MAIDSTONE Studios, the county's flagship independent television production centre, have been sold in a £4.25 million deal. Dovedale Associates, a local consortium led by a former BBC producer Geoff Miles, agreed to buy the Vinters Park complex from Flextech, a subsidiary of cable communications company Telewest.

The deal ends months of uncertainty over the future of the studios that produce popular television shows such as Art Attack, the Basil Brush Show, Sooty, Soap Addicts and TV Scrabble.

Studio spokesman Ian Lindsay said it was good news for the studios, 26 Flextech employees and production companies. The consortium had assured staff that jobs were safe, and told them that it planned to expand and develop the business. "It's an absolutely fantastic deal," he said.

Peter Williams of Peter Williams Television, an independent company that produced Doodlebug Summer and Aspinall's Animals, said: "I welcome it - it's a step forward for media in Kent and the South East. It secures Maidstone Studios future, at least in the medium term.

"There will be a continuation of production and it enhances the chances of a media/IT grouping in the county, with the Maidstone Studios at its heart."