There are no prostitutes in Broadcasting House, and why? The reason is explained in a brief aside in an altogether more serious article about The BBC’s relationship to architecture and property. Nonetheless, the bit that stuck in my brain was the bit about there not being any brothels or fellmongers on the premises. There’s still a dentist in the building though. And Television Centre resembles nothing more than a massive fully-equipped colony ship of people from planet BBC, stranded here when their vessel collided with White City…
Before it occupied the whole of Broadcasting House, the idea was to let out space to pay for the running costs of the building. In a delightful Reithian touch, the BBC drew up a list of prohibited lessees: “Slaughtermen, sugar baker, fellmonger, beater of flax, common brewer, quasi-medical or quasi-surgical establishment, brothel or bagnio keeper.”