Alexandra Palace bosses offered a rare glimpse of the birthplace of television as it determines the future of the site.

The south wing of the historic palace was opened to the public yesterday, and visitors could look round the former BBC studios – the site of the world's first public television transmission.

The studios have been locked away since they were closed in 1981, but are occasionally opened for the public to see the room the BBC broadcast from on November 2, 1936.

The day was the finale to a roadshow which has been touring Haringey, offering residents the chance to have a say on the future of Alexandra Palace, the way it is run and what it is used for.

Rebecca Kane, managing director of the palace, said the first step is to assess whether the right people are in charge before setting down firm plans for the future.

She said: “The trustees have put a mirror up to themselves and said 'are we the right people to be in charge', which is very brave.

“It is important to get that right before starting to talk about the bigger ideas.”

Helen Silver has been taking the roadshow to the borough's libraries, and said: “The main message is that people love Alexandra Palace, it's really important to them, and they don't want to see it going to waste.”

She said some of the more imaginative ideas include a cable car up to the palace and a hotel, and a lot of people are keen for community groups to have use of the site.

At present, only 60 per cent of the palace is in use, with areas like the BBC Studios and Victorian theatre off-limits to the public and a bowling alley lying unused and derelict.

John Thompson, curator of the Alexandra Palace Television Group, showed the Haringey Independent some of the artifacts from the history of television which have been collected and are on display in the BBC Studios.

He said ultimately he would like the studios to be the centrepiece of a heritage tourist attraction, but for that to be a reality it would need serious outside investment and support.

He said: “The problem with the set up here is there needs to be the political will to appreciate how important the television heritage is.

“Television is probably one of the most significant factors of change in the last century, and it all started from here. This is worthy of preservation.”