History
The Leeds edition of Look North has been broadcast from Leeds since 28 March 1968. Beforehand, the region had been served by regional television news in Manchester, launched in September 1957 with daily News from the North bulletins for the entire north of England. The start of a separate programme for the North East & Cumbria in 1959 allowed the daily bulletins to focus on the North West and Yorkshire & Lincolnshire areas. The programme was extended to 20 minutes in 1962 and renamed North at Six (later Look North).
The launch of a dedicated regional news service from Leeds allowed for greater coverage of the two distinct areas on each side of the Pennines. It also coincided with the decision to introduce a separate ITV contractor for the east of the Pennines, Yorkshire Television, which went on air in July 1968 along with its own regional news magazine, Calendar. Prior to that, Yorkshire had been covered by the Manchester-based contractors ABC (weekends) and Granada (weekdays).
The first presenters and reporters of Look North Leeds included David Seymour, Barry Chambers, James Hogg, John Burns and David Haig. Because Look North Leeds was carried on the powerful Holme Moss transmitter following its launch, it could be received in the north-west, Isle of Man, south to near Birmingham and even in parts of Northern Ireland as viewers' correspondence often testified (the Manchester programme then being carried from Winter Hill and restricted to the north-west).
Look North Leeds was the main programme for the whole of the 'BBC North' (later 'Yorkshire & Lincolnshire') region until 11 November 2002, when a new studio had been built in Hull, and the programme split in two. A short opt-out service for the East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire had been in service since 2001.
The programme was first produced from All Souls Church in Blackman Lane, Leeds, where part of the church was converted into TV studios with attendant equipment. Prominent local figures who made appearances at the studios included Jimmy Savile and the rugby league commentator Eddie Waring. The All Souls studio was only equipped for black-and-white.
In 1974 Look North moved to new studios at Broadcasting House on Woodhouse Lane, near Leeds Metropolitan University and round the corner from All Souls Church. The new facilities, equipped for colour, remained the base for Look North Leeds and other regional programmes until 26 September 2004. A brand new broadcasting centre was built near the West Yorkshire Playhouse on St Peter's Square, with BBC Look North moving into the new premises on 27 September 2004. The move coincided with the introduction of a new BBC Yorkshire region.
Read more about this topic: BBC Look North (Yorkshire and North Midlands)
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