YEP Says: Why Channel 4 would find a good home in our Leeds

YORKSHIRE'S FINEST: (L-R) Rosie Summers, Leeds Young Persons Film Festival; Dave 0, Studio 12; Jez Colborne, Mind the Gap; Summer Knight, Location Runner for Victoria; Shay Moradi, Running the Halls; Maariah Hussain, Ackley Bridge; Moshin Ahmad, True North; Miles Watts, One&Other; Richard Orillo; Oliver Semple, Monster Island Films; Hugh Mann Adamson, Let There Be Light Productions; Suman Hanif, Documentary Maker; Sarah Broadbent, Orillo.

It gave birth to Emmerdale, a show planned to run for a matter of weeks and which is still going strong decades later. And television studios in the city have created many memorable programmes.

So it is interesting that a new campaign has been launched to persuade Channel 4 to move to Leeds – with a pledge that it will spark a revolution in the creative and screen industries in the North and across the UK.

It is important that regional voices are heard on television, as well as radio.

The fact that the Leeds City Region partnership of Yorkshire councils has launched its #4Sparks drive to attract the relocation of the commercial broadcaster is welcome.

What’s more it has been backed by a host of up and coming Yorkshire talent and key creative names.

The campaign comes after the YEP reported earlier this year that parts of Channel 4 – including its digital arm and some of the responsibility for commissioning programmes – could be relocated to ensure television better represents the North.

The fact that Channel 4 would be able to plug in to what has been described as a “local ecosystem of digital talent” means this idea really does make sense.