Discover Darlington with our new TV show

Think you know Darlington? Join us for a special series of television programmes that take you on a walk through the town’s hidden gems and explain how the Towns Fund will regenerate some of our most historic areas.

Discover Darlington, a series of ten three minute programmes, created by Local TV, was commissioned by Darlington Borough Council as part of a commitment to reach as many people as possible to share the progress and potential of the £23.3m we were awarded by the Towns Fund in 2021.

The series will begin this Thursday (Dec 8) and will be shown on Freeview channel 7, Sky 107 and Virgin channel 159. The full series will also be available to view via You Tube.

The programme will be shown under the Your North East banner, with a new episode every Thursday at 6.15pm. It will also be repeated throughout the day from Friday to Monday each week.

Discover Darlington was filmed around the town in late summer and is presented by The Northern Echo’s local history expert Chris Lloyd. A number of familiar faces from the local community will also appear on the programme to talk about different aspects of the town, or explain how Towns Fund money will be spent.

Councillor Jonathan Dulston, leader of the council, and a contributor to Discover Darlington, said: “I love to talk about Darlington and tell as many people as possible about our great town and the exciting plans we have for the Towns Fund, so this television programme is a great way to spread the word.

“We have so much history on our doorstep and it’s been great to see the stories unfold on the screen. I hope everyone watches and takes the chance to find out more about the Towns Fund and what’s coming up.”

Chris Lloyd, chief features writer for The Northern Echo, said: “It was a real thrill to be able to work on these films and present Darlington in a positive light.

“In various scenes, we peer into the cobwebs inside Edward Pease’s house on Northgate and talk about railways, we visit the corner which has been The Northern Echo’s home for 150 years and is about to be transformed, and we take a wander through the yards, admiring the hanging baskets while enjoying an Italian ice cream and searching for the site of the town’s most notorious brothel.”

Darlington was one of the first towns to be awarded through the Towns Fund, with a portfolio of projects that look to regenerate and rejuvenate the town centre, particularly Skinnergate and the Yards, as well as the key gateways of Victoria Road and Northgate.

Towns Fund projects have been designed to enhance and support other on-going investment projects in the town, including the transformation of Darlington Railway Station and the creation of a Rail Heritage Quarter in Northgate ahead of the bicentenary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 2025.