Madness play TV Centre farewell gig

Madness kicked off farewell celebrations for BBC TV Centre on Friday night with an hour-long performance outside the famous West London site.

The 80s-chart-toppers belted out a string of their classics - including Baggy Trousers, Our House and One Step Beyond, in front of crowds who braved the pouring rain to watch their fond farewell to the building.

The BBC has announced that the show would be the last event broadcast from TV Centre, which closes its doors at the end of the month.

And the band's frontman Suggs also recognised the solemnity of the event, as he told the crowds: "Goodbye Television Centre. I'm going to miss you."

The performance, which kicked off a night of TV Centre-themed programming on BBC Four, was followed by the star-studded tribute show Goodbye Television Centre, filmed in the building's Studio 1 on Monday evening.

A veritable who's who of BBC talent past and present - including Sir David Attenborough, Sir Bruce Forsyth, Ronnie Corbett, Philip Schofield, Sir Terry Wogan, David Mitchell and Noel Edmonds - joined Sir Michael Grade in the studio to reminisce about their time working at TV Centre.

The building, which has been in operation for 53 years, will close for the final time on March 31, before being redeveloped into shops, offices, a cinema and flats.

It will also become the new home of BBC Worldwide, while three of the studios will remain and will re-open in 2014 for lease by production companies including the BBC - meaning that programmes such as Strictly Come Dancing and Children In Need could still be filmed there in the future.