You know sometimes a happening will take your mind back and that happened to me last week. I received an email from an old mate Pat Carr, who was the production supervisor on several LucasFilm productions at Elstree Studios from Star Wars onwards. Pat now lives abroad but it was wonderful to hear from her as she launched the save Elstree Studios campaign in 1988. I became its chairman and we thought we had won when Brent Walker purchased the Studio after about three months when we had enormous support. Pat had to step down due to career pressures but I continued as luckily at that time I was only working part time so could put in the effort. I had no idea the campaign would go on until 1996!

Brent Walker promised to rebuild and modernise Elstree Studios, provided that could be funded by selling 12 acres to Tesco for £19 million. That was a lot of money in the late 1980s. It to me was a disaster that much of the famous studio would be demolished, but no film company or individual like George Lucas came forward to offer an alternative. In essence, Brent Walker offered to rebuild a modern studio on the remaining 15 acres and signed an agreement with Hertsmere Council, under pressure from the campaign, to keep it as a studio for at least 25 years.

I spoke to George Walker at the time and I think he meant it but his empire was crumbling under a burden of huge debt. He was ousted from the company he founded and the banks took over.

By 1993 the site was on its last legs and the banks had no interest in keeping it going so they closed the studio. People melted away from the campaign and at one point myself and the then editor of the Borehamwood Times were asked to step away by Hertsmere Council. We both refused and I also declined a large sum of money from Brent Walker. The company no longer exists and the then chief executive of Hertsmere is now dead so it is safe to speak what is the truth anyway.

During the years the studio was closed they were still forced to accept a couple of tenants who backed me and refused to move out. One was the Children's Film Foundation that maintained an office in what is called the Maxwell Building. However, around them Brent Walker stripped everything from the studio from furniture and kitchen sinks to sound stage equipment and the generators. They turned off the heating so the dressing rooms developed water leaks and mould. The underground car park was sealed off due to blue asbestos decaying and water flooding.

The giant Star Wars silent stage was dismantled in a way that it could not be rebuilt as promised. Eventually Shepperton Studios bought the remains and rebuilt it at their studio utilising about a third. They bought it as scrap metal although only a few years earlier it had cost £600,000 to build.

In February 1996, the banks, embarrassed by their reckless lending to Brent Walker, decided to bow out and agreed to sell the remaining 15-acre studio to Hertsmere Council for less than £2 million. Can you imagine how pleased I was after eight years of campaigning! We held a star-studded opening that Christmas and I was appointed, as a volunteer, to help oversee the studio's relaunch. I even went to Hollywood at my own expense to say we were back on the map and pushed for the two new giant stages, which we opened in 1999.

Fast forward to today as we are about to watch the new series of Strictly Come Dancing on one of those stages. Elstree Studio today is a great success, pays back the council with a handsome profit each year and has plans to further expand. For myself I thoroughly enjoyed the fight and am happy to see the old studio move onwards and upwards. I rarely visit nowadays as productions prefer closed sets and I can't even get a ticket for Strictly, but those long ago years of struggle were worth every minute! Until next week take care.