BBC Wales Central Square studios in Cardiff go live

On the air: Leanne Thomas introduces the BBC News at Six to viewers in Wales

BBC Wales has begun broadcasting live from its new headquarters in Cardiff city centre.

After more than 50 years based in suburban Llandaff, BBC One Wales and BBC Two Wales are now both being broadcast from Central Square.

Director of BBC Wales Rhodri Talfan Davies said it was "an historic day in Welsh broadcasting".

The studios went live when channel announcer Leanne Thomas introduced the BBC News at Six on BBC One Wales.

"It's really exciting to be guiding viewers through the first evening of television coming from Central Square," she said.

"We've been planning this day for a long time, but now it's arrived it feels as if it's arrived very quickly.

"Of course, we're working under social-distancing conditions so, at the moment, the new building feels very different from what we'd been expecting, but it's still a fantastic place to be working."

'Extraordinary circumstances'

The new headquarters are at the heart of a redevelopment opposite Cardiff Central station

With TV presentation now up and running, Radio Wales and Radio Cymru will move later in July, with sport and news due to follow in the next couple of months.

• BBC Wales staff start move to new headquarters

• BBC Wales gets keys to new headquarters

• How central Cardiff has changed: 80 years in 60 seconds

"Llandaff has served us well for over 50 years, but this move provides us with the opportunity to modernise our technology systems, provide colleagues with modern, fit-for-purpose facilities and - once social distancing has ended - open up to our audiences like never before," said Mr Talfan Davies.

He thanked the "brilliant" engineering, technology and operations teams who had contributed to the live launch on Wednesday.

"In extraordinary circumstances, they've delivered a superb result that provides a foundation for BBC Wales services for decades to come," he added.