Children's channel CBeebies is to leave BBC Television Centre in west London in a move that will save the corporation around ￡500,000 a year.

The hit digital TV service is moving its presenters to Teddington in south-west London early next year because the studios at Television Centre are proving too expensive.

It is understood that it was costing CBeebies more than ￡1m a year to hire studios from BBC Resources at Television Centre.

At Teddington Studios - where Thames Television used to be based - the cost will be almost half that, according to insiders.

Although it will be a blow not to have CBeebies presenters on-site for tours by the public of Television Centre, the money saved will be ploughed into making more programmes.

Despite being one of the most popular digital channels, CBeebies' on-air production budget is relatively small - around ￡8m a year. In comparison, BBC3 gets around ￡117m.

Yet CBeebies gets almost three times the ratings of BBC3 and - once repeats of BBC1 shows Doctor Who and EastEnders are stripped out - around 11 times.

The CBeebies schedule is built around daily stripped shows such as Balamory, Boogie Beebies, In The Night Garden, Charlie and Lola, Tweenies and Big Cook Little Cook.

BBC children's has already been making cuts in its studio costs as part of an efficiency drive.

Richard Deverell, the BBC children's controller, revealed earlier this week at a Voice of the Listener & Viewer conference that he moved Blue Peter to a smaller studio because its large studio was costing more than sending film crews to some foreign shoots.

A BBC spokesman said: "CBeebies is moving its presentation department early next year as part of the drive to cut down costs per hour in BBC children's."

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