Back in Time for Tea

The experience begins in 1918. The war is over but life for northern workers is tough. The family's spacious modern house has been cut in half and they are shocked to be living in a two up, two down with an outside toilet and tin bath. All except the youngest boy Harvey are employed by the local textile mill.

The post-war years see the Ellis family on rations without a fridge, hot water or an electric cooker. Thrifty fodder includes the regional favourites cow heel pie and Yorkshire pudding made with dried eggs, and while the cost of food is low, family spirits are high. The insecurity of the hungry thirties has been replaced by the promise of a fairer society for working class families with government commitment to full employment and better housing and healthcare. Plus, two new family members - chickens Sara and Polly - treat them to fresh eggs. Sara Cox and Polly Russell present.

For the Ellis family, 1960 marks the start of a new era of prosperity and confidence in the north. We follow dad Jon as he puts in a shift down the local pit. The work is hard but full employment and strong union means he is bringing home a decent pay packet.

For many northern families, the 70s saw a rise in living standards and the smallest gap in income ever recorded between rich and poor. Despite power cuts and strikes, this is a golden era for working-class families and the Ellises enjoy rare time together helped with the advent of their first ever record player and car! A visit from the pop man not to mention Brookside actress Claire Sweeney, bringing her family's speciality 'Scouse' round for tea, puts some sparkle into their kitchen, while mum Lesley tries her hand at being a dinner lady and the family get their heads round the new monetary system. They enjoy a family day trip on a canal boat and marvel as they cruise past mills similar to the one they worked in back in 1919. And wrestle with saveloy sausages whilst watching Big Daddy - all as part of their incredible journey back in time through the era 'that taste forgot'!

In this episode, the Ellises live through a time of dramatic change in the industrial north - experiencing everything from the mill to the mine, the Beatles to Thatcher and bland potato pie to the spicy delights of the curry capital of the UK. Their 80s home is a homage to chintz and magnolia with the exciting addition of some new technology: their first telephone, a chest freezer and that 80s kitchen essential - a toastie maker!

In this final episode, the family reflects on their time-travel adventure, and explores how the legacy of 100 years of tumultuous history lives on in the northern diet today. Lesley and Sara visit a Liverpool bakery using the humble loaf to re-build a shattered community, and sisters Caitlin and Freya explore how recent changes on Manchester's Curry Mile show the evolving relationship with flavour. Finally, Sara and northern chef Rob Owen Brown prepare a celebration meal for the family using cuts of meat and nostalgic flavours the family might have turned their noses up at in the past.