Opening of BBC Bristol

Gerald Durrell, holding his chimpanzee Chumley, in a BBC Natural History Unit programme from 1958.

The BBC in Bristol opened on 18 September 1934. Two years after Broadcasting House in London opened as the first purpose built broadcast centre in the UK, the BBC Bristol studios went live, offering speech and drama production for the west of England and national BBC radio networks.

The Lord Mayor of Bristol officially opened the Whiteladies Road studios and offices, on the 18 September 1934. The centre which included an important large space to hold an entire orchestra was one of the most modern radio centres of its day. The Second World War threw the spotlight on the BBC in Bristol, when the Corporation's entire Entertainment Department was billeted there.

After the war, Frank Gillard, a native of the Westcountry, and one of the BBC's foremost war correspondents and mastermind of BBC local radio, became head of the BBC Western Region at Bristol until 1963. During his time there his plans for the foundation of local radio in the UK began to germinate, and he was also responsible for devising the sound and style for BBC Radio 4.

BBC Bristol is best known today as the home of the world-famous Natural History Unit, the Antiques Roadshow, Gardeners' World, and Countryfile amongst others.