A TELEVISION documentary marking the 150th birthday of the Liverpool Daily Post will be shown throughout the north west of England, starting tomorrow night.

The programme, "The News from Merseyside - 150 years of the Post and Echo", provides a unique behind-the-scenes insight into the production of the Daily Post and its sister paper, the Liverpool Echo.

A television crew has followed this summer's celebrations of the Daily Post's 150th birthday, and interviewed present and former staff about the day-to-day working of the two newspapers and some of the major stories they have covered.

The programme aims to tell the story of Liverpool over the last 150 years through the eyes of the two Trinity Mirror newspapers.

It is presented by former Brookside actor John McArdle, currently starring in The Bill, and includes interviews with well known former Post and Echo journalists like ex-BBC political editor John Sergeant and Daily Mirror columnist Brian Reade, along with members of the current editorial team.

Through the recollections of journalists, it covers events like the Beatles phenomenon, the Toxteth riots, the Heysel and Hillsborough disasters and the James Bulger murder, bringing the city's story up to date with its European Capital of Culture triumph and Liverpool FC's dramatic European Champions League victory in Istanbul this summer.

The crew also attended a Daily Post editorial conference and followed the newspaper's coverage of a major case at Liverpool Crown Court.

Acting Daily Post editor Mark Thomas, who conceived the project along with Northstar Television producer Ged Clarke, said: "We have had a busy year of major events to celebrate this

very significant milestone in our history. This programme is a great chance for us to share those celebrations with the viewing public of the north west, and at the same time to give them an insight into our part in the recent history of the region, and into how we produce our newspapers."

Ged Clarke said: "As a former reporter this was a bit of a nostalgic trip for me. It was great to smell the newsprint again! The Post and Echo story is a fantastic one which over the past 150 years has mirrored the story of the city. Our hardest job was getting everything in."

The programme is to be transmitted on Granada ITV at 7.30pm tomorrow night, with the second episode at the same time next week on Tuesday, October 11.