It was a golden age of television in Birmingham where stars of the day flocked to the city to appear in some of the most iconic productions of our time.
The BBC Pebble Mill studios produced a host of remarkable shows including Top Gear, The Archers and Doctors.
There was also Martin Chuzzlewit, Great Expectations, Anna of the Five Towns, Pebble Mill at One, Saturday Night at the Mill, Look! Hear! And many more.
The studios on the Pershore Road in Edgbaston received visits from the Royal Family and a host of dignitaries over the years after opening in 1971.
Some of the highlights have been documented in a dedicated Pebble Mill website full of nostalgia about the vibrant creativity at the site.
The studios closed in 2004 when the BBC moved to the Mailbox. Of course the public service broadcaster, funded through the TV licence fee, is on the move again and will be relocating to the former Typhoo Factory in Digbeth in 2026. Production of Masterchef will be preceding that though - it’s due to start in Digbeth next year.
The site of the TV studios is now a huge Costa Coffee drive thru and a Circle Health private hospital on the Calthorpe Estate. Here’s a look back at a few of the highlights at the BBC Pebble Mill studios in Birmingham:
1. BBC Pebble Mill studios in Birmingham in the 1970s
pebblemill.org
2. HRH Queen Elizabeth II visits Pebble Mill in 1981
Queen Elizabeth meets Vera Lynn and Bill Pertwee | pebblemill.org
3. Souxie and the Banshees at Pebble Mill
The 1980s band starred in the Look! Hear! show | pebblemill.org
4. The Queen meets Marian Foster and Bill Pertwee at BBC Pebble Mill studios in Birmingham in 1981
pebblemill.org