In the broadcast field, Granada commissioned Debbie's Business - a humorous and sometimes revelatory exploration of Manchester's glamour scene, built around model agent Debbie Ryan. The world's campest choreographer and a troupe of strippers with non-existent inhibitions made this half-hour difficult to forget.

As a stark contrast, In the Dog House told the emotive and controversial story of a team of Wirral dog wardens as they rounded up, and occasionally put down, local canine outlaws. It featured a raid on the home of an illegally held pit bull terrier but, with the dog's owner away, it was left to a distraught grandmother to deal with the police.

For the BBC, Bomb Squad took its audience into the perilous world of the Army's bomb disposal teams, as they raced around the North West dealing with suspicious packages. The programme was the culmination of six months negotiations with the Ministry of Defence and featured exclusive film from the centre of Manchester on the day of an IRA attack.

Mr Bell Goes to Westminster offered BBC2 viewers an insight into the ups and downs of life on the hustings as veteran war correspondent Martin Bell took on, and beat, sitting MP Neil Hamilton in the supposedly safe conservative seat of Tatton. His campaign was prompted by the 'cash for questions' scandal which contributed to the Tories slide in the mid 90s.