Friday night saw the last of the big productions to come from the studios of the BBC's iconic Television Centre (TVC) in West London.
TVC was the home form many classic BBC shows. It was there that Monty Python's Flying Circus, Dr Who, Fawlty Towers, Dad's Army and Strictly Come Dancing (the format sold to US television as "Dancing with the Stars") were born.
Over the weekend the final studio use - the BBC News - will move to New Broadcasting House in central London. The BBC has already moved a great deal of production, including the central sports studios, to new developments in MediaCityUK at Salford Quays, part of Greater Manchester in northern England. Other shows, including Dr Who and two hospital based dramas are already made by BBC Cwmru in Cardiff. The latter were originally produced out of BBC Bristol which is now mostly the main hub for the BBC's natural history output. On Monday BBC Four will hold a concert by the group Madness outside the TVC - the car park - and film a final farewell show with many icons of British television including David Attenborough who, as well as producing and starring in natural history programming was Controller of BBC Two from 1965 to 1969 and took the channel from a barely watched fledgling service to a powerhouse of British television, overseeing its transition to the first UK color station in 1967 - he commissioned Monty Python. (By the way, the convention is that the BBC's numbered television channels are spelled out...BBC One, Two, Three and Four while the radio stations use numerals and usually include "Radio" thus their main talk station is BBC Radio 4)
While the TVC will formally close on March 31, the main studio bowed out in style on Friday as the location of the main "Comic Relief" show. "Red Nose Day" events are now spread out over much of early March and all BBC services, culminating in a final telethon on the main channel BBC One. This is usually held every two years. Like their other telethon, "Children in Need"; the BBC uses the donations to give grants to other charities to support their work and uses any interest earned before the grants are distributed to pay for the administrative costs. Comic Relief funding is split between projects in Africa and the UK
Shortly after 01:30 GMT, comedian Russell Brand announced the money raised stood at £75,107,851 - passing 2011's total of £74.3m.
This year's total includes a government pledge to match the £16m Comic Relief has committed to help more than half a million of the poorest women and girls in Africa.
It will go on improving literacy, helping girls go to school, provide care for expectant mothers, help women farmers, promote women's rights and be used to help reduce violence and harmful traditional practices against women and girls, such as genital mutilation.
The government had previously said it would give Comic Relief the equivalent of whatever VAT is paid on sales of the official Red Nose Day single.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/...
Projects helped in the UK include support for young carers and young people with alcohol and drugs problems - the latter leading Russell Brand to joke that he was asking for money to help people get off drugs whereas he used to ask for money to get drugs off people.