Hilarious and brutal BBC radio show about King’s Lynn on air tonight

Mark Steel at Latitude 2016 - Paul John Bayfield (Image: PAUL JOHN BAYFIELD)

Radio 4's In the Town, presented by Mark Steel, was recorded last November to a packed audience at town's historic Guildhall.

He took aim at the town, its ferry system and in particular the way in which the county voted during Brexit, although the broadcast show (6.30pm) will be whittled down to just 30 minutes.

The premise of the show is simple, Mr Steel goes to a town, finds out all its idiosyncrasies and quirks and then broadcasts them to the nation - and the audience loved it.

Starting as he means to go on, Mr Steel opens the show with: 'King's Lynn, once a vital East Anglian port that helped to drive the economy of Europe, and today, it can be an interesting place for a stroll if you're fed up of Wisbech.'

He said King's Lynn was a unique and fascinating combination of grand history and modern disappointment.

Audience participation is heard through out, especially when Mr Steel tries to say King's Lynn is from north Norfolk and a crowd shouts 'west Norfolk', and when he asks the audience what the Hardwick Roundabout is known for, 'rabbits' is shouted back to him.

Another aspect of the town that comes under Mr Steel's scrutiny is the ferry crossing. He describes it as magnificent, but goes on to say: 'It goes from the town to a piece of ground called West Lynn, which is so much more enjoyable than ferries that go to actual things and places such as France or Sicily.'

A number of remarks are made about Brexit, especially when discussing the old maritime connection to Europe through the Hanseatic League must surely make Lynn full of remainers. He teased that since being in the town he has worked out why it so many voted to leave.

He said: 'You want us out of EU so you can set the Hanseatic League back up and rule the world again.'

Mark Steel's 'In the Town' is broadcast tonight on Radio 4 (6.30pm).