Friday 12. December 2025
Shepherd’s Bush, London
Last week I was lucky enough to be in the studio audience during the live transmission of Channel 4’s ‘The Last Leg‘, which is broadcast from Studio TC1 at Television Centre – former headquarters of BBC Television.
These days the site is all opened up, and houses a hotel, shops, restaurants and bars, and still houses working studios, operated by BBC Studioworks and used by the BBC, Channel 4, Five, and others.
Before going in I grabbed a bite to eat at the Black Farmer farm shop, which was a lovely little find within the Televison Centre complex.
Being in a live TV studio for the first time was so cool! We were allowed in to the studio to take our seats about an hour before going live. Once seated a warm-up comedian came on, he acted as our host for the evening – not just before the live show but would also come on during the ad breaks.
This episode of The Last Leg was their Stand Up to Cancer special so it was a late one: Starting at 11:15pm and finishing after midnight. Adam Hills therefore wasn’t present (he arrived in the studio just after the end credits finished), but Josh Widdecombe and Alex Brooker were there and their studio audience interaction, when the cameras weren’t rolling, was really good – something you don’t see on TV!
I’ve seen TV and radio recordings a couple of times before, but a live TV studio is a whole different experience – especially one as iconic as TC1 – purpose built, all the cameras and lighting in use – being broadcast live as well. Screens were positioned to each side of the audience seating so we could see what it looked like on screen, and all the VTs being played in throughout the show.
It was a really fun atmosphere and I loved seeing the Last Leg live! It is a show which I do enjoy watching – the way they mix comedy, interesting guests, a little bit of politics and news, and raising the visibility and awareness of disability – is something not many other TV programmes do so well.
A lovely night – After the programme finished, I got in the car to drive home, got home shortly before 3 – and was up the following morning to be on the radio from 9 (at least my radio show is from home these days, so I just rolled out of bed and switched on the mixing desk!)
If you’re interested in attending a TV recording like this, here’s some practical tips:
- Tickets – Free of charge. I applied through the SRO Audiences website (they’re one of the companies which takes care of the TV studio audience side of things) and I was emailed my ticket a couple of weeks ahead of transmission.
- Parking – I parked at Westfield Shopping Centre which is directly opposite Television Centre.
- Public Transport – Nearest stations are Wood Lane, White City and Shepherd’s Bush and the area is also served by busses to/from Central London and the Hammersmith area.
- Also worth checking out the BBC Shows & Tours website for opportunities of TV and radio shows to go and see – I’ve had free tickets for the BBC Radio Theatre in the past, as well as Radio 4 comedy recording in Abergavenny and BBC Radio Scotland comedy recording in Glasgow.
FH.
