Basil Brushes-up at The Maidstone Studios

Thirteen new episodes of Britain's number-one rated children's sitcom, 'The Basil Brush Show', have been shot in one of the largest studio floors in the UK at The Maidstone Studios.
The Basil Brush Show drew as many as 13 million viewers to its Saturday evening show, several series of which ran until 1980. In his latest incarnation, Basil's den is Maidstone's new, fully operational 12,000 square foot Studio 5.
Kenton Oxley, General Manager, The Maidstone Studios, said: "We're delighted to host in our new studio the return of one of the greatest television shows ever. The Basil Brush Show appeals to adults as well as children, and now a whole new generation will be able to enjoy Basil's humour."
Maidstone's Studio 5 has been further enhanced with the help of a new production solution to studio "hang-ups" from TOMCAT UK, a division of TOMCAT Global, the world's leading provider of fabricated aluminium structural components for the entertainment and leisure industries.
The TOMCAT system means that Maidstone can rapidly reconfigure Studio 5 to accommodate and cater for a virtually unlimited number of production requirements, which often takes an unacceptable amount of time and money to achieve in a traditional studio environment.
Oxley added: "At a time when many in our industry are making redundancies and closing studios, we have elected to buck the trend by investing in the future, both for Maidstone and our clients. The system from TOMCAT means that not only are we ready for Basil, but we can quickly provide an economical studio configuration solution for anyone who comes through our doors."
The new episodes shot at Maidstone will be shown on the BBC and CBBC channels in the autumn of 2006, alongside 52 existing episodes on BBC channels, until 2010. New to the show will be action-packed cartoon segments that will take Basil where he's never been before, including online, digital channels and hand-held devices.
TOMCAT, on the other hand, is more accustomed to the rock n' roll lifestyle as it provides custom sets to touring bands such as U2 and the Rolling Stones, as well as their standard range of trussing products.
Paul Jordan, Technical Manager of TOMCAT UK, said: "Essentially what we've done in consultation with Maidstone is provided a rock n' roll solution for a TV studio. Maidstone's new Studio 5 is a very impressive, high-tech site, but it needed an equally high-tech solution to the problem of permanent rigging and hoists. The nine grids of 'TOMCAT One 390' trusses we have provided with Maidstone are modular solutions with unlimited flexibility."
Each TOMCAT truss grid is supported by four electric chain hoists with a capacity of 500kgs, each equipped with double brake system. Moreover, the entire hoist installation is operated via a 16-way radio remote control system. This means the operator can stand anywhere and fly up to four grids wirelessly.
(GB)