AFTER simmering for weeks, tensions finally erupt as Chastity Dingle slaps barmaid Louise squarely across the chops. And in the bottom right hand corner of the screen another drama is being played out, as just another night in the Woolpack is translated into sign language for hearing impaired viewers.

"We have signed everything from Trisha to Eurotrash, and in between signed Emmerdale, Family Affairs, wildlife programmes. We have signed MTV music, documentary work, comedy. The only thing we don't sign here is live programming."

Malcolm Wright, as head of new media at Tyne Tees Television, is in charge of SignPost, responsible for virtually all the sign language on commercial television, not just in the North-East, but across the UK. If there's someone in the corner of your screen using sign language, chances are they were filmed in the studios in Newcastle's City Road.

"We do all the sign language for Channel Four and five, we do all UKTV, which is UK Gold, UK Living, UK Style, we do Bravo, the Paramount Comedy Channel, Nickelodeon, and ITV1 and ITV2, of course," says Malcolm.

But it was almost by chance that Newcastle became the centre of the UK's television signing industry, and it was the launch in 1982 of Channel Four, which had catering for minority interests as part of its remit, which provided the spur.

Malcolm says: "There were a group of people at Tyne Tees who were interested in deaf issues and they put together a proposal for Channel Four to do programmes in sign language. It was an opportunity to do something that others hadn't done before, and create a centre of expertise here at City Road. Throughout the 80s and 90s, Tyne Tees was supplying programmes specifically made for the deaf community who use British Sign Language. It really invented the concept of television access for deaf people."

PREVIOUSLY, deaf people had to rely on subtitles, but for many, particularly those deaf from birth, English is their second language, and, because they are often let down by the education system, they fail to reach a high standard. The result is that English subtitles are not as easy to understand as British Sign Language, the first language for about 70,00 people in this country. BSL is not just converting each English word into a sign: it is a language in its own right, with its own grammar, structure and word order.

"It is a fantastically rich, visual, gesturing language, with its own traditions, and if offers much better communication for deaf people than English does," says Malcolm. BSL was recognised as an official UK language only last year, and tomorrow marks the first anniversary of that breakthrough, British Sign Language Recognition Day.

Martin MacMurtrie is one of the dozen or so signers used by SignPost, all of whom are themselves deaf. He had been working for the Royal National Institute for the Deaf in Northern Ireland, helping deaf people to find work, but returned to his native Newcastle to take up work with SignPost. Speaking though an interpreter, he says: "Because deaf people's first language is BSL, it can be quite difficult to find jobs, but I've got a good grounding in English and I thought I would use that experience to become a television interpreter."

At the moment, he's working on an episode of Lads' Army, where today's young men were given a taste of national service. After reading the script, he watches the video tape, before going into the studio to record a sign language version, against a blank blue background. This is then matched up with the original video by the broadcaster.

"It's important to read the script first and get a feel for it, get an idea of what it's about. Then, when you watch the video tape, you look at the characters of each person. Some of them are very aggressive, and you have to portray that in your body language, or if it is a weakling, you have to portray that in your signing.

'PART of BSL's structure is body language, and you role shift so people understand which character is speaking. You have to follow the characters and how they behave - because deaf people can't hear them shout, you have to show that, usually through your facial expression."

These non-manual expressions, from nodding for yes to facial contortions for anger, are an essential part of BSL, and also convey an understanding of the mood of a programme beyond what subtitles could achieve.

"The education system is not great, because it is focussed on being taught to speak and how to lip read, and not on the subject itself, so a lot of deaf people don't understand English fully. Subtitles are English so they're not getting the full meaning of BSL," Martin says "Some people like subtitles, and that is fine, but some people like sign language."

It's the broadcasters themselves who choose which programmes will be signed, although they have to ensure this makes up a minimum proportion of their output. Over ten years from 1999, this is to rise from one per of digital terrestrial television to five per cent, and this will also apply to cable and satellite from next year. For SignPost, this works out at about 25 hours of television a week.

"It is not very many at all, and it ought to be much higher than that," says Malcolm. "But the bottom line is, it is a start and it has made BSL more visible. Viewers are aware there are these people signing away in the corner of the television."

But even now, most signed programmes are broadcast in the early hours and have to be taped so they can be watched at a more respectable time. The thinking, Malcolm says, is that most viewers are irritated by the sight of someone signing in the bottom of the screen. The evidence for this is anecdotal, although during Malcolm's days as head of features at Tyne Tees, he commissioned a series of Grundy, a programme on the region's architectural heritage, which was signed, and it fared better in the ratings than a previous, non-signed series.

RESEARCH is going on into how viewers can key in to signed programming, in the same way as for subtitling, but this has so far not come to fruition. Live programmes are still a problem. Some broadcasters, such as GMTV, have live signing, but use hearing interpreters, whereas for SignPost's deaf interpreters, stenographers are required to provide a simultaneous translation, which is then put into sign language. So far the error level is too high, so SignPost sticks to recorded programmes.

SignPost has also branched out into films, signing Austin Powers and Bend It Like Beckham, among others, for special screenings for deaf audiences. Moving into DVDs may be the next step. SignPost has also set up a bilingual website, one of the few Internet sites featuring sign language. The commitment to employing deaf people has permeated throughout SignPost: the webmaster, Nikki Green, is deaf, as is a studio technician.

For Martin, SignPost is providing an essential service for deaf people, particularly those who have difficulty with subtitles, but the situation is a long way from ideal. "It is very frustrating. You think 'Why should I pay my television licence when I'm not getting access to all the programmes?'," he says. "The only other access we're given is subtitles, and that isn't even all programmes. It would be lovely to have peak time BSL translated programmes, but in reality I don't think that's going to happen."