Watch: How Italians in Bedford celebrated Christmas 40 years ago

Archive footage from the BBC's early evening magazine programme Nationwide shows a family keeping their Italian heritage alive at Christmas.

The cameras dropped in on the Defeo family in Bedford and got to see eels and a chicken being prepared.

Their daughter, whose first language is English, sang a carol in Italian.

The brickworks around the town were a magnet for immigrants from southern Italy after World War Two.

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24 December 2025

Bedford

Three ostriches cluster together in a field next to a wooden fence, all looking towards a zookeeper. She stands on the other side of the fence with her head turned away from the camera towards the birds. She wears a forest green hat and jacket and is writing on a clipboard.

Extra special stocktake of zoo animals begins

Staff say they were given a last-minute surprise, after a white rhino was born on New Year's Day.

Beds, Herts & Bucks

Water gushes on to a flooded railway track.

Watch: Gushing water turns railway 'into a river'

Fast-flowing water from a burst sewer main is seen pouring into a flooded railway station.

Beds, Herts & Bucks

A large explosion with a enormous plume of dark smoke rising upwards into the sky

The first 999 call made after Buncefield explosion

"There's been an explosion," a woman tells a 999 operator following the blast on 11 December 2005.

Beds, Herts & Bucks

Two police officers are pulling a man out of a BMW crashed into a lamppost near a red bus

BMW driver jailed after crashing into lamp-post

Cameron Saddique is handed a driving ban for more than three years following the crash in September.

Beds, Herts & Bucks

Woman shouting in a front garden while a workman watches on in the background.

Watch: Neighbours row as workers dig up front lawn

Videos of the dispute are watched more than four million times after being shared on TikTok.

Beds, Herts & Bucks

Two squirrels moving around inside a cylindrical drain

Family of rodents found living in drain system

Other items discovered in roadside drains around Hertfordshire include a trampoline and grenade.

Beds, Herts & Bucks

A man on a mountain bike is flying through the air as he makes his way through a truck with an empty load

Watch: Mountain biker jumps through moving lorries

Organiser Red Bull says it was a "world-first" jump in which "every element had to align perfectly".

Beds, Herts & Bucks

A car is passing over a zebra crossing. It is blurred, and the people around the car are also blurred or out of focus.

Car narrowly misses pupils and lollipop woman

Drivers face penalties including points on their licence or mandatory speed awareness courses.

Beds, Herts & Bucks

Lion cubs explore zoo pumpkin patch

The zoo says it is a great way to encourage their curiosity, reinforce bonds and keep them fit.

Beds, Herts & Bucks

A yellow telehandler vehicle carries a dark box on a grey concrete forecourt outside of a Sainsbury's Local at nighttime

Watch: The moment gang rip cash machine from shop

Footage has shown the moment a gang used a telehandler to rip a cash machine out of a Sainsbury’s shop front.

Beds, Herts & Bucks

A grey car heads towards a red light at a roundabout. There other other vehicles around it.

Car smashed in high speed roundabout crash

A man is banned from driving after admitting to causing serious injuries by dangerous driving.

Beds, Herts & Bucks

The back of an armed police officer. He is wearing thick black clothing and is in a dimly lit corridor.

Documentary shows moment triple-murder victims found

The documentary will feature on Channel 4's 24 Hours in Police Custody on 5 and 6 October.

Beds, Herts & Bucks

Filming of a street scene featuring actor Daniel Rigby in a grey suit bumping into a man in a purple cloak.

Filming for Harry Potter TV series spotted in town

Fans of the young wizard capture a scene for the upcoming HBO series being shot in Hertfordshire.

Beds, Herts & Bucks

White-on-red "no entry" roadsign in front of buildings

Archive: Village's women ban sex before bypass demo

Wives of campaigners put a clamp on their partners' sex lives ahead of a campaign for a new road.

Beds, Herts & Bucks

Archive: Oasis set for 'biggest rock gig' of 1990s

BBC footage from 1996 shows preparations for the band's hugely anticipated concerts at Knebworth.

Beds, Herts & Bucks

A woman putting a yellow plastic container into a bin.

How residents are expected to use five new bins

Reporter Ben Schofield breaks down how five bins can be used, as similar schemes could appear elsewhere.

Beds, Herts & Bucks

Fans celebrate England's Euros win as they look to a big screen inside a sports venue

Watch: England captain's former club celebrate Euros win

About 1,000 people watch the match on a big screen at Scots Sports & Social Club in Bletchley.

Beds, Herts & Bucks

A giraffe asleep during an operation, surrounded by about five people.

Watch: Team of 25 mends giraffe's hooves at UK zoo

Specialist vets are flown in from the USA for the "complex procedure" to help the animal walk again.

Beds, Herts & Bucks

Foal of endangered zebra species filmed playing

Footage shows the animal, born as part of a conservation programme, running around with its brother.

Beds, Herts & Bucks

A triangular building with a glass front and a big sign displaying the word Rocky.

Video shows heyday of now-closed historic cinema

Archive footage from 1986 shows inside the UK's first multiplex, which is now set to be demolished.

Beds, Herts & Bucks