Crossroads back as new Black Country TV station launches
Wrestling, community news and old episodes of Crossroads are among the highlights as the television channel serving the Black Country goes live today.
Big Centre TV, based in Walsall, begins broadcasting on channel eight on Freeview at 6pm.
And after kicking off with an introduction by former ATV presenter Mike Prince and its flagship news programme, it will air a classic episode of soap opera Crossroads.
British wrestling will return to the screens, while students at Walsall Studio School will also host their own show.
Among the presenters are former Express & Star columnist Bob Hall, and the Shropshire Star's former news editor Carl Jones, while the paper's former chief reporter Jennifer Meierhans is a senior producer.
7.30pm Sat: Crossroads – a classic episode
8pm: Crossroads Reopened! A documentary
8.30pm: Project M – musicians' showcase
10pm: Ice hockey
7.30am Sun: The Bostin' Bear Club
8am: News with Bob Hall
9.30am: Our House, a youth programme
10am: Soundcheck – live performances
11am: Bollyheat – fitness
2pm: The 8 Team, presented by students from Walsall Studio School
2.30pm: Cuppa TV, lifestyle
6pm: Cook It with Andrew Kay
9pm: Brummywood Yammywood – Film critic Carl Jones showcases the latest films
The channel was set up by Mike Prince and Chris Perry, who writes the TV memories column for the E&S.
They said they wanted to provide local television that reflects the communities watching it.
And sport, cookery, news, children's shows and music are all represented during the channel's first weekend.
Carl Jones presents a film review show called Brummywood Yammywood, which will focus on local film-makers alongside the Hollywood big-hitters.
Fans of ice hockey can watch a Midlands derby between Solihull Barons and Coventry Blaze tonight, while youngsters will wake up to the Bostin' Bear Club in the morning.
The News Team, a group of young reporters from Ladywood in Birmingham, will front their own youth magazine show, while Bollyheat will showcase exercises using Bollywood dance moves.
There is also a strong emphasis on nostalgia, with a documentary on classic adverts and Picture Box looking at local history through viewers' photographs.
Other highlights of the week ahead include Top Gear rival Land Rover Live in which a young driver navigates a muddy ditch.
Bosses said they brought back Crossroads and there was a demand to see the soap, which was made in Birmingham in the 1970s and 80s.
Mr Perry said: "It's an incredible honour to bring Crossroads back to viewers. More than 4,500 episodes were filmed, but only around 3,000 have survived and these are mostly from 1978 to 1988.
"The earlier editions were largely lost and only a few classic editions survive. However, we plan to show all editions available, including those known as the Crossroads Classics.
"Bringing Crossroads back to the small screen has only been possible because of the close partnership between ITV and me and my team at Kaleidoscope. Arranging this deal was not easy as checking assets from the 1960s took time, restoration and research, but we are deeply proud to be the new home of such an iconic programme."
It is hoped that up to 2.3million viewers will watch the new station, which will broadcast seven days a week.
Programmes will also be available online, giving the station a potential global audience.
