BBC BLOGS - Chris Jackson's Blog
« Previous | Main | Next »

A BOGOF offer from Inside Out you can't refuse

Chris Jackson | 18:10 UK time, Thursday, 13 October 2011

A bit like the buses.... you wait for ages and then two come along at once!

The brand new series of Inside Out starts on Monday 17 October 2011 19:30 BST (more on this in my next blog), but the evening before we are bringing you a bonus documentary marking 25 years of the Gateshead Metro Centre.


Chris Jackson is shown round Sir John Hall's home, Wynyard Hall

Sir John shows me round his home at Wynyard Hall

Sir John Hall has taken me into his confidence to reveal exactly how he managed to convince reluctant councils, big-wig retailers and financiers to join an adventure that gave the North East the lead in Britain's shopping revolution.

It turns out Sir John even nicked the concept lock, stock and barrel from our North American cousins.

As you can see in this preview of the show, the entrepreneur and his wife weren't averse to some sneaky industrial espionage.

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.


What's incredible is how much of the Metro Centre really is identical to the Woodbine Center - its Canadian forerunner - right down to the colour scheme, fixtures and fittings.


A comparison montage of the Woodbine and the Metro Centres interior

Can you spot the difference?


Kick back and relax this Sunday evening and rummage around 25 years of archive and revelation about the shopping centre that put us on the map.

Metro Man: An Inside Out Special is broadcast on Sunday, 16 October at 22:40 BST on BBC One North East & Cumbria and nationwide on BBC iPlayer.

As BOGOF (buy one - get one free) offers go, it's a real bargain!

Comments

Be the first to comment

BBC © 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.