Countryfile

Image: John Craven and the Countryfile Land Rover Discovery in 1993.

The first edition of Countryfile was broadcast at lunch time on 24 July 1988. It replaced Farming, which had provided news and features for farmers for 30 years. Countryfile was aimed at a broader community of people who were interested in the countryside as well as those who worked in it. Over the years Countryfile has successfully raised rural issues to the top of the national agenda.

The presenters of the first programme (then called Country File) were Chris Baines, Caroline Hall, Ian Breach, Anne Brown and Roger Tabor. The programme featured stories on the crisis in British villages, with the shortage of affordable housing forcing locals to move away; disputes between canoeists and anglers over access to inland waterways; and looked at the threat posed to small wildlife by the domestic cat. John Craven joined the programme in 1989 and was the main presenter until 2009. Countryfile has provided in depth coverage of big stories such as the foot and mouth outbreak, hunting, bird flu and bovine tuberculosis.

In 2009 the programme moved to Sunday evenings, where it attracted 7 million viewers. It had a sister programme - Country Tracks – broadcast in the mornings until 2011, and Countryfile Magazine continues to be a success on the newstands. Viewers are encouraged to get involved, submitting videos to the website and photos for The Countryfile Calendar.