[3] It is located in Upper Boat,[2] a village on the outskirts of Pontypridd,[3] Rhondda Cynon Taf, near Cardiff in Wales.

The studios, previously a seat belt manufacturing factory for the automotive industry,[1] were officially opened on 27 July 2006; 18 years ago (2006-07-27), by Welsh Enterprise Minister Andrew Davies,[2][3] for the purpose of producing Doctor Who, along with its related spin-off programmes.

[2][3] At ten times larger than BBC Wales existing site at Llandaff, the Doctor Who residency at Upper Boat Studios included the use of its six sound stages.

[1] Other facilities at Upper Boat included a large props store, workshops, and video editing suites.

[1] By 2011, Doctor Who was the only programme still based at Upper Boat, following the move of several BBC Wales productions to the new permanent home at the new Roath Lock studios.