BBC Television Theatre

The Old Grey Whistle Test, That’s Life!, Juke Box Jury and Crackerjack were all made in front of large audiences in what the BBC called The BBC Television Theatre, which survives today as the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire.

Built in 1903 and designed by celebrated theatre architect Frank Matcham, the BBC occupied the building for nearly 40 years from 1953 to 1991. It was near its Lime Grove Studios and a short distance from the building site on Wood Lane that would one day become Television Centre.

Work was slow on Television Centre, and the recently closed Empire theatre offered producers a purpose-built theatre with existing seating, making it ideal for large studio-based music and variety shows.

Initially, the venue was used as if it were an outside broadcast, with cameras feeding back to a scanner van. The first programme to come from the BBC Television Theatre was Variety Parade on 24 October 1953. Fittingly, the show featured a full variety bill, headlined by Max Bygraves and singer Eve Boswell, with supporting acts including the up-and-coming comedy double act Morecambe and Wise.

As the site proved popular, the BBC refitted it with a larger stage and permanent television production galleries. The venue was a mecca for the stars of the 1960s, and the BBC featured Lulu, Shirley Bassey and Cilla Black in a variety of sparkling shows.

It was upgraded to colour from 1968-69 and, throughout the 1970s and 1980s, was the recording venue for some fondly remembered shows such as The Generation Game, Crackerjack (which made a feature of the venue by showing frequent shots of the audience, when they had to shout back “Crackerjack!” whenever the cast mentioned the show’s name), The Old Grey Whistle Test, This Is Your Life, and Terry Wogan‘s eponymous chat show, Wogan.

Terry Wogan presented the last show there on 24 July 1991, looking back over its BBC history.

In 1993, the Shepherd’s Bush Empire was acquired by entrepreneur Andrew Mahler, who invested over £1m in the building for improvements and refurbishments.

In 1994, the building reopened under its original name of the Shepherd’s Bush Empire, and since then it has hosted gigs and dance nights.