Upper Boat Studios

Upper Boat Studios was a television studio complex leased to the BBC in mid-2006,^[1] and formerly operated by BBC Wales.^[3]

Upper Boat Studios
Location within Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales
General information
Status	Used as warehousing
Type	Television studio[1][2]
Architectural style	Modern
Address	Unit 1/2, Tonteg Road, Treforest Industrial Estate, Upper Boat, Pontypridd, CF37 5UA
Country	Wales, United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°34′33″N 3°18′00″W
Current tenants	None
Opened	27 July 2006; 18 years ago (2006-07-27)[2][3]
Client	BBC Wales[3]
Grounds	86,000 sq ft (7,990 m2)[3]
Known for	Filming of Doctor Who[1][2][3]

It is located in Upper Boat,^[2] a village on the outskirts of Pontypridd,^[3] Rhondda Cynon Taf, near Cardiff in Wales. The studios, previously a seat belt manufacturing factory for the automotive industry,^[1] were officially opened on 27 July 2006; 18 years ago (2006-07-27), by Welsh Enterprise Minister Andrew Davies,^[2][3] for the purpose of producing Doctor Who, along with its related spin-off programmes.^[2][3]

Facilities

At ten times larger than BBC Wales existing site at Llandaff, the Doctor Who residency at Upper Boat Studios included the use of its six sound stages.^[1] Other facilities at Upper Boat included a large props store, workshops, and video editing suites.^[1]

History

By 2011, Doctor Who was the only programme still based at Upper Boat, following the move of several BBC Wales productions to the new permanent home at the new Roath Lock studios. Doctor Who itself relocated to Roath Lock throughout 2012,^[1] with the last filming day at Upper Boat on 11 May 2012.^{[4][unreliable source?]}

Despite the studio closure, production on Sherlock series 3 continued at the studios^[1] until September 2013.^{[5][unreliable source?]}

Productions

Productions based at Upper Boat Studios

Title	Genre	No. of episodes	Produced from	Notes
Doctor Who[1][3]	Science fiction drama	66	2006–2012[1]	moved from Unit Q2 in Newport, Wales moved to Roath Lock in 2012,[1] midway through production of Series 7[6]
Doctor Who Confidential	'Making-of' documentary	60	2006–2011	moved from Unit Q2 in Newport
The Sarah Jane Adventures[1]	Science fiction children's drama	53	2006–2010	entire series produced at Upper Boat Studios[1]
Torchwood[1][3]	Science fiction drama	31	2006–2008	moved to Los Angeles[citation needed]
Torchwood Declassified	'Making-of' documentary	27	2006–2008	moved to Los Angeles
Totally Doctor Who	Children's magazine programme	12	2007	moved from BBC Wales[clarification needed]
Sherlock[7]	Crime drama	9 + pilot	2009–2013	series 1, series 2, and series 3 produced by Hartswood Films West
Sarah Jane's Alien Files	Children's compilation programme	6	2010	entire series produced at Upper Boat Studios

Productions partially filmed at Upper Boat Studios

Title	Genre	No. of episodes	Produced from	Notes
Upstairs Downstairs	Costume drama	3	2010	kitchen and servant's hall sets[7] moved to Roath Lock

See also

• BBC portal
• Television portal
• Wales portal

• Roath Lock

References

1. "Current BBC production studios outside London > Roath Lock - Cardiff". TVStudioHistory.co.uk. Martin Kempton - History of British television studios. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
2. "BBC Studios". DoctorWhoLocations.net. Doctor Who Locations Guide. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
3. Nick Dermody (27 July 2006). "Time Lord handed permanent home". BBC.co.uk. BBC Wales at BBC News. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
4. "Last day of Doctor Who filming at Upper Boat..." Edward Russell. Twitter. 11 May 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
5. "Still at Upper Boat Studios". Sherlockology. Twitter. 29 May 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
6. "Work starts on BBC Wales drama village in Cardiff Bay". BBC.co.uk. BBC News. 24 June 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
7. Maggie Brown (3 December 2010). "Upstairs, Downstairs: the return of a classic". TheStage.co.uk. The Stage, The Stage Media Company Limited. Retrieved 30 May 2017.