[cityprod]

Plymouth on BBC and ITV has been mostly desk based for as long as there's been regional news. Our first all sofa presentation would have been the 2002 revamp of Westcountry Live. It then remained sofa based until the Plymouth studios closed in 2009.

BBC South West has remained very much desk based, albeit with the addition of the soft area in more recent times. The only time they went sofa based was during the temporary set era whilst the upgrades were taking place in about 2015. As to when the soft area first appeared, I think it was as late as 2004, when there was a studio set revamp to bring it more into line with the national set at the time, and the grey sofa first appeared.

So yeah, the South West was quite late to the sofa party.

[Isonstine]

What was the first regional news programme to go to a sofa only for presentation? I know a few of the BBC English Regions got 'soft' areas between 1999 and 2000 with the first corporate sets.

Earliest example and programme?

And more contemporary times, in the last 30 years? I can only think of Central News (I think all 3 were early adopters, all around 1999/2000 time, and BBC LDN in 2001.

East Midlands Today must have been one of the first to 'go soft' in the corporate era? I can't find an exact date but my files show it was in use by September 2001 and they were still using a desk in the previous month.




Of course, it wasn't a full sofa set and was re-using chairs from the old soft area.

[RDJ]

Stacey Foster has made a return this week as co-host of ITV News Central after 5 years away with the national news.

It appears to be a temporary return according to Steve and Stacey's social accounts. I assume the regular female hosts of Sameena, Hannah, Charlotte and Alison were all unavailable this week.

[London Lite]

Stacey Foster has made a return this week as co-host of ITV News Central after 5 years away with the national news.

It appears to be a temporary return according to Steve and Stacey's social accounts. I assume the regular female hosts of Sameena, Hannah, Charlotte and Alison were all unavailable this week.

Charlotte Cross is covering a network shift at ITV News today.

[RDJ]

Bob made a return to the Central screens tonight with Jasper Carrott to promote his show in May to celebrate 50 years on the Midlands TV Screens.

youtu.be 

Also includes an old Central Tonight clip from 2006 with Joanne Malin.

[Mike]

The Tea Factory has been approved unanimously by Birmingham City Council, with the BBC still set to move in in 2026.

Conditions: scheme must be started within 3 years of today.

[dvboy]

There was an anti-vax protest targeted at the BBC at the Mailbox earlier today, and this was the aftermath:

twitter.com 

[Former Member 406]

The Tea Factory has been approved unanimously by Birmingham City Council, with the BBC still set to move in in 2026.

Conditions: scheme must be started within 3 years of today.

Given that 3 years from today it will be... erm... 2026, that translates as:

"Conditions: Must start being built before they expect to move into it". (As opposed to, you know, moving to a new facility *before* it's actually been built...)

Goodbye common sense, hello council speak!

<facepalm>

[Alf Stewart]

There was an anti-vax protest targeted at the BBC at the Mailbox earlier today, and this was the aftermath:

twitter.com 

Some people have waaaaaayy too much time on their hands!

[MFTJA]

There was an anti-vax protest targeted at the BBC at the Mailbox earlier today, and this was the aftermath:

twitter.com 

By the looks of it, not one of them used the correct logo. Poor effort from the anti-vaxxers.