BBC Radio 4 Extra

Down Your Way

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Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

One of Britain's longest-running radio series which started in 1946 and ran for decades.

One of Britain's longest-running radio series which started in 1946 and ran for decades, attracting 10 million listeners a week at its peak.

Down Your Way: Sheila Hancock in Workington

08/07/2017

Sheila Hancock in Workington

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Down Your Way, Sheila Hancock in Workington

Actress Sheila Hancock returns to Workington, Cumbria, to see how the town has changed.

4 Extra Debut. Actress Sheila Hancock returns to Workington, Cumbria, to see how the town has coped with social and economic change. From November 1988.

"To be perfectly honest, I had never even heard of Workington," admits actress Sheila Hancock, but after a visit with the Royal Shakespeare Company, she took the town and its people to her heart. 

On her return in 1988, she discovered the community - devastated by closures in the steel industry - was fighting back. She also found time to indulge in Workington's passion for rugby league...

Down Your Way was a schedule staple for decades - starting on the BBC Home Service in 1946 and ending its run on BBC Radio 4 in 1992. Using a variety of hosts, including Richard Dimbleby and Brian Johnston, the programme toured villages, towns and cities across the UK. At the height of the series' success in the 1950s, it was attracting ten million listeners a week.

Producer: John Holmes 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1988.

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