Television Centre memorabilia sale raises thousands

The "flesh tone" test card sold for £1,250

The final wave of BBC memorabilia from Television Centre has been sold off at auction, raising thousands of pounds.

Studio signs and backdrops were included in the auction, alongside large items such as industrial washing machines and a cherry-picker lorry.

Television Centre was built in 1960. The BBC sold it to developers in 2012 and moved operations to other buildings.

Among the lots sold were a vintage microphone and a test card.

Items from Studio 8 - which housed classic shows such as Fawlty Towers and Monty Python's Flying Circus - attracted a number of bids, with one clock fetching £780, and the "Studio 8" sign going for £478.

A collection of black-and-white portraits taken by David Bailey of stars including Michael Caine and Mick Jagger ended with bidding reaching £1,264.

A collection of David Bailey photographs were among the lots

While the final tally for the auction has still to be calculated, it is thought that final figure will be around £100,000, which will go back into the BBC.

One of the highest bids was for a huge generator, which went for £16,000.

A previous auction saw an entire Blue Peter studio sold off, as well as Jeremy Paxman's Newsnight desk and cardboard Doctor Who Daleks.

Chris Kane, director of commercial projects, said: "This auction marks the end of one chapter of the BBC's relationship with this iconic building and I hope that the winning bidders will enjoy their own small piece of TV history.

"The sale of Television Centre has generated huge savings for licence fee payers and with BBC Worldwide and BBC Studios and Post Production set to return, a new chapter is just about to begin."

Studio 8 was home to many famous comedy shows