manchester and Salford Junction Canal flowing into it. At the right hand end, just above Grape Street, is where studio 12 is now situated – and the canal is still there beneath it in a tunnel! The small canal branch going northward was filled in and the studio block was built there and into the timber yard between Quay St and Grape St with the main Granada House office building fronting Atherton St. Note the significant railway sidings at the bottom of the map. They were all elevated on a complex system of viaducts and bridges. The northernmost sidings pass by ‘Charles St Warehouse.’ This was later called the ‘Bonded Warehouse’ and still exists. To its right is a goods yard – this is where the Coronation St set was built in 1982 with Stage 1 between it and Lower Byrom St. Stage 2 was built on the old track bed to the south of it – both stages still exist. The Byrom St Warehouse is now part of the Science and Industry Museum. One last thing to note – Between Water St and the river, next to Princes Bridge, is the New Botany Warehouse. This was taken over by Granada and turned into shooting stages and props/wardrobe storage for groundbreaking drama series The Jewel in the Crown. Sadly, it burned down in January 1983. image thanks to obiproperty.co.ukThis terrific aerial view of the Granada site is gratefully copied from the excellent website coronationstreet.fandom.com. I can recommend visiting the site if you are interested in the history of Coronation St. Incidentally, this photo is at 90 degrees relative to the old map above, if that helps to get your bearings. The river is just out of shot at the bottom of frame.
It very clearly shows the layout of the various studios – as well as the original Grape St and later 1982 back lot sets for Corrie. John Tomlinson has kindly written to me to point out that the site of studio 4 was the small rectangular grey roof to the left of the light grey roof below studios 6 and 8. It no longer exists.
Studios 2 and 4 opened in 1956.
From 9th December 1960, Coronation St was made in Studio 2. Probably in 1973 it moved to the slightly larger studio 6 and finally to Stage 1 in 1990. Studio 2 became the home of Granada Reports – the regional news – as well as some sport and political programmes and a late night magazine show presented by Tony Wilson called So It Goes.
Studio 4 was originally a small continuity studio which was only operational for a few years, although it famously hosted the first TV appearance of The Beatles in 1962. It was later converted to become the studios’ reception area.
Studio 6 opened in December 1957.
Studios 8 & 12 were constructed in 1958, along with a wide corridor for moving scenery and lighting equipment between the studios that became known as the M1. Studio 12 is about 8,000 sq ft and until Rediffusion’s studio 5 opened in 1960 was the biggest in the UK. Studio 8 was not a working studio for many years. It was built at the same time as 12 but was just used for scenery storage until it was equipped with EMI 2005 cameras, probably in 1972.
The ‘missing’ Studio 10 was in fact the Chelsea Palace Theatre in London – which opened as a TV studio in 1957.
The next step in 1959 was a block that included the canteen. This area also contained a sound dubbing studio, which was turned into a music recording studio in 1979. This much later became a backstage area for the Jeremy Kyle Show but has now been brought back into operation – more on this later. The technical block also opened in 1959. It contained the regional newsroom. The distinctive 8-storey Granada House opened in 1962. Designed by Ralph Tubbs, who had also been influential in the design of the 1951 Festival of Britain, it was the first example of curtain wall construction in Manchester. Sidney Bernstein was heavily involved in its design too.
I noticed this black marble plaque in the corridor on the exterior wall of studio 2 near the old canteen when I was looking round the studios in September 2018. The year is 1959, when the canteen was built. I wonder where everybody ate for the first three years?
Studios 8 and 12 were roughly the same width with 8 being about two-thirds the length of 12. When originally built, one end of this studio had an area with a low ceiling (8ft 8ins) behind the cyc track. This brought the total length of the studio floor to the same as studio 12.
Quite what this low-ceilinged space was intended for is a bit of a mystery – too low to put any sets in, let alone a lighting rig. However, Chris Whitehead has informed me that it was occasionally used to house a small audience for University Challenge. (The other end of the studio had the Crown Court set semi-permanently in place so space was at a premium.) I suppose at some point someone must have wondered what the point of keeping it was. The space was walled off and turned into three large rooms – a wardrobe area, a costume store and a film vault. In 2018 when I looked round, the shelves in the film vault were full of boxes of videotapes – many brand new. Sadly worthless as they were obsolete formats.
Oddly, when I lit a show in studio 8 in 2004, the old studio plan I was given indicated that this area of the studio still existed (that’s how I know the height of the ceiling, which was helpfully marked on the plan).
Incidentally, University Challenge began in 1962, presented by Bamber Gascoigne, and was shown on the ITV network until 1987. In 1994 it was revived by the BBC, presented by Jeremy Paxman, but continued to be made by Granada in these studios until they closed, when it moved to MediaCity.
Other shows made in studio 8 included Lucky Numbers, The Shane Richie Experience and The Krypton Factor (both the original and the first series of the revised version in 2008).
A plan of the site in 2017 before the redevelopment – very little had changed from when it was built. Studio 4 was originally to the upper right of studio 2. It became a reception area – its curved desk can be seen on this drawing. Everything above the ‘M1 corridor’ in this plan has now been demolished and the canteen area to the right of Studio 2 no longer exists. The area below studios 12 and 8 has also been demolished and replaced with the Transmission Building. The rooms at the bottom right are now part of the new hotel. with thanks to the Old Granada Studios website
When they opened, the studios were of course equipped with black and white cameras but most of the studios were colourised around 1969. Chris Whitehead has written with an interesting story. It seems that Marconi were given the contract to refurbish studios 2, 4, 6 and 12. Studio 4 was the first to be fitted out – with Marconi Mk VIIs. However, these were so disliked by cameramen and engineers that the subsequent studios were equipped with EMI 2001s – even though Marconi still carried out the work of upgrading the galleries and other equipment. They must have been pretty cheesed off at having to supply cameras made by their arch-rival. Studio 8 was colourised a few years later – with EMI 2005s.
The studios were well designed for their day but a few shortcomings not surprisingly became clear over the subsequent decades. For example, only one scene dock door for each studio opening onto an internal scenery/props/lighting area with limited access to the outside for deliveries. The shapes and sizes may also not have turned out to be ideal for the range of shows that ended up being made in them. Curiously, despite decades of discovering what worked well and what worked less well, the managers of ITV North decided to advise the developers to almost exactly copy what they had here when they were involved in planning the new studios at MediaCity, rather than improve on them.
In October 2000, a big change came to the way the business was run. These studios and the BBC’s in Oxford Road were struggling to attract sufficient work and contain their costs. The two organisations decided to create a new company – ‘3sixtymedia’ – that would consolidate their Manchester operation at Granada’s studios. The board of 3sixtymedia was set up with three directors from Granada and two from the BBC with voting rights split 80:20 in favour of Granada. A number of redundancies were made in both companies. As part of the deal, both ITV and the BBC were forbidden from operating any other studios in competition with the new company in the Manchester area. Thus, the BBC’s studio A was closed and its technical equipment sold off or scrapped.
3sixtymedia then offered the following TV studios:
Studio 6 – 4,500 sq ft approx (68 x 52 metric feet within firelanes) – used for the Jeremy Kyle Show, The Heaven and Earth Show and The Royle Family.
Studio 8 – 5,400 sq ft approx (64 x 70 metric feet within firelanes) – used for University Challenge, Mastermind, A Question of Sport and Countdown.
Studio 12 – 8,000 sq ft approx (98 x 70 metric feet within firelanes) – used for Stars in Their Eyes, The Price is Right and Soapstar Superstar. It was also used for the BBC’s lottery show Who Dares Wins in 2011 – one of the last productions to use the studio before ITV left and one which I had the pleasure of lighting. The firelanes in this studio are only about 3 feet wide which made the studio feel narrower than similar studios – but it was the ‘normal’ 70 metric feet wide and much longer than most equivalent studios. Interestingly, studio HQ2 at MediaCity which copied this one has the walls the same size but the firelanes are about 4ft rather than 3ft. Thus the working area of that studio is only 68 ft wide – a surprisingly significant limitation.
It is worth noting that Granada merged with Carlton to form ITV plc on 2nd February 2004 so the Granada name officially no longer existed. However, these studios continued as before being operated by 3sixtymedia.
From 2005 to 2011 the old BBC studio A was operated by 3sixtymedia and offered for hire, albeit as a 4-waller. 3sixtymedia also had some 4-waller stages on or near the main Quay Street site. These were not equipped as television studios but some had TV lino or resin floors. These other spaces were as follows:
Studio A, Oxford Road – 7,200 sq ft (94 x 66 metric ft within firelanes) – used for Life on Mars and C4’s Longford. (Demolished in 2012.)
The Garden Studio – 1,400 sq ft (could be controlled from the galleries of studios 8 or 12) – originally used by digital channels Granada Breeze and ITV Play. (This studio is now called studio 7 by Versa Studios.)
The Starlight Theatre (two separate stages) – 7,500 sq ft and 4,500 sq ft – used for ITV Bingo and dramas Vincent, Cold Blood and The Street. (This curiously shaped building, constructed on the old railway viaduct in the corner of the Granada site, was originally part of the Granada Studios Tour, which ran from 1988 – 1999. It was demolished in 2018.)
The Blue Shed (warehouse type stage) – 17,000 sq ft (155 x 110 ft wall to wall) – used for The Forsyte Saga and Casanova. This was on a site on the other side of the river in Stanley Street, opposite the V&A Hotel. A Premier Inn now stands here.
Compared with most London based studios, none of these was particularly busy with some remaining empty for many weeks of the year. The exception was perhaps studio 6, with the Jeremy Kyle Show a popular (with some people) fixture of the ITV daytime schedule. However, Countdown moved from Leeds to Manchester in June 2009, providing a much-needed regular occupant of studio 8. University Challenge was the other user of this studio. These shows now share studio HQ4 at MediaCity, which is about the same size as studio 8. The Kyle show was axed in 2019.
The main entrance in Atherton St, as seen on Google Streetview in 2008. Sad to see that nobody could be bothered to replace the missing letter. It is still missing in the 2012 image on Streetview. In 2014 all the lettering has been removed. In fact it is surprising that the Granada sign lasted so long. The company had merged with Carlton to form ITV plc in February 2004. This building, designed by Ralph Tubbs and opening in 1962, finally closed in 2019. It was still in the process of being converted into a hotel early in 2025. Surprising perhaps, as Bernstein had specified that it should easily be turned into a hotel if his TV business failed. The building next it along the road had by 2021 been replaced by a much taller one, and now contains the main entrance to Versa Studios along with other facilities.
Coronation Street:
I should of course mention that Coronation Street was made here at Granada from 1960-2013, although not in the latter years in any of the studios mentioned above. The popular soap then had two dedicated studios to the side of the Quay Street site – Stage 1 and Stage 2 – along with the exterior set of the Street.
The production did not start in Stage 1. For many years it used the normal studios – at first studio 2, then mostly studio 6. There were two episodes a week – in the early days the Friday one was transmitted live and the following Wednesday’s show was recorded straight afterwards. Quite an achievement to rehearse and then perform an hour’s material in one day! Between 1960 and 1968 there was no outdoor set – exteriors were shot in the studio.
Above and below – the sets in studio 2 in the mid ’60s. The street along one wall, interiors along the other. All squeezed into a studio with a working area of only about 68 x 36ft. images thanks to iNostalgia.co.uk
In 1967, the producer was asked by Granada’s General Manager to meet him outside the building in Water St. They walked down the road with the studio car park on their left until they reached Grape St. This was a lane that bordered their property. Walking up it, a large brick wall was on the right hand side of the road and passing through some gates they saw an open cobbled yard, with a viaduct in front and the old Victorian Bonded Warehouse on their left. It was perfect!
This land owned by British Railways was purchased, enabling a basic street set to be constructed. The first shot was filmed in January 1968. However, most exteriors continued to be recorded in the studio for several months. It took until May for all the houses and the Rovers Return to be finished and ready for filming. The interiors of course were shot in the studio as before.
The house frontages were initially made of timber and plywood, supported by scaffolding. A row of maisonette house fronts were built on the other side of the road using brick during the 1970s. Their construction was made part of the storyline. The wooden houses were rebuilt in brick during 1969, ready for the move to colour. Back yards and ginnels were added in 1972.
The back of the first exterior set in the Grape St yard in May 1968. This was basically the scenery that had previously been used in the studio with an added first floor but no roofs. The cobblestones (actually ‘setts’) were of course original and added to the realism of the street set.
image thanks to iNostalgia.co.uk
This small area had its limitations so Granada purchased the land on the other side of the Bonded Warehouse between it and Lower Byrom St. This enabled a much larger set to be built in 1982. This was extended in 1989 and then further in 1999.
The Street set occupied about half this new area – also utilising the Victorian stables that were located at the end of the Bonded Warehouse. On the land next to Lower Byrom St a large sound stage was constructed in the mid 1980s – but not for filming TV drama as you might assume. It was initially intended to be used for televised Crown Green Bowling! Quite sensibly, it was taken over by Coronation St in 1990 and named ‘Stage 1’. It was extended in 1996 and is a very impressive 10,200 sq ft with an annex of 3,300 sq ft. It was later renamed Studio 1 and was used by several programmes including Dragon’s Den. In 2024 it received a long term booking by a g0-karting company but is still part of the Versa portfolio.
One of Granada’s most successful drama series was Jeremy Brett’s Sherlock Holmes, and a Victorian Baker St outdoor set was constructed on top of the railway arches next to the Bonded Warehouse in 1984. It became part of the Granada Studios Tour from 1988 to 1999 and was roofed over in 1993 to protect the set from the Manchester weather.
In 2002 this building was converted into Stage 2 for Coronation St. The producer at that time said that it would only be used for single-camera shooting so no galleries were required. A short time later, galleries were installed due to the unexpectedly (ahem) slower speed of single camera working. In 2017 Stage 2 was occupied by a ‘Crystal Maze Experience’ visitor attraction, which was still there in 2025.
In 2013, Coronation St moved to a purpose-built facility in Salford on the other side of the Ship Canal from MediaCity.
Above is a Google Earth image taken in 2018 showing stage 2 and its 5,000 sq ft annexe. (As of 2024 this is now called studio 2). The annexe was built to house a full scale replica set of the House of Commons and was constructed in 1986 for drama series First Among Equals. It was subsequently used in some episodes of The New Statesman, starring Rik Mayall, between 1987 and 1994. It also became part of the Granada Studios Tour.
The set was sold to writer Paul Abbott, so it could be used in his BBC drama series State of Play, filmed in 2002. It was then used for the 2011 film The Iron Lady starring Meryl Streep. Wimbledon Studios subsequently stored the set on site but it took up so much room that it was put on eBay in March 2013, receiving a winning bid of £123,400. Unfortunately, the bidder did not finalise the purchase so it was put up for sale again at an auction house in June of the same year. I can find no record of who bought the set, if anyone.
According to press reports, around the time of the sale MPs decided to allow filming in the actual House of Commons at a rate of £10,000 per day. This may have affected the value of the replica set.
Also seen in this image behind the Stage 2 annexe are the Victorian stables that were used by the Studios Tour for a mock-up Rovers Return and subsequently to build various interior sets for Coronation Street including the medical centre.
The threat of closure was hanging over the Quay Street studios for a number of years. Indeed, it was a not very well-kept secret that the studios would be closing around 2011 and the operation would move to three almost identically-sized studios at MediaCity in Salford Quays. However, ITV made a surprise announcement in March 2009. It transpired that the developer, Peel, had ‘dramatically scaled back’ its financial commitment to the ITV element of the project. An ITV spokesman stated that “as a result, ITV will remain at its Quay Street base for the foreseeable future.” Interestingly, the staff were told that the focus would now be on ensuring that the Quay St building was fit for purpose.
However, it was thought at the time that the area could not support two studio centres within a few miles of each other, particularly when each had three studios the same size. When the senior managers were replaced following a reshuffle at the top of ITV, the new ones reopened the negotiations with Peel. These lasted through most of 2010 until an announcement was made on 16th December that the move would indeed take place.
Andy Walmsley has written to me. He is a very successful production designer, now living and working in Hollywood, with an impressive CV that includes shows such as American Idol and America’s Got Talent. He began his career aged 15 when Paul Daniels gave him the opportunity to design a show he made at Ewarts Studios in Wandsworth. Following formal training, he then based himself here at Granada, working on dozens of LE shows when the studios were really busy. He later worked in all the main studios around the country.
In June 2015 he happened to be visiting Manchester and decided to have a look at the outside of the Granada studios for one last time before they were demolished – considering this studio centre his ‘spiritual home.’ He discovered that the old reception area was now a coffee shop and bought a cup. At some point, the security guard became distracted and uncharacteristically (he claims!), he slipped past and into the building.
He discovered that it was completely empty – no film work going on despite these studios being marketed as suitable locations – and he spent 20 minutes or so wandering the corridors and standing inside each of the studios which held so many memories for him. I haven’t mentioned till now that he had become used to visiting the studios as a small boy as his father was a comic who appeared regularly in shows such as The Comedians, and many well-known entertainment stars were family friends.
He took a few photos on his phone, some of which can be seen below:
Above is studio 2 – the first to open in 1956, 4 years before the BBC’s Television Centre. The hard cyc was a recent addition – this studio was the home of Granada Reports. Andy recalls that behind the left wall below the aircon vents the studio steps back at a lower height of 11 feet and this is where Bob Greaves sat behind his desk. It was also the home of several Tony Wilson late night magazine shows, where he gave local pop groups their first break on TV, some later becoming big stars. Andy tells me that when studio 2 was used for Coronation St in the early years the Rovers Return set was based in the lower part of the studio.
Studio 6. For decades the home of Corrie but also used for shows like The Comedians and The Wheeltappers and Shunters Club, which many viewers assumed was a real working man’s club.
Studio 8. Often used for dramas in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s – The Krypton Factor was made in here too.
Studio 12. It was the home of many light entertainment shows including Stars in Their Eyes but during the heyday of TV studio drama, many classics were recorded in this studio with great actors including Laurence Olivier. His family had close links with Granada and he persuaded many top theatre and film stars to appear in plays that were recorded here.
The corridor linking the studios – nicknamed the ‘M1.’ I never saw it as empty as this on the odd occasion I worked at 3sixtymedia (as it was called in its latter years) and I doubt it ever was in the Granada years. It would have been full of lights, prop cages and loads of scenery. Access between the studios and delivery trucks was simply across the corridor to large doors on the opposite side, unlike the studios at MediaCity, where the access corridor between the studios is buried deep within the building.
A similar view looking down the M1 corridor, photographed by me in February 2025. All looking very smart with new electricity feeds running along the ceiling and a dividing wall just in front of studio 6 but basically it’s much the same.
The final edition of Granada Reports came from studio 2 on 22nd March 2013. The last show recorded by ITV in the main studios was an edition of University Challenge made in studio 8 on 17th February 2013. During the summer and autumn of 2013 studio 12 was used as a workshop to construct new sets for Coronation St. Meanwhile, interestingly, I am told that studio 8 was left fully equipped and in standby mode ‘in case there were any problems at MediaCity.’ What could they have meant? This studio was also used to record interviews for the Goodbye to Granadaland documentary.
Until the building closed, studio 6 was used as the base for Provision – ITV’s lighting and camera hire company. Some of the monopoles from studio 6 were purchased by BBC S&PP and made their way to Elstree stage 9 where they were discovered to be about 4 feet too short. Each therefore had to have a 4-foot drop-arm on it. They didn’t last long. They were very heavy and frankly not terribly safe – I witnessed two collapsing during rigging on a sitcom at Elstree. In the summer of 2014 they were replaced with new ones and the old Granada ones were skipped.
Meanwhile, Coronation St remained for the time being in its old studios. This move was delayed until the end of 2013 due to various problems including the construction of the main production building in Salford which I’m told had to be dismantled during its construction and rebuilt. The last episode was made at Quay St on 20th December 2013.
The office staff moved into the Orange building at MediaCity from the autumn of 2012. As mentioned above, ITV have a block booking of studio HQ4 at dock10 for Countdown and University Challenge. Judge Rinder was also made in HQ4 for several years.
The old Granada sign symbolically almost hidden by ivy during 2012. The neon sign on the roof long gone. Ah well, that’s progress. photo thanks to Andy Dobbs
In August 2012 the press reported that the preferred bidder for the site was ‘Genr8 Developments’, who apparently offered more than £20m for the land. That doesn’t sound very much to me for a prime 13.5 acre site so maybe the press report was not accurate. I also heard that the studios might have been occupied by IKEA. (Make up your own joke here.) However, in September 2013 it was reported that developer Allied London had joined forces with Manchester City Council to acquire the site – they paid a reported £26.5m.
In January 2014 it was revealed that Allied London had taken a 5 year lease on the studios and associated buildings whilst they ‘worked up’ their plans for redeveloping the site. In the meantime, the buildings and area around became a new arts and cultural destination for Manchester called St John’s. The old Granada studios were renamed… wait for it… ‘Old Granada Studios’.
During this period they were used for single camera productions such as Peaky Blinders, To Walk Invisible and the US/UK TV series Snatch, starring Rupert Grint. They were also used to record the 2018 series of Dragons’ Den. The 2019 series of Dragons’ Den used the newly re-opened Stage 1, as it did each year up to 2023. In 2024 it moved back into the refurbished studio 12.
This Google Earth image from 2018 shows the Starlight Theatre being demolished. It was built to be part of the Granada Studios Tour, which ran from 1988 – 1999. Following that it was turned into two sound stages and used for filming dramas. The Bonded Warehouse is on the left – this striking building was renovated for the Studios Tour and later used by Granada for offices and storage with some areas of the ground floor for Coronation St locations. In Victorian times, you can see how one of the railway tracks entered the building through the arch on the right of the building at 3rd floor level. There were turntables inside that enabled the trucks to be offloaded. It is now part of Versa Studios. The yard in the foreground was where the first Corrie exterior set was located. For the Granada Studios Tour it became a ‘New York Street’, for reasons best known to the people running it. Top left, the red building is Stage 2. Originally built to enclose the Baker St set, it then became a Coronation St studio – since 2017 it has housed The Crystal Maze Experience.
This area is now the site of Aviva Studios – originally called ‘The Factory’ – a striking (and somewhat expensive – thus much delayed) performance venue containing a 1,600 seat auditorium and a multi-purpose performance space with a standing capacity of 5,000. The two spaces can be combined, enabling a very large stage to be used. The venue opened at last in October 2023, with a spectacular performance directed by Danny Boyle. It was used for the final of Channel 4’s The Piano in 2024. It has been suggested that Britain’s Got Talent may be based here in the future.
Manchester Studios/Versa Manchester
In July 2018 the new head of the development, Melanie Jones, who clearly combines experience in property with enthusiasm for TV, made some interesting announcements. The studios would be kept on after all! In fact they would receive some new investment – gallery suites would be refitted and lighting rigs refurbished and they would be made available once more to be used as multicamera studios. This was a surprise to many. It had been assumed that the studios were just being made available as 4-wallers until their eventual demolition.
In an interesting interview in the summer of 2020 she said that when she took on the job she realised that the studios were too valuable an asset to simply demolish and replace with offices. (Where was she when TV Centre and TLS were sold off?!) So she made the case to Allied London and they agreed. She said that the best use of any building is what it was originally designed for. She also said that these studios are superbly designed in a way that would probably not be found in studios built today.
The studios are part of a redevelopment scheme in the St John’s area called Enterprise City. They are owned by All Studios (Allied London)and were initially marketed as ‘Manchester Studios.’ (Since 2022 Versa has been the name of the company operating them.) In 2018 they said they were planning to offer studios 2, 6, 8 and 12 as well as Studio 1 (the old Stage 1) and the Breeze Studio and garden. Stage 2 was also retained. It is currently the home of ‘The Crystal Maze Experience’ (the show itself is filmed in Bristol.) There are no plans at the moment to make it available as a studio but it remains part of the Versa Manchester portfolio.
Above is a plan of the area around the studios, post redevelopment. 1, 2 and 3 are tower blocks containing flats and offices. 4 is called The Goods Yard and is a cluster of buildings containing offices and workshops for media and creative companies. 5 is the block containing Studios 2, 6, 8 and 12. 6 is ‘Aviva Studios’ – a large new performance space. 7 is the Bonded Warehouse. Stage 1 (now called Studio 1) has been retained and is in the area marked ‘Timber Yard.’
I visited in September 2018 and was astonished to see the floors of studios 8 and 12 covered in equipment. This had all come from TLS, which had closed down earlier in the year. There were dozens of monopoles (telescopes), lights, audience seating units, prop cages, teddy trucks, hoists and loads of other essential studio paraphernalia. No technical kit had been purchased from TLS however – it was all far too old and worn out.
Some of the ex-TLS kit on the floor of studio 12 in 2018. More was being stored in studio 8.
The demolition of the surrounding buildings began in October. The original office block, designed by celebrated architect Ralph Tubbs, was retained and is being turned into a luxury Soho House hotel with a restaurant and swimming pool on its roof. Interestingly, when it was originally designed, Bernstein asked for it to be easily adapted into a hotel in case the Granada business folded. Unfortunately, this work seems to be taking much longer than was expected. I have no idea why.
To its left is a new construction replacing the old Granada offices with facilities owned by Versa Studios, connected to the original studios. This is called the Transmission Building. It contains dressing rooms, production offices, green rooms and an attractive club area on the lower floors. The ground floor was originally going to contain retail units but sensibly this idea went away. On the website of the company designing the steelwork, they explain how the fire escape on the end had to be cantilevered out as it couldn’t be supported on the ground because the underground canal passes beneath it. Anyway, it all looks very smart and attractive inside and is the main entrance for the ‘new’ studios.
The new ‘Transmission Building’ in Atherton Street, seen here in 2025.The same view in 2014. image thanks to Google Streetview
The area around the studios has flats and start-up workspace offices aimed at creative businesses. It’s all very imaginative and clearly demonstrates what could have been done at BBC Television Centre and The London Studios – retaining the original studios within the scheme and developing the buildings and land all around them. Shame on those who took the decision to destroy those invaluable, irreplaceable studios and well done to Allied London, showing how it should have been done.
In June 2019, it was announced that the first two studios were available for hire – these were the 10,200 sq ft Studio 1 and the 1,400 sq ft Breeze Studio and walled garden. Studio 1 has an annex studio of 3,300 sq ft accessed via a dock door. (This is now called studio 2.)
In June 2020 Studio 1 was fitted out as a 4K multicamera studio. It was configured for audience shows and had fully equipped galleries with kit from Sony, Calrec, Grass Valley, Riedel and EVS. There were also refurbished production offices, star dressing rooms, VIP and exec areas and green rooms. This large studio was a welcome addition to the range of facilities available in Manchester. The studio, previously used for Coronation Street, is in a separate building close to the original Granada studios block. Early bookings included Dragons’ Den and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.
Studio 1, seen in 2025. As Stage 1 this was Coronation Street’s main studio from 1990 – 2013.This is pretty well all that remains of the old Coronation St, photographed by me in February 2025. I am standing in what is now a car park but used to be the main exterior set. This is the viaduct where the tram came crashing down in December 2010. You can just make out the lighter bricks in a V-shape where it was repaired afterwards. To the right is the wall of studio 1 and on the left can be seen the new Versa Transmission Building.
In 2021 a few shows used studios 8 and 12, controlled via fibre from studio 1’s galleries. The studios’ own galleries were not fitted out at that time and a few people contacted me to say that it was not a particularly happy experience. The work refurbing the studios was far from complete and it was felt by some that the studios had been reopened a little too soon. In fact (more on this later) studios 8 and 12 have been fully equipped since the spring of 2024.
In February 2022 the Versa website was relaunched and there was a press release in which the following was stated:
Executive Director of Versa Charlie Ingall, said: “We are thrilled to be realising our ambition of expanding our operations into Manchester. In Manchester City centre, by Summer 2023, VERSA will be operating three fully equipped TV broadcast studios and a further 10 that will cater for a diverse range of production types including non-scripted broadcast TV, scripted film & drama, music, commercials, content creation and gaming. Our spaces will be ideal for a variety of uses including performance and events.
In fact, at long last, the fully equipped gallery suites of studios 8 and 12 were opened in the spring of 2024. They can feed any of the on-site studios as well as the nearby new Aviva Studios with its 1,600 seat auditorium and attached performance space consisting of a 1,200 sq ft South Warehouse and 8,000 sq ft North Warehouse. These can all be combined to form an enormous venue. Being able to use the Versa facilities to televise events there is a very useful selling point for these studios. The final of Channel 4’s excellent series The Piano used these facilities on April 21st 2024 to great effect – the galleries controlling cameras and sound in the Aviva auditorium.
This event was in effect, the first try-out of the new galleries. It all went perfectly and on the strength of that, Netflix booked the studios for a talent show called Building The Band. They also specified a sound desk provided by Spiritland, which was installed in studio 8’s gallery. In fact following the show they decided to leave the mixer there and it has been used subsequently.
All the TV studios have retained their resin floors of course. The lighting grids and telescopes in studios 8 and 12 have been refurbished. I visited in February 2025 and the studios and surrounding corridors all look brand new and very smart. There are also some new dimmers, although Studio 2 (now called studio 5) only has hard power available – the assumption being that LED lights will be used. Dressing rooms, green rooms and other areas have been created from spaces such as old dubbing suites and VT areas but the new Transmission Building also contains some very stylish facilities on the ground and first floor including star dressing rooms and a club room. A 735 sq ft audio recording studio that has not been used for many years has also been brought back into operation and is now called studio 4.
Dragon’s Den had been made in studio 1 (the old Stage 1) for a few years but they were persuaded to move the show to Studio 12 in the summer of 2024. This was a great success and it is said that a certain female Dragon declared that her dressing room and other facilities here were the best she’d ever seen. I’d call that a seriously impressive recommendation!
The sound studio – now called Studio 4 – being used for a streamed podcast on the official launch day in February 2025. That’s John Thompson being interviewed. He worked in these studios on several occasions on various comedy shows and as an occasional actor in Coronation St.The new production gallery in studio 12. photo thanks to Richard Sillitto
In 2024 it was decided to rent out studio 1 to Chaos Karts – an immersive go-karting experience. Some may have questioned this decision but studio 1 is not as suitable for multicamera TV production as studios 8 and 12. By setting up this regular booking it was possible to complete the refurbishment of the original studios. I’d say this was a very wise business choice. With this and The Crystal Maze Experience in the original stage 2, Versa have a regular income stream that will enable them to operate the TV studios through both feast and famine.
Similarly, studio 6 is on long term hire to Cloud Imperium Games, who are using the space for motion capture. They have been based in Manchester since 2022. I saw a really impressive demonstration of this in action when I visited in February 2025.
Motion Capture in studio 6 by Cloud Imperium Games. The trussing all round the studio has dozens of cameras (they look like small green lights) that register the exact movements of the actor on the left. These are translated into the actions of the avatar in the game. All very impressive and quite a contrast to previous uses of the studio, including Coronation Street, TheWheeltappers and Shunters Club and The Jeremy Kyle Show.
As well as these TV studios, Versa are offering an area in the Bonded Warehouse consisting of six small ‘creative content’ studios – one of 535 sq ft and the others of 624 sq ft. These are interconnecting rooms that can be used as separate spaces or merge into a larger studio set-up. These are numbered A-F.
Versa are aware that by returning the TV studios to multicamera work they may be unavailable for single camera drama productions so they have opened two acoustically treated new stages at Birchwood Park, just outside Manchester. These are numbered studios 14 and 15 and are 8,300 and 5,300 sq ft respectively. They have plenty of supporting production facilities.
Several of the studios were renumbered in 2024. This is now the current list:
Studio 1 – the old Granada stage 1 as used by Coronation St. (Currently booked by Chaos Karts)
Studio 2 – the old Granada stage 1 annexe (1A)
Studio 3 – the old Granada stage 2 annexe (this was originally built in 1986 for a House of Commons set.)
Studio 4 – the original Granada sound studio
Studio 5 – the old Granada studio 2 in the main block
Studio 6 – no change (currently booked by Cloud Imperium Games.)
Studio 7 – the old Granada Breeze studio
Studio 8 – no change (this studio has a gallery suite)
Studio 9 – a streaming studio in the ABC building
Studio 10 – the studio used by BBC Morning Live in the ABC building. (this studio has a gallery suite)
Studio 11 – nothing so far!
Studio 12 – no change (this studio has a gallery suite)
Studios A-F – small studios in the Bonded Warehouse.
Versa Manchester Studios are now being run by Edward Harvey. I know him from my days working on several shows at TLS on the South Bank. He is a very experienced studio manager who completely understands the needs of every technical and creative department and is also highly regarded by production companies. He genuinely loves television and his business skills have enabled these studios to operate on a sound financial footing. He has had to make some brave decisions but they have all proved to be the right ones. Versa Manchester Studios are now some of the best in the country and they deserve to be successful for many years to come.
The studio plan, as issued to visitors on the official opening day of the new studios on 26th February 2025.The site plan plan, as issued by Versa in 2024. Note that several of the studios have been renumbered. The Aviva Studios building is not indicated but is to the left of Studio 3 (the old stage 2).The view from the main studio block in 2025. On the left is the Bonded Warehouse and behind it is the Aviva Studios building. Quite a change from the old Granada days.The interior of the extraordinary Aviva Studios building. Two giant warehouses, separated by a removable wall, which also form the stage area for a 1600 seat theatre (visible through the open proscenium arch.)
Versa ABC Studio (studio 10)
Although not actually part of the old Granada Studios, this new studio is part of the cluster of studios that Versa Manchester is offering. It opened in February 2022 and is a 1,500 sq ft ‘studio in the sky’ built on the top two floors of the ABC Buildings, a 1960s office block close to the Granada site. With dual aspect city centre views and a large roof terrace this studio has full production galleries, dressing rooms, hair and make up, green rooms and production office. The studio is now the home of BBC Morning Live, but is also available for use by other productions. In 2024 it was numbered studio 10.
Some spooky anecdotes about Granada – for those who like such things…
In 2018 I lit the live Halloween edition of Inside Number 9 – the award-winning dark comedy series of plays by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton. This play was supposed to be coming from Granada Studios and we were hoping to actually make it there, just before the redevelopment took place. Unfortunately it would have been impossible to get access to the studio in October so we made it at Maidstone and pretended we were at Granada.
The play was all about the ghosts that haunted Granada being unhappy about the people working there disturbing them. It revealed some interesting stories about the studios. They were, it was claimed, built over a huge graveyard where over 22,000 bodies were buried. (It’s fair to say that this fact is disputed by some.) In fact, St John’s Gardens border the Granada site very close to Studio 1 – they were originally where a large church was located (demolished in 1931), which was indeed surrounded by a graveyard.
In any case, some over the years have experienced odd occurrences that could not easily be explained. In fact, Most Haunted carried out an investigation here in 2005. They interviewed various members of the cast and crew of Coronation Street, who recounted various spooky happenings.
Stage One, the main Corrie studio, was said to have the most inexplicable events happening to people. A common sighting was reported to be the figure of a woman with long brown hair in a navy coloured jacket. She was seen in several sets over the years, sometimes sitting on furniture.
In fact, in 2017 after Corrie had moved to MediaCity, the studio was exorcised by a Catholic priest. This happened because a band who had been rehearsing for a show in there had been ‘freaked out’ by inexplicable noises and poltergeist activity. The band threatened to walk out unless something was done.
Stage 1 being exorcised in 2017.
In 1984 a fire broke out in the New Botany Warehouse in Water St that contained the sets and costumes for the major drama The Jewel in the Crown. Some have put this down to paranormal activity but of course it could perhaps more likely have been caused by something rather more earth-bound. An electrical fault was reported at the time.
When I was looking round the building with the studios’ technical manager in 2018 I explained to him that the episode we were shooting was all about the studios being haunted. He was not at all surprised and told me a couple of things that had recently happened to him. On one occasion he went into a deserted studio 12 and looked up to see one of the lighting monopoles swinging back and forth. It did this several times and then suddenly stopped. There was no logical way this could have happened. On another day he was showing a couple of guests round. As they were climbing the stairs up to the grid in the same studio, one of the lighting monopoles ran along its track several metres before coming to a stop. When they got into the grid there was nobody up there and no reason why the monopole should have moved. He also said that there was a woman’s name that nobody mentioned in the studios. She was said to haunt them and would carry out mischief if she disapproved of what was said about her.
I recounted these stories to Reece and Steve and they decided to incorporate a swinging lamp in one of the scenes in the play. To be perfectly honest, I’m rather glad that we didn’t make the show here. Who knows what might have been stirred up.
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