THE Crediton Courier newspaper and some members of the Lions Club of Crediton will feature in a national television programme to be broadcast on Wednesday, March 29 at 3pm.

Alan Quick, the Editor of the Crediton Courier, contributed to the BBC One programme Escape to the Country, where he talks about the importance of local newspapers in keeping communities connected and informed.

He was interviewed by presenter Sonali Shah in Crediton’s Town Square.

Alan talks about his 45 years at the Crediton Courier, where he started on work experience while still at school, how people love both their local printed copies of the paper and the social media news it publishes.

He talks about how the newspaper supports local businesses through advertising and editorial, explaining that the Courier is one of 10 Tindle Newspaper Ltd newspapers in Devon.

Alan took Sonali to meet members of the Lions Club of Crediton who were recording a session of the Crediton Talking News, which is read from the Courier.

Sonali met four of the readers and was invited to read a story from the paper for an issue of the Talking News.

Lion Eric Parkes explained to Sonali that 60 people receive the Talking News on a memory stick which they plug into a device they are given totally free-of-charge.

Sonali explained that when she was 17, she used to read her local newspaper to her blind neighbour.

Alan explained: “It was lovely to be able to talk about my time with the ‘Crediton Courier’ and stress the importance of local newspapers to their communities.

“We are able to help businesses reach potential customers, hold councils and councillors to account, discuss important community issues and include some lovely photographs from events or activities.

“What is amazing is that I now take photographs of the children of people I photographed as children!  It really is an eventful job and every day I am writing a story about something interesting and newsworthy to so many.

“I also mention how technology has advanced and how Tindle and the Courier are keeping up with this.

“I was pleased to introduce Sonali to some of the Lions Club members and she was impressed that they have read the ‘Courier’ weekly for the Talking News for almost nine years.

“Filming also took place at other locations in Crediton so I hope people will be interested to see shots of the town.”

During the programme, Sonali helps a couple who want to escape the urban sprawl from the largest town in Dorset to find a new home in rural Devon.

Escape to the Country, a house-hunting reality show where buyers are taken to visit a selection of properties in their chosen area, and broadly within their budget, is one of the BBC’s most-watched television programmes.

For those who miss it at 3pm on Wednesday March 29, it will also be broadcast on BBC2 at 6.45am on Thursday, March 30.

It will be possible to watch the episode on BBC iPlayer for 30 days after it has first been aired on BBC1.

This article was edited on Monday March 27 after a BBC TV schedule change.