Versa Studios has opened its second location in the United Kingdom in less than two months.

The 55,000 sq ft space, which will take over the Manchester Studios complex with five studios enabling opportunities to produce in the narrative, commercials, and gaming space, will be completely operational by summer 2023.

Morning Live, a BBC One daily daytime magazine format created during the epidemic in which visitors take part in daily topical conversation and deliver expert advice, will be broadcast from Versa ABC, which is part of the venue.

The programme is relocating from London as part of the BBC's effort to better represent the UK as a whole by relocating more of its programming away from the city.

Versa's expansion reflects a flurry of activity in the UK studio scene.

It opened in London late last year, hosting ITV's Walk the Line, and hopes to open in Leeds as well, with a total area of 330,000 square feet once all locations are taken. RD Studios and Troubadour Brent Cross Studios opened the week it arrived in London, and Amazon Prime Video signed a deal at Pinewood's Shepperton Studios only last week.

“We fully intend to create a creative media cluster in Manchester rather than simply a set of TV studios,” said Executive Director of Versa Charlie Ingall. “We want to bring back content creation production and performance to Manchester.”