and was host to many programmes from London and locally produced programmes. Around 1982 the studios were rebuilt with more modern equipment and A was equipped with Link Electronics Ltd five 125 colour cameras and a pair of Ikegami HL79D portable cameras. The studio also found itself with a Grass valley Group 1600 series vision mixer and a Rank Strand Galaxy lighting console. During the early 1990s, the BBC technical resource department toured the UK's other BBC, ITV and Channel 4 studios to find new cameras to replace the ageing Link Electronics Ltd 125 colour cameras. Sony Broadcast BVP-370 and 70Isp's were chosen following a side-by-side shoot-out from all the big-name manufacturers and against the advice of the London head of engineering. Also, during this period all asbestos was removed from the studio, gallery spaces and the air plant. In November 1997, work began again on a major refurbishment of the studio, which included a production control room and a re-equipped sound control room. This £2.2 million upgrade took nine weeks and Studio A re-opened by the end of February 1998 as a fully digital widescreen facility – one of the first in the BBC. Studio B Studio B was for local news and sport programmes and was 40 × 25 ft in size. It had a combined control gallery with lighting, vision, production and sound all sited next to each other. This studio was used primarily for Midlands Today but also produced Network East and other regional programmes. Studio B was located on the first floor looking out over the central quadrangle. There was a cargo lift close to the studio doors but there was a very tight right-angle turn to get into the studio. Next to the studio was the presentation suite that was used for short morning and evening news opt-outs. Originally control facilities were provided by Studio B's galleries but in the early 1990s a new presentation suite was built into spare space and provided an island studio with its own full production/lighting/sound control gallery. Studio C (proposed) Part of the original plan for the complex was for a second large Drama Studio with the same size as Television Centre's TC6 Studio. It would have had dimensions of 70 feet by 92 feet. It was intended to have it sit next to Studio A with the original TAR (Technical Apparatus Room)/Dimmer Room separating them and a