FORGOTTEN footage from Northern film archives has been restored for a television series looking at the region's recent past.

Films retrieved from cine clubs, archives and private collections in the region has been brought together for an eight-week series of programmes titled The Way We Were, which will start on Tyne Tees next week.

Presenter Andy Kluz pored through hundreds of hours of footage to put together a remarkable documentary of life in the region since the 1920s.

The first series of The Way We Were, which was screened last year, attracted audiences of up to 400,000 people.

Producer Liz Treadway said: "We knew there was lots of fantastic film out there because of our research into series one.

"This time round, we have searched for collectors and enthusiasts prepared to dust off their old cans and forage in attics and cellars. Most of what we have found has never been viewed for decades.

"We have uncovered rare colour film from before the war as well as early black and white footage of life in various parts of the North-East.

"I think people are going to be amazed at the events and landscapes which have been captured forever on these remarkable films."

The first programme, to be shown at 7.30pm on Thursday, January 6, features rare footage of post-war Redcar, rural life in Swaledale and the opening of the Tyne Bridge by King George V.

Other programmes will feature memories of growing up in the region, school life, working life, leisure, the region in wartime and holidays.

Published: 31/12/2004