made in manchester

Michael Portillo – Former Cabinet Minister and presenter of BBC2 series Great British Railway Journeys – joins the Made in Manchester team this weekend when he hosts a special programme for BBC Radio 4 analysing the impact of the Beeching cuts in the 1960s on Britain’s railways.

The documentary is the latest to be produced by radio indie Made in Manchester for the network’s popular Archive on 4 strand.

One Way Ticket: The Beeching Cuts Revisited will air at 8pm this Saturday night.

Producer and MIM Creative Director Ashley Byrne says: ‘Michael loves the railways and his passion for their history and heritage really comes through in this programme. His BBC2 series is a massive hit and takes up a lot of his time so we are delighted to be able to recruit him for this programme.

“There’s some touching anecdotes from people who worked in the railways during their heyday and Richard Spendlove, creator of the hit TV series Oh Dr Beeching (and a former station master) reminds us how it was a completely different way of life before the hated civil servant wielded his axe to hundreds of lines and stations across the country in the 1960s.

Ashley adds: “We analyse the impact the cuts had on communities and on the way politicians, planners and the public subsequently viewed the railways in the following five decades. And we ask how Dr Beeching might have felt about the railway renaissance we enjoy today.”

Made in Manchester has made a number of programmes in the Archive on 4 strand including the critically acclaimed The Lost World of the Suffragettes (presented by Dan Snow) and The Bradford Fire: A Day That Will Live With Me Forever (presented by Gaby Logan).

Made in Manchester is breaking yet more new ground after signing a deal to supply its children’s adventure series to Falklands Radio.

Suzie Pugh and a Monster Too already broadcasts on Ireland’s state broadcaster RTE and on the UK’s only dedicated children’s radio station Fun Kids Radio which broadcasts on DAB across the South East.

Starring Vicky Binns from Coronation Street and Steve Murphy from Life on Mars/Shameless, the series will feature as part of the station’s longest running programme Children’s Corner, which has aired on the island since 1929.

The news that Falklands Radio is taking the audio adventure series about a little girl and Smert, her alien monster friend, comes just weeks after the 10 minute episodes began airing on RTE across the Irish Republic.

Falklands Radio Programme Controller Liz Elliot says: “These stories are totally different and new and we believe that our younger listeners (and the young at heart) will really enjoy this fantastic series. A big Falkland Islands welcome to Suzie Pugh and the wonderful Smert.”

She adds: “We are really looking forward to the beginning of the new liaison with the team from Made Manchester.”

In 1982 Falklands Radio was forced off air when Argentina invaded the Islands.

Made in Manchester Creative Director Ashley Byrne says: “It’s really exciting to be supplying programmes to other territories beyond the UK and I hope this will lead to a longer-term relationship with Falklands Radio and other stations especially in Commonwealth countries.

Ashley adds: “MIM is now actively looking at ways we can provide stand-out icing on the cake programming for Falklands Radio and other stations in English-speaking territories around the world. There’s a lot of historic links between the UK and these countries which largely goes uncelebrated. I think it should be nurtured. Watch this space!”

You can hear a specially extended first episode of Suzie Pugh and a Monster Too at www.suziepugh.com

The series can be heard on Falklands Radio online at firs.co.fk while past episodes can also be heard via the RTE radio player at www.rte.ie