Mark Steel's In Town. Mark Steel. Copyright: BBC
Mark Steel's In Town

Mark Steel's In Town

  • Radio stand-up
  • BBC Radio 4
  • 2009 - 2022
  • 67 episodes (12 series)

Mark Steel visits a town in Britain and investigates its society & history before performing a bespoke stand-up show for locals.

  • Due to return for Series 13

Episode menu

Series 1, Episode 2 - Boston

Mark records a show in the Blackfriars Arts Centre in Boston, Lincolnshire, celebrating sprouts, chavs, Puritans and the Boston Stump.

Preview clips

Further details

This week, Mark performs at the Blackfriars Arts Centre in Boston, South Lincolnshire - a town which Mark finds off-putting due to its sheer flatness. It is so flat, that the driving instructors know of only one place in the town from which it is possible to do a hill start.

Mark celebrates the town's oldness, including the Boston Stump, which is the largest church in England that is not a cathedral. He also defends the town from accusations of chavness, despite the fact there is a shop in the town called "It Must Be Stolen".

Mark looks into the history of the town's constant flooding that has occurred due to the Boston's flatness. There is also worry that in due to rising sea levels, in 100 years Boston might be gone. However, on the plus side it might wipe out the huge Brussels sprout farm.

He then looks into the history of Puritanism, which resulted in some people leaving and the founding of the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is just a shame that no-one from the American Boston knows about the English Boston.

Mark then covers the town's desire to build a bypass. It is so strong that a "Build a Bypass" won several seats in the local council elections. Plus there is also the troubled history of Boston Football Club. However, there is still that small hope that one day that Boston, Lincolnshire, might be one day the real home of Cheers.

Broadcast details

Date
Wednesday 25th March 2009
Time
6:30pm
Channel
BBC Radio 4
Length
30 minutes

Repeats

Show past repeats

Date Time Channel
Wednesday 25th May 2011 11:30am Radio 4
Friday 17th May 2013 10:00pm Radio 4 Extra
Sunday 26th September 2021 10:30pm Radio 4 Extra

Cast & crew

Cast
Mark Steel Host / Presenter
Writing team
Mark Steel Writer
Pete Sinclair Writer (Additional Material)
Production team
Julia McKenzie Producer

Videos

Boston - Part 3

The third part of his show in Boston.

Featuring: Mark Steel.

Boston - Part 2

The second part of his show in Boston.

Featuring: Mark Steel.

Boston - Part 1

The first part of his show in Boston.

Featuring: Mark Steel.

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