BBC puts landmark Television Centre up for sale

The BBC has put its landmark Television Centre up for sale and said it is looking for a deal which will "maximise the value" for the corporation and licence fee-payers. The 14-acre site in White City, west London, is currently home to around 5,000 employees but will be empty by 2015 after staff have moved to other sites including MediaCity in Salford and Broadcasting House. A spokesman for the corporation said: "The BBC is seeking expressions of interest from the market for either a conventional, freehold property sale or alternative proposals possibly based around a joint venture partnership. "The key objective for any sale or partnership is to maximise the value of the site to the BBC and licence fee-payers." The BBC originally announced it wanted to sell the building, which opened in 1960, in 2007. The main circular building, known to staff as the doughnut, was given Grade II listed status by English Heritage in 2009. Among the shows recorded in its studios are Fawlty Towers, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Blue Peter, Doctor Who and Strictly Come Dancing. The site is also home to the Blue Peter garden, which will be relocated to a studio roof at the Salford site. Richard Deverell, W12 programme director, said: "Television Centre has played an extraordinary and central role in the history of the BBC, which will not be forgotten. "Our primary aim of the sale is to maximise the value to the BBC and licence fee-payer whilst ensuring the teams and operations based there are successfully relocated."