What began life as a pair of nondescript warehouses on the banks of the River Tyne became the headquarters of the ITV North East franchise holder for almost half a century. During the City Road Studios time in operation, many memorable networked and regional programmes were produced by Tyne Tees Television within its walls, with the studios becoming as iconic as the programmes themselves (notably being scaled during an intense chase scene in Super Gran, whilst the unusual entrance to Studio 5, dubbed 'The Tube', not only starred in the title sequence of a popular 80's Channel 4 music show but leant the programme its name).
Alas, the Independent Television network of yesteryear and the ITV network of today are two very different entities, thus in-keeping with the slow, painful destruction of the "archaic" regional system, production at the site was gradually wound down during the late 90s until 2005 finally brought the news that was also being heard in many other regions. Tyne Tees was to move out of its grand old spiritual home on City Road, Newcastle and into a tinpot building on an industrial estate neighbouring a shopping centre in Gateshead. Regional news would quickly become its sole operation, and even the long term future of this service is under serious threat.
Although the complex was initially snapped up as office space, demolition was inevitable due to its prime location in the city. And so it proved when in November 2009 the bulldozers began rolling in.
In this section, we document the progress of the demolition from the beginning to the bitter end. This is The Day The Dream Died.