Fountain Studios
in Wembley, United KingdomCategory: Attraction
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Fountain Studios, 128 Wembley Park Dr, Wembley HA9 8HP, UK Print route »
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Fountain Studios (formerly Wembley Studios) was an independently owned television studio located in Wembley Park, Wembley, north-west London, close to Wembley Park underground station. The company was part of the Avesco Group plc.
A number of companies owned the site before it was purchased by Fountain in 1993. Originally a film studio complex, it was formerly the base for the ITV contractors Rediffusion from 1955 to 1968, and London Weekend Television from 1968 to 1972.
More recently, the studios were best known for being the venue for the live stages of ITV shows The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent. Other programmes made at Fountain include The Cube and The British Comedy Awards. Fountain Studios has also hosted Pop Idol, Test the Nation and The Kumars at No. 42.
In January 2016, it was confirmed that the studios had been sold for £16 million to a property developer, Quintain. The lease (at present up to 8 years) for the site is still available and several parties have expressed an interest. The most likely use will be to retain the building and turn it into a 1,000-seat theatre and that may start after the decommissioning of the studio equipment for sale by auction in February 2017.The last shows to be broadcast live (and recorded) at the studios were The X Factor on 4 December 2016.The site was leased from Quintain by Wembley Park Theatre Ltd in September 2017 for a ‘meanwhile use' of the site until the site is demolished to make way for new developments. The duration of this use was for up to seven years as submitted by Quintain on November 2017.The existing buildings to be repurposed on a temporary basis as an event space (primarily concentrating on theatrical use). The multi-functional venue will be predominantly focused on a main auditorium which will be designed for use in a number of layouts. This will be formed from the 1,340 sqm former studio space. In addition, various parts of the building will be used in a number of layouts and for a number of functions, including the former offices, restaurant, storage areas and car parks. Work started in September 2017 with minor modifications to the scene dock area and the addition of extra fire doors. It is anticipated that the first productions will start in the early part of 2018 Brent Council has various documents relating to the Theatre use here
Since being leased by Wembley Park Theatre Ltd, two events have taken place. The first was the Mtv EMA after party on 12 November 2017 and on 29 November 2017 the Elton John’s AIDS Foundation club love charity event.
London promoter LWE hosted a club night on 6th May 2018 featuring The Martinez Brothers headlining a Cuttin' Headz showcase. That was followed on 10th May 2018 by an appearance from Paul Kalkbrenner. Some photos of the current state at that time can be found hereA press release was issued on 23rd May 2018 stating that the studios would open in the latter half of 2018 as a flexible 1000-2000 seat theatre by Troubador Theatres (the same company that owns Wembley Park Theatre Ltd) as well as bar and restaurant
