Upper Boat Studios
# Upper Boat Studios

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

It is located in Upper Boat, a village on the outskirts of Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, near Cardiff in Wales. The studios, previously a seat belt manufacturing factory for the automotive industry, were officially opened on 27 July 2006; 17 years ago (2006-07-27), by Welsh Enterprise Minister Andrew Davies, for the purpose of producing Doctor Who, along with its related spin-off programmes.

## 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. Other facilities at Upper Boat included a large props store, workshops, and video editing suites.

## 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, with the last filming day at Upper Boat on 11 May 2012.

Despite the studio closure, production on Sherlock series 3 continued at the studios until September 2013.

## Productions

### Productions based at Upper Boat Studios

| Title | Genre | No. of episodes | Produced from | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Doctor Who | Science fiction drama | 66 | 2006–2012 | moved from Unit Q2 in Newport, Wales moved to Roath Lock in 2012, midway through production of Series 7 |
| Doctor Who Confidential | 'Making-of' documentary | 60 | 2006–2011 | moved from Unit Q2 in Newport |
| The Sarah Jane Adventures | Science fiction children's drama | 53 | 2006–2010 | entire series produced at Upper Boat Studios |
| Torchwood | Science fiction drama | 31 | 2006–2008 | moved to Los Angeles |
| 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 |
| Sherlock | 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 moved to Roath Lock |
