Pinewood snaps up The Office studios

FACT: Ricky Gervais's Office has been sold - or at least, the studios where he filmed his hit comedy series.

Pinewood Shepperton today snapped up the historic Teddington Studios which had fallen on hard times. It collapsed into the hands of the administrators yesterday.

Pinewood, chaired by media mogul Michael Grade, paid £2.7m for Teddington in a deal including the Studio Broadcasting Company, which operates many of the facilities.

As well as The Office, recent shows filmed at Teddington include comedies Harry Hill and Alistair McGowan's Big Impression, while the studios also played host to the hugely successful Pop Idol.

{1}But its history stretches back to 1912, when the owner of the riverside property Weir House took pity on a film crew working in the rain. He offered them the use of his large greenhouse. Many silent films followed at Weir House in the 1920s, and in 1931 Warner Brothers moved in.

That launched the careers of a host of matinee idols including Errol Flynn and Burt Lancaster. After the war, Teddington moved into television, hosting shows including The Avengers, and became the filming base for Thames Television, including The Benny Hill Show, George and Mildred and children's favourite Rainbow.

TV companies recently cancelled £2.5m of contracts with Teddington, pushing it into administration.