The director general of the BBC has backed plans to redevelop Alexandra Palace as new designers are appointed to the project.

Tony Hall has put his weight behind proposals to showcase the BBC’s history at Ally Pally, including the world’s first high definition public television broadcast in 1936.

He made the comments as the palace appointed Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (FCBS) as the lead designers for the Heritage Lottery Fund supported regeneration project.

Mr Hall said: “The BBC’s time at Alexandra Palace was revolutionary.

“I am pleased that this remarkable period, when the BBC led the world in pioneering a new medium which has had such an impact on everyone’s lives, will be showcased at the very site where broadcast history was made.”

The BBC studios will be transformed into an interactive centre for education displaying digital imagery and artefacts important to the history of broadcast television at Alexandra Palace.

FCBS architects will also see the palace’s most important historic features refurbished and refitted providing a new state of the art cultural space in London with a special identity.

A main part of the redevelopment will be to restore the Alexandra Palace Theatre which has fallen into disrepair over many years. 

Matt Cooke, chairman of the Alexandra Park and Palace Charitable Trust, said: “In the coming few years Alexandra Palace will become the site of one of the most exciting heritage projects in Europe.

“When completed, these new facilities will also allow for the growth of Alexandra Palace’s very successful events programme into new areas, making Alexandra Palace of even greater significance for Haringey’s and London’s cultural offer.”