Out of Town

1 9 6 0 – 1 9 8 1 (UK)
30 minute episodes

For over 20 years, the ITV series Out of Town – growing out of a six-programme series called Gone Fishing – provided a weekly window on country life in rural Britain.

Fishermen and farriers, horsemen and horticulturalists were prominently featured as bearded, pipe-smoking presenter Jack Hargreaves took the Southern Television cameras around the country to explore pursuits and activities, many of which have long since disappeared.

Debuting in 1960 and originally aired only in the Southern TV region, by 1964, Out of Town was broadcast nationally and quickly won a large following for its entertaining and informative insight into country life.

These days, the remaining episodes – with a distinct absence of violence, bad language or gratuitous sex – provide a gentle, nostalgic record of life in Britain from a bygone age.

When Out of Town finally ended in 1981, Jack Hargreaves moved to Channel 4 for a similar series called Old Country.

Hargreaves died on 15 March 1994 in Dorchester, Dorset. He was 82.

Host
Jack Hargreaves