BBC Scotland’s iconic rural affairs programme Landward will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a special episode which takes a deep dive into the series’ remarkable archive.
Originally developed from the Farm Forum radio and television programme, Landward first aired on 4 April 1976 from BBC Aberdeen, where it continues to be produced today by BBC Studios.
Billed as ‘Scotland’s farming programme’, the inaugural episode ran for 25 minutes with items on the National Farmers’ Union conference and suckling cattle.
In its early years, the programme was broadcast fortnightly on Sunday lunchtimes, quickly establishing itself as a trusted companion for audiences across rural and urban Scotland.
To mark the milestone, the anniversary episode takes a journey through the programme’s rich archive. Lost episodes have been re-discovered and digitised from original film rolls. Much of the footage hasn’t been seen for over 40 years.
Dougie Vipond, from the current presenting team, catches up with some of the show’s veterans, including the show’s first presenter, Ross Muir. He also meets Arthur Anderson, the legendary series producer who broadened the range of stories to cover all aspects of rural life in Scotland, expanding the content to include nature, wildlife, and the environment.
A compilation section will feature a host of previous presenters – Dan Buglass, Ben Coutts, Eric Robson, Linsday Cannon, Nancy Nicolson, Euan McIllwraith, Ken Rundle, Nick Nairn, Sarah Mack, Claire Powell, and John Harle.
And Nick Nairn is interviewed by Dougie as they discuss the shift towards direct selling of farm produce and reminisce about their personal Landward highlights.
During the decades, Landward has widened its brief from a specialist farming programme, with the cameras capturing key moments from the big issues that mattered across rural Scotland such as land reform, historic land buyouts, animal disease outbreaks, renewable energy expansion and Covid.
At the end of the anniversary episode, Dougie will meet up with the current presentation team to share their best moments.
Landward will continue to celebrate its fifty years throughout this Spring series by revisiting some gems from the archive and bringing them up to date.
Louise Thornton, Head of Commissioning, BBC Scotland, says: ‘For fifty years, Landward has been at the heart of Scotland’s rural storytelling — shining a light on the people, landscapes and issues that shape our countryside.
‘Its commitment to authenticity, depth and local voices has made it a constant in the BBC Scotland schedule, and a trusted companion for audiences across generations.
‘We’re incredibly proud to mark this milestone and to celebrate the Landward teams and stories down the decades.’
The first episode of the new series of Landward airs at 8.30 pm on Thursday 2 April on BBC Scotland and iPlayer