We Are England: England's Greatest Showman

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Started as BBC News 24 in 29/11/1997 and then became the BBC News Channel on 21/04/2008

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An impartial and independent news service offering breaking news, analysis and insight.

A 24-hour impartial and independent news service offering breaking news, analysis and insight. It provides fast and comprehensive coverage of local, UK and international events.

We Are England

Documentaries

Factual: Real Life Stories

We Are England explores the issues people care about, as told by them.

Exploring the issues people care about, as told by them - from across England. It's a reflection of the opinions and changing face of the nation.

England's Greatest Showman - We Are England

BBC One Cambridgeshire

Simulcast of network BBC One in high definition. From 03/11/2010

BBC One HD

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

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The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

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Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

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BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

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The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria HD

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BBC One Yorks & Lincs HD

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region. Separated as BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One London HD

BBC One Yorkshire

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

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The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

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BBC One South East

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Charlotte Charlton

Nisha Diu

Sarah Trigg

Aisling O'Connor

We Are England: Family: England's Greatest Showman

England's Greatest Showman

Family

BBC One - We Are England, Family, England's Greatest Showman

On the road with one of England’s largest families of fairground showmen.

Eighty-year-old Nipper is fairground aristocracy, the head of East Anglia’s largest family of showmen. We join them on the road, seeing the challenges they face.

At 79, Nipper has led an incredible life. The head of East Anglia’s largest family of travelling showmen, he is fairground aristocracy. His stock-in-trade is the ghost town ride, which he has toured for several decades. 

Several younger generations of showmen from his family work alongside him. Schooled by Nipper and other members of the old guard since birth, they know this most traditional of entertainment industries inside out.

In this film, we follow Nipper and his clan from the first fair of the season in Kings Lynn as they embark on a new season of touring. Along the way, we hear how the industry has changed; from horse and cart to wagons with all mod cons, and from old-fashioned ‘exhibits’ like the bearded lady to new attractions for modern audiences.  

We meet Nipper’s two granddaughters, Monique and Britney – two women in their 20s who have followed their family into the trade. This season, they are also arranging an 80th birthday bonanza for Nipper, inviting the great and the good of Britain’s fairgrounds to come and celebrate with him.   

We also meet John, on the road with his two sons. John is all too aware of how gruelling life as a showman can be. He travels by night, setting up rides when he arrives, and welcoming revellers come daytime. He’s also trying to secure land for a permanent home to return to at the end of the season. His family may face homelessness if a solution isn’t found, and it weighs heavily on John's mind. 

Overheads are tight, and the whole family must pull together. Challenges range from the technical and the commercial to the bureaucratic, with even small challenges enough to throw a spanner in the works. 

We Are England: Family

BBC One

We Are England explores the issues people care about told by them.

We Are England explores the issues people care about told by them. With real stories from across England each week is a reflection of the opinions and changing face of our country.

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