Manchester's lost TV show that was like 'Big Brother's older brother'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

It's been nearly 30 years since the nation caught a glimpse into the lives of six students living in Manchester. Before reality TV shows and fly-on-the-wall series' that we know today, The Living Soap aired on BBC2 in 1993.

Produced by Spencer Campbell, known for producing the likes of Cold Feet, it followed the lives of a group of students living and studying in Manchester.

That year, the six housemates signed up to be filmed on campus, out in the city's nightlife scene, at their shared home and more in exchange for a year of free rent and being in the public eye.

All participants were strangers, with their ages, backgrounds and course of study being completely different to those who they shared a living space with. Read More: Wall's Ice Cream and a dog called Judy: Manchester's Whit Walks of the 1960s Like many shows we watch today, the programme only featured a fraction of the lives of the students, with hours of footage being edited down to minutes.