A century of quality

One of the BBC’s most familiar faces, John Craven has been presenting Countryfile since 1989

The BBC is 100 years old this autumn and we’re celebrating by looking back at some of its best rural, farming and natural history output over the past century.

In this issue, John Craven remembers some of the radio and early TV that had such an influence on him – and without these programmes, he says he might never have been tempted to take up the role on Countryfile for which he is now perhaps best known. And in our feature 100 years of rural TV, we look at some of the BBC’s landmark rural productions.

I am personally grateful for the many natural history programmes that helped inspire my lifelong love of the countryside and its wildlife, as well as an understanding of the farming world. And it’s not just the big flagship David Attenborough series, but forgotten gems such as Living Britain (1999), or the myriad magical tales told on Nature (Radio 4), to the fabulous Wildtrack with Su Ingle and Michael Jordan, which was a late 70s, early 80s predecessor to The Really Wild Show. Farming Today alone has been running since 1960!

So it’s a big thank you to the people who have created so many outstanding shows that enable us to escape into the country when we can’t necessarily get there ourselves. Let me know your own favourites – and why – by emailing editor@countryfile.com. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Fergus Collins, editor@countryfile.com

Don’t miss our nature and countryside Plodcast – available on all podcast providers

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