LIVING as we do in the age of digital TV a local TV channel is perhaps not so surprising.

But 30 years ago the Ribble Valley came under the national spotlight when what was billed as ‘a unique TV experiment’ came to our screens.

As part of a Channel Four project, The Television Village, the picturesque village of Waddington got its own dedicated TV channel in 1990.

Waddington Village TV was broadcast from a command centre set up behind the Higher Buck using a small mast loaned by the Independent Broadcasting Authority which also had editing facilities.

The village channel broadcast nightly from 7pm to 8pm from its main ‘studio’ in the village hall also featuring specially recorded news items which had been filmed during the day.

The programmes included cub meetings, music from the local barber shop singers and the vicar giving his thought for the day and was fronted by several local presenters who were all new to TV.

Considering this was something so new, the TV channel ran remarkably smoothly.

The broadcast was only interrupted once when sheep nibbled through some of the wires leading to the transmitter.

As well as being available to villagers, residents around the Ribble Valley returned their aerials to be able to pick up the nightly broadcasts.

It certainly proved popular in the ever-so important ratings war with Waddington Village TV’s output attracting 95 per cent of viewers from the village, easily outperforming the likes of EastEnders and Coronation Street.

The villagers’ reaction to their own channel plus excerpts from the station’s output formed part of the six-part Channel Four series The Television Village which was broadcast nationwide.

Do you remember Waddington Village TV taking to the air? Were you involved in any of the programmes? Email bygones@nqnw.co.uk