ECHO readers have had their say on the best TV show based in Merseyside and the one that came out on top isn't the one you'd think. We recently polled our readers, asking them what's the best TV show based in Merseyside. The region has hosted some incredible series, with many like Brookside and Bread known for entertaining viewers not only local but across the country for years. That being said, many might expect the one TV show that locals loved the most would be either , or Bread, or even the popular sitcom from the late 1960s and 1970s. However, at least according to the hundreds of people who voted on our poll, that wasn't the case. The show that was voted the best was Boys from the Blackstuff, with 38% of the vote out of the eight options. The 1982 drama series told the story of unemployed tarmac workers in Liverpool, and struck a cord, capturing the desperate mood of a nation facing rising unemployment levels. The show would go on to win a BAFTA in 1983 for the best drama series, and did so well that just weeks after its initial screening on BBC Two it was repeated on BBC One. Yet, despite its age, the themes the show tackles have not become a thing of the past and was brought back to Liverpool more recently in the form of a play at the Royal Court Theatre in 2022, with another run of stagings coming this September until the end of October. In second place, with 31% of the votes in our poll, came created by Phil Redmond, who also made Grange Hill and Hollyoaks. The show was Channel 4's highest rated programme in the mid 1980s, and memorable storylines like the body under the patio are a testament to why. For a long time since the show ended in 2003, fans were unable to watch a vast majority of the show's episodes. In 2007 a five-year campaign was started by superfans to get 16 episodes of the show released on DVD, but since then, only a meagre amount of episodes have been available for viewing. That was until the start of this year, when Brookside returned to screens via STV player, much to the delight of Lee who said it was a 'dream come true'. Following Brookside in the poll came Bread, with 13% of the votes which will come as a surprise to fans of the series. The show, set in Dingle, first aired on May 1, 1986, and soon the ceramic hen from the title sequence and theme song were familiar to millions of viewers across the country. The ECHO Following Bread was The Responder, starring Martin Freeman, by Carla Lane, Z-Cars and then Good Cop and the Waterfront Beat. Tell us your favourite