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The Likely Lads, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Byker Grove have been among Britain's best-loved television programmes.

And all have helped to put the North East firmly on the map with their Geordie characters and locations.

Take a look back at some of the shows which have a distinctive North East flavour.

James Bolam and Rodney Bewes starred

The Likely Lads

The Likely Lads is one of the classic British TV sitcoms and was hugely popular in the 1960s and 70s and still retains its appeal now.

It was the creation of Newcastle-born Ian La Frenais and his writing partner Dick Clement.

Set in the North East, the show was a slice-of-life comedy about two friends, Terry Collier and Bob Ferris, and starred James Bolam and Rodney Bewes.

There were three series of the show and then a sequel in 1973, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet

Another show written by Ian La Frenais and Dick Clement, there were two popular series in the 1980s and then it returned for another series and two-part Christmas special in 2002 and 2004.

The cast of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet

It followed a group of brickies working on building sites in Germany and Spain.

The 2002 series involved a scheme to pull down the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge and take it to Arizona and the 2004 special took them to Thailand and Cuba.

Its original cast included North East actors Tim Healy, Jimmy Nail and Kevin Whately along with Timothy Spall, Christopher Fairbank, Pat Roach and Gary Holton.

Byker Grove

The children's TV drama ran for 17 years with filming for the final episode completed in August 2006.

Ant and Dec on the set of Byker Grove

It was filmed in Benwell Towers in Newcastle and launched the careers of Ant and Dec, Jill Halfpenny and Donna Air.

The show was set in a Tyneside youth club and tackled a range of teenage issues.

Our Friends in the North

The acclaimed 90s television series followed the lives of four main characters across three decades.

Its key themes were corruption and the abuse of power and it was set in the characters' hometown Newcastle and London. The story was written by North East-born playwright Peter Flannery.

The cast of Our Friends in the North

The series was the springboard for now well-known actors such as Christopher Ecclestone, Gina McKee and James Bond star Daniel Craig and used locations around Newcastle.

Spender

After Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Jimmy Nail starred in a number of shows including Spender, which he co-wrote with Ian La Frenais.

In it he played a detective who was based in Newcastle.

It was shown on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One between 1990 and 1993.

Supergran

The children's television programme was shown from 1985 to 1987. It was made by Tyne Tees Television and followed the adventures of a crime-fighting grandmother with super powers.

Alistair Fury used Tyneside locations

It was filmed in North East locations including Tynemouth, Whitley Bay and Beamish Museum.

55 Degrees North

This came to screens in 2004 and followed a London detective who was relocated to Newcastle.

It starred Don Gilet and Dervla Kirwan and featured locations around Tyneside. The show ran for two series.

The Revenge Files of Alistair Fury

In 2008, Alistair Fury, a children's TV series filmed entirely on Tyneside, was shown on CΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ.

The series was based on the books The War Diaries of Alistair Fury by Jamie Rix and followed the antics of 11-year-old Alistair as he came up with ways to get revenge on his family, friends, and anyone else who deserved it.

Among the locations used were Gosforth, Jesmond and Goathland Primary School, in Longbenton.