Melvyn Bragg presents a new six-part series surveying 1,000 years of spoken English as reflected in the dialects of Britain.
1: Do You Speak Pitmatic? The dialect of coastal Northumberland has been called the most beautiful in England. It has, until recently, encompassed some of the most heavily mined areas of the country. Now all but one of the collieries have closed. Bragg travels to Ashington to listen to old Pitmatic, to trace its roots through 1,000 years of Northumbrian speech. Producer Simon Elmes. Repeated at 9.30pm