Inside Out: The best of local journalism returns across English Regions

They say variety is the spice of life and few programmes provide as much as the stories delivered each week by the eleven regional editions of our English Regions news programme Inside Out. When the award winning series returns to our screens on Monday 11 January, the first week alone provides a real sense of what these documentaries are all about and why it is still going strong as it enters its 14th year.

Interestingly, over 60% of the viewers who regularly tune in to Inside Out don’t watch any other current affairs programme on the BBC so they rely on it to provide the very best local journalism and deliver the stories that matter to them most each week.

There can be few issues that mattered more to our viewers across the north of England over the festive period than the flooding crisis. A special edition of Inside Out Yorkshire on Monday goes beyond the national headlines meeting the local heroes that emerged during the crisis, hearing about what’s being done to clear up the worst affected areas and investigating whether flooding can be avoided in the future, or whether in some areas we are actually fighting a losing battle.

Asking the difficult questions and holding to account has always been the cornerstone of the series. In Inside Out London the BBC’s Religious Affairs Correspondent Caroline Wyatt looks back at the tragic events that occurred in Paris last November. She questions security officials about how they are planning to prevent a similar attack in London and discovers why some experts controversially believe that the greatest threat to London’s streets may come from the growing ‘Jungle Camp’ in Calais.

Our Inside Out reporters are also renowned for agenda setting - using their abundant local contacts to uncover stories that impact nationally. In Inside Out East the team interview a Suffolk farmer who was a victim of criminals who stole expensive equipment and livestock. They discover that this is far from being an isolated problem when the National Farmers Union confirm that there’s been a 70% increase in the theft of livestock from farms across England in the last year

In this run, as with other series, our teams have uncovered intriguing human interest stories. While many enjoyed the latest Star Wars film over the festive period Inside Out West meets one of the key designers from the original films to find out why he has abandoned the bright lights of Hollywood to live in relative obscurity in Cheltenham. We’ll find out what lay behind his decision and discover what’s happened to the two Oscars he received for his remarkable work on arguably the world’s most iconic film series.

Cutting edge journalism, thorough investigations and stories that are rooted in the communities in which our viewers live are the fundamental ingredients to any Inside Out series. And it’s these regional roots which sets it apart from any other current affairs series on our TV screens today.

David Holdsworth is controller of English Regions.

• Inside Out returns on Monday 11 January at 7.30pm on BBC One.
• Read the press release about the new series on the BBC Media Centre.