Winning name announced for Elstree Studios' new £15.6m stages

The two stages are under construction on the site of the former Big Brother house in Borehamwood with the project costing £15.6 million.

The Hertsmere Borough Council-owned studios ran a competition to give residents and film fanatics the chance to name the new buildings.

After hundreds of suggestions, the studios confirmed today it will be called Platinum Stages.

Council leader Morris Bright, who is also chairman of Elstree Studios, said Platinum had been chosen in recognition of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee which will be celebrated next year; the same year the stages will open.

Elstree Studios' new stages under construction

Forty-three-year-old Londoner Matt Payne, who put forward the Platinum name idea, will receive two VIP passes to the launch of the new stages next spring.

He will also be given a tour of the studios, treated to lunch at the on-site Rushes restaurant, and receive an Elstree Studios hoodie, goodie bag and range of merchandise.

Cllr Bright said: "The reason the board and Mayor of Hertsmere chose Platinum is because it works on so many levels. Obviously, platinum has connotations of high value and exclusivity - which aligns perfectly with the cutting-edge technology and state-of-the-art specifications of this facility.

"But it's also appropriate because the Queen's Platinum Jubilee is taking place next year, just when these new soundstages will be opening. This auspicious occasion will be a moment for the whole nation to come together and celebrate all that has been and all that is to come for the country.

"Locally, it makes absolute sense to use the new soundstages to pay tribute to our monarch and the many years of her reign, while looking to the future for TV and film production in Hertsmere that this new addition to our studios represents."

CGI of the Elstree Studios soundstages. Credit: Hertsmere Borough Council

Other names put forward included The Skywalker Stages and The Paul Welsh Stages, in recognition of Paul Welsh; the Times film and studios historian who helped save Elstree Studios when it was threatened with closure in the 1990s.

Work to build two new soundstages began earlier this year and is set to finish in spring next year.

It will sit next to The George Lucas stages, and once operational, the council says the facility will create at least 800 new jobs, plus apprenticeship and other learning opportunities for local school leavers and the unemployed.

The £15.6 million project has been part-funded by Hertsmere Borough Council and the government's Getting Building Fund via the Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

As part of the deal, £100,000 per year from the rental income received by the council will be invested locally into creative industries, including local media and creative enterprise and initiatives.