Nostalgia, community, and late-twentieth century television

Abstract

When the Boat Comes In, a television drama set in working-class Tyneside after the Great War, reached millions of viewers in Britain in the 1970s and 1980s. It was also broadcast in parts of the English-speaking world. This article explores the reasons for its popularity, focusing particularly on the responses of older viewers born in north-east England. Looking at viewers in north-east England, in the rest of Britain, and abroad, it contributes to research on nostalgia, community-making, television viewing, and autobiographical writing in the late-twentieth century.