BBC Birmingham is one of the oldest regional arms of the BBC, located in Birmingham.
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15 Facts About BBC Birmingham
2.
From 1971 BBC Birmingham was based at the Pebble Mill Studios, replacing studios on Broad Street, but in 2004 moved to the Mailbox facility in the city centre.
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3.
BBC Birmingham is not to be confused with BBC Midlands, which is based at the Mailbox.
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4.
BBC Birmingham is the name of the Network Productions Centre in Birmingham making network programmes for television and radio.
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5.
BBC Birmingham Midlands is the regional operation providing news, current affairs and other regional programmes.
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6.
At some point after the Second World War the BBC took over the headquarters of the Birmingham Royal Institution for the Blind, a very large collection of buildings in Carpenter Road, Edgbaston.
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7.
In 1957 BBC TV was established in Birmingham for the first time taking over the MLO's studio and installing the necessary lighting on builders' scaffolding.
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8.
The new complex, known as the Broadcasting Centre, was the BBC Birmingham's first building designed for both television and radio studios, and housed the corporation's largest TV studio outside London at the time.
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9.
When Pebble Mill closed in 2004, BBC Birmingham moved to the Mailbox building in the city centre, and to the BBC Drama Village in the Selly Oak district.
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10.
BBC Birmingham used the main foyer of its Pebble Mill building for the early afternoon television magazine programme Pebble Mill at One, which ran from 1972 until 1986 and raised the profile of the studios to something of a national institution.
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11.
BBC Birmingham was commissioned to produce a late night replacement.
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12.
In 1981, an early evening version of a 1960s hit show on BBC Birmingham1 called Six Five Special re-surfaced during the Mill's summer break, presented by Donny MacLeod and Marian Foster, and occupying the slot vacated by Nationwide.
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13.
Some nationally popular programmes were hosted by BBC Birmingham and recorded at the Pebble Mill Studios which included the children's programme The Basil Brush show.
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14.
The original series of Top Gear was produced by BBC Birmingham as was some content of the astronomy-based programme The Sky at Night, while the rest is produced in Selsey.
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15.
BBC Birmingham output has steadily diminished over time as production has moved elsewhere with the closure of Pebble Mill and the development of other BBC sites.
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