To coincide with the 2015 Election results coverage on the BBC, we've dug out some pictures from the BBC's photo archive which show how election night coverage has changed over the years. We start in 1945 and go right up to the present day. (Many thanks to honorary About the BBC Blog team member Alasdair for searching through the files for us.)
You can find out more about this year's results night set based at Elstree in a special interactive video on the BBC News site. For a detailed history of how the BBC has reported the General Election, visit the History of the BBC website.
Discussing a report on the General Election for Radio Newsreel (1945).
Radio Studio Managers set up records to play between results as they come in (1945).
Three commentators in the television studio who helped viewers to follow the progress of the political parties as the results came in. Left to right: David Butler, Research student at Nuffield College; R. B. McCallum, Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford, and author of 'The British General Election of 1945'; and BBC commentator Chester Wilmot. In the background is an unidentified caption painter.
BBC engineers testing equipment installed in the Art Gallery, Salford, for an election outside broadcast.
The Operations Centre in the basement of Broadcasting House where results were sorted and assessed as they came in and where commentators made their final checks.
Television's most experienced team of commentators and reporters combined to bring BBC viewers the latest state of the parties and individual results as soon as possible after they had been declared in one of the biggest and most complex operations that BBC TV has ever undertaken. The whole operation was controlled from Studio G, Lime Grove and here also Richard Dimbleby, David Butler and Robert McKenzie announced the results and gave political analysis and background information. Picture shows the news intake operation showing racks of Constituency captions.
The National Elliot 402 F Electronic Computer used for the first time in a BBC election programme. Known on air as ‘Ella’, the computer is seen here with 'her' team.
The 1964 election night studio as seen on TV.
Robert McKenzie with the swing indicator (later to be known as the Swingometer) during the 1964 General Election coverage on BBC One.
David Butler, Richard Dimbleby and Ian Trethowan (later to become Director-General of the BBC) in the studio on election night 1964.
Robin Day is seen hosting part of the 1966 coverage, facing what were then state of the art TV screens showing contributors.
General Election 1970. The set-up in Studio 1, BBC Television Centre. Showing E.M.I. colour cameras in action during the Election Results programme, "BBC Election '70", screened on BBC1 on Thursday 18th and Friday 19th June 1970.
General Election 1974 28th February 1974. Robert McKenzie, one of the presenters of BBC TV's Election Night results programme. Robert is seen here standing in front of the Election 'Battleground' Board showing Conservatives, Labour and Liberals seat gains and losses.
From left, psephologist David Butler, presenter Angela Rippon, main presenter David Dimbleby and swingometer analyst Robert McKenzie. This was only the second time a woman played a prominent role on air in an election programme on BBC TV.
The “Election ’92” studio under construction. Revolutionary for its day, the “Election ‘92” studio broke the mould providing an exciting setting for election night.
The 1997 election programme came from BBC Television Centre’s largest studio, Studio 1.
On the afternoon of the 2005 election programme, presenters Fiona Bruce and David Dimbleby take a break on the set at BBC Television Centre.
Studio 1, the largest at BBC Television Centre, was used for the main election programme in 2010. It was the last election night to come from the Centre.
The 2015 General Election results coverage is broadcast from Studio 6 at BBC Studios in Elstree.
Studio 6 at BBC Studios in Elstree, home to the 2015 General Election coverage. The green screen area to the left of this picture is where Jeremy Vine will present interactive illustrated reports about election results.
David Dimbleby, presenter of the BBC's 2015 General Election results coverage.
