DEMOLISHING the building voted the ugliest in Worcester would cost millions of pounds, television producers have been warned.

Elgar House in Shrub Hill was the runaway winner in a city council poll to find which eyesore site residents wanted demolished as part of Channel 4's new TV series, Demolition.

But the estate agent responsible for the office block said it would be impossible to compensate the tenants and owner, who only recently bought it for more than £1m.

Charlotte Fullard, a graduate surveyor at Andrew Grant, said the inside of the building was still in good condition and that bulldozers should take out the Giffard Hotel instead.

"One argument against Elgar House is that it is next to the railway station but I would have thought a building next to the Cathedral has a much bigger impact on a setting," said Miss Fullard, adding that workers enjoy "fantastic" views of the city from the upper floors.

Only 1,446sq ft of a total 27,600sq ft is vacant in the 1960s construction - 825sq ft of the ground floor is on the market with an annual rent cost of £6,600.

"It is nearly full, so obviously, everyone inside it doesn't hate it that much," said Miss Fullard.

"The exterior has put people off but they've always been pleasantly surprised by the inside."

She added that the company which owns the building only took it over in November and was keen to improve its appearance.

However the council's principal conservation officer, Will Scott, remained resolute in his belief Elgar House must be pulled down despite Miss Fullard's objections about cost.

"None of that changes our view that it has to go - it might just take a little longer," he said.

"Ideally, it is something that shouldn't be there. I fully understand that financially it might not stack up.

"But time is on our side. The gradual process of erosion and wear and tear means the equation will balance eventually," Mr Scott explained.