"This was The Television Village a first-of-its-kind social experiment from 1990 that had the Lancashire village of Waddington watch, make and become television. For a short spell in the early 90s, the Ribble Valley was worth a fortune, as Granada Television shipped 3m worth of cutting-edge TV equipment to the rural hills of north-west England. Hidden cameras were set up in villagers' living rooms to record viewing habits, day and night. Meanwhile, Channel 4 filmed the entire thing for a six-part documentary series."
"Hours earlier, four young locals had been wrangled into being live presenters at their quiet village Sunday school. Despite dead air and awkward line delivery, it was the poor transmission quality that made the stars Michelle Hornby (31), Jonathan Brown (27), James Warburton (25) and Deborah Cowking (21) apologise and cut the inaugural broadcast. But Cowking, not realising they were still on air, slipped past the censors and summed up the evening's vibe perfectly: chaotic, amateur and unrelentingly British."
The Television Village transformed Waddington into a live media laboratory in 1990. Granada Television shipped 3m of broadcasting equipment to the Ribble Valley and installed terrestrial, cable and satellite feeds including European and US channels. Hidden cameras recorded villagers' viewing habits around the clock while Channel 4 filmed the project for a six-part documentary. Granada also established Waddington Village TV, a community-run channel with DIY sets, volunteer presenters and locally produced soap operas and features. Low transmission quality, dead air and amateur delivery disrupted early broadcasts, and presenters apologised and cut an inaugural show after a host unknowingly spoke on air.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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