Bilsdale transmitter: which TV and Freeview channels are affected by mast fire – and when will they be fixed?

A fire at a remote 1,000ft TV transmitter mast that has disrupted broadcasts in North Yorkshire and Teesside has been extinguished – but TV and radio services for more than a million people will remain off air “indefinitely”.

Concerns also linger over the mast’s structural integrity, with North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (NYFRS) establishing a 300 metre exclusion zone around the Bilsdale transmitting centre, high on the North York Moors, north of Helmsley.

Eight pumps and crews from across the region were sent to tackle the blaze, with the first call coming at 1.19pm on Tuesday (10 August) from an engineer working at the transmitter.

NYFRS said the engineer “believed the mast was on fire due to smoke coming from below the first stay level” – about 50-60 metres up – with calls also coming from members of the public who also spotted the smoke from a distance.

In an update on Tuesday evening, the service said it worked in “difficult circumstances” and extinguished a fire in a “single-storey stone building” and the 315 metre (1,032ft) mast.

It added: “Only one building in a complex of four was affected and there are concerns about the structural integrity of the mast. A 300 metre exclusion zone has been put in place around the mast. Firefighting has now ceased until the site has been confirmed as safe for further work.”

NYFRS said it would be working on Wednesday with Arqiva, the site operators, “to bring the incident to a safe conclusion”.

When will TV and radio be back?

The fire affected transmission of a range of TV and radio broadcasts, including Freeview coverage, for more than one million people in North Yorkshire, Teesside and part of County Durham.

The transmitter tower was built in 1969 and currently supplies digital TV signals to a large area of north-east England.

A spokesman for Arqiva said: “The fire at Bilsdale has caused damage to our equipment and we are currently unable to broadcast TV and radio services from this site. Bilsdale is under the control of the fire services. We apologise for the inconvenience.”

The services affected include:

- Channels on the PSB1, 2, 3, COM4, 5, 6, 7 and LTV television multiplexes

- BBC Radio Tees, BBC Radios 1-4 and BBC DAB

- Commercial radio stations SDL, North Yorkshire DAB, BAUER Teesside, Digital 1, TFM, Capital, Heart and Classic FM

A BBC spokesman said “TV and radio services are being disrupted in parts of North Yorkshire and Teesside” following the fire, but said the broadcaster was “in close contact with the company that runs the transmitter who are working on restoring services.

“For those in the affected area, BBC Radio Tees is still available on BBC Sounds and online, as are the BBC’s other radio stations. BBC TV can be viewed through BBC iPlayer and on cable and satellite platforms.”

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