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Back in Time for Tea

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Factual: Food & Drink

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The Ellis family see what life was like for working class families over the past 100 years

The Ellis family travel back in time to discover how changing food in the north of England reveals what life was like for working class families over the past 100 years.

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Sara Cox

Polly Russell

Emily Shields

Christina Nutter

Wall to Wall Media

Back in Time for Tea: Series 1: Episode 3

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Episode 3

Series 1

BBC Two - Back in Time for Tea, Series 1, Episode 3

1960 marks the start of an era of prosperity. Dad Jon puts in a shift down the local pit.

The Ellis family discover how life has changed for northern working-class families. 1960 marks the start of an era of prosperity. Dad Jon puts in a shift down the local pit.

The Ellis family from Bradford embark on an extraordinary time-travelling adventure to discover how a transformation in the food eaten in the north of England can reveal how life has changed for northern working-class families over the past 100 years. The family's own home is their time machine, transporting them through a different era each week - from the sparse furnishings and meagre provisions of 1918 to the modern home comforts and bulging freezer of 1999. Guided through their time travel by Bolton-born presenter Sara Cox and social historian Polly Russell, everything the family of five experience, from the jobs they do to the food they eat, is based on historical data and spending surveys of the era. The family live through a time of dramatic change in the industrial north - experiencing everything from the mill to the mine, The Beatles to Thatcher and bland potato pie to the spicy delights of the curry capital of the UK.

For the Ellis family, 1960 marks the start of a new era of prosperity and confidence in the north. We follow dad Jon as he puts in a shift down the local pit. The work is hard but full employment and a strong union mean he is bringing home a decent pay packet, so gone are the days of offal and dripping. By 1964 they are tucking into steak and home-cooked chips with Lancashire chef Nigel Haworth. They can even afford a summer holiday in Filey - enjoying a full fry-up in their authentic 60s caravan.

The teen girls embrace new-found freedoms. At a 60s coffee bar they meet Bobby Elliot from chart-topping Manchester band the Hollies and find out about a generation of northern stars that changed pop music forever. They are delighted to try some new exotic flavours, heading out for a Chinese whilst Mum and Dad stop at home with sausage and mash.

Back in Time for Tea: Series 1

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