The Tardis was there to greet a group from Chichester

THE Tardis beckoned the group, and instantly turned thoughts towards Doctor Who and his various adventures.

It was the sight that greeted a group of Chichester College Media and A level students when they arrived at BBC headquarters on a tour of Television Centre last month.

Shepherd's Bush studios were the first television 'factory' in the world. The Corporation is the biggest news broadcaster, dwarfing ITV and Sky and claiming to have a journalist in every state in the USA and at hotspots around the world.

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Students spied on the broadcast journalists, dubiously abbreviated to 'BJ's' to find them putting on their makeup, and experienced the magic of 'blue screen', its use in weather reporting and the importance of a sweeping hand gesture across the Isles. From a viewing area above Studio 1 the students caught a glimpse of Alesha Dixon and her dancers rehearsing for the impending Children in Need night.

Departing to a Green Room students were given an insight into the kind of demands that celebrities make! Jennifer Lopez demanded to be driven to the original main entrance as she refused to walk from the usual drop-off point. Madonna's request for a life-size portrait of the Pope, during her Catholic phase, was met with a practical joke. An employee managed to obtain a spare Pope waxwork from Madame Tussauds and transported it by taxi to her green room. "The screams could be heard from Wood Lane!" said the tour guide.

Before leaving the students took part in the 'Weakest Link' on a mock-up set. They also had the chance for budding newsreaders to try their hand at broadcasting; attempting to read the autocue with belches in the background was quite a challenge!

Finally, it was a raid on the BBC shop before departing for Chichester. "It was a fantastic day", said media student Callum Wingate.