West Bromwich pub to feature on popular TV show to help uncover what Englishness means today

The Red Lion in West Bromwich will star in Grayson Perry's Full English on Channel 4 at 9pm.

The series follows the artist Grayson as he travels around the country, meeting all sorts of people, as he tries to uncover what Englishness means today.

In tonight's episode, he visits the Midlands and encounters examples of how other cultures have become part of the countryside and British institutions.

He learns about 'Desi pubs', such as The Red Lion, which are run by British Indians and have saved many local boozers from closure.

Satnam Purewal began running the pub full-time in 2019, taking over from his father who had owned it since 1997.

Satman, a former teacher, says he has always been involved in the business in some way, but in 2019 he decided to leave his post as a teacher and run it full time.

A huge wave of popularity of 'Desi pubs' has risen in recent years, where pubs that were maybe once struggling or just simply had a transformation and change with the times, now serve top quality Indian food.

Satnam said: "The rise of the Desi pubs has grown organically and people are really taking notice now, with similar places opening around the country like Coventry and Newcastle, but the Midlands is still very much the heart of the Desi pubs - we have the biggest concentration of Desi pubs here in the West Midlands, and people travel from all over just to ear here.

"We have had a lot of Canadians coming to eat here and they all love the food. The evolution has been good - with what first started as a wet pub in 1997, my dad decided to bring in Indian food and turned what once was a male dominated pub into a family atmosphere where they can enjoy the quality of food and service like they would at restaurants."