FOR the first time, viewers have the chance to choose the region's best television show with the North-East and Border branch of the Royal Television Society organising a public vote as part of its 20th anniversary celebrations.

Viewers can vote from a shortlist of 20 programmes from the last two decades, with the winner being named at the RTS region's annual awards ceremony being held at The Sage, Gateshead, in January.

Among the contenders are drama series such as Byker Grove and Auf Wiedersehen Pet, children's shows like Supergran and documentaries including the award-winning The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off.

All three news programmes serving the region - Look North, North East Tonight and Lookaround - are nominated. One-off documentaries such as The Blinking Bridge are also on the shortlist drawn up by RTS regional members from around 40 or so possible contenders.

The region is the first RTS branch to stage a viewers' vote. "It's a chance for people to vote for their favourite programmes," says Graeme Thompson, chair of the North-East and Cumbria RTS.

"Our awards are normally decided by a panel of judges from the industry. Because it's our 20th anniversary we thought it would be a good idea to let viewers decide which programmes they really liked.

"It's a really diverse list and we're all going to be very interested to see what viewers decide is their number one choice."

Some programmes, such as Auf Wiedersehen Pet and The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off, were shown nationally, although all the nominees have their roots in the North-East and Cumbria.

"They all touch a nerve or have a resonance with the region," says Mr Thompson. "Some are national programmes but are very much of our region and if made anywhere else they would look very different."

A number of the programmes in the list, such as Luke Casey's Dales Diary, are still running - 20 new editions are currently being filmed for 2007.

Still going strong is Out Of Town, the Eric Robson-presented countryside series. His canine sidekick Raq, who reputedly gets more fan mail than Robson, attended the launch of the viewers' vote. He had a shampoo and new lead - well, piece of string - for the occasion.

Producers and performers involved have welcomed the vote. Patrick Collerton, maker of The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off, says he's amazed there's been such a legacy from the documentary. "And the proudest achievement of them all was the establishment of the Jonny Kennedy Foundation," he says.

For actor Christopher Eccleston, appearing in Our Friends In The North was "everything I became an actor to do", he says. "It had great respect for the intelligence of its audience, it was daring - and at times it failed - and it was writer-led. It came from the hearts of everybody who worked on it."

Supergran producer Keith Richardson adds: "The terrible thing is that 20 years down the line the old bat continues to occupy my thoughts and, with the increased opportunities with special effects, it would be terrific to have a go at another series."

Who knows, if she comes top of the TV pops, she might be resurrected.

"We hope to celebrate that this region is a real powerhouse in terms of production talent and creative talent. I think people might be surprised how much world-class work happens in this corner of England," added Mr Thompson.

NOMINATED PROGRAMMES

LOOK NORTH. 09011 11 20 21.Text LOOK.

NORTH EAST TONIGHT. 09011 11 20 22. Text TONIGHT.

LOOKAROUND. 09011 11 20 23. Text AROUND.

BYKER GROVE. 09011 11 20 24. Text BYKER.

AUF WIEDERSEHEN PET. 09011 11 20 25. Text PET.

THE TUBE. 09011 11 20 26. Text TUBE.

THE BOY WHOSE SKIN FELL OFF. 09011 11 20 27. Text BOY.

OUT OF TOWN. 09011 11 20 28. Text OUT.

THE DALES DIARY. 09011 11 20 29. Text DALES.

THE COOKSON ADAPTATIONS. 09011 11 20 30. Text COOKSON.

SUPERGRAN. 09011 11 20 31. Text GRAN.

THE GREAT NORTH RUN. 09011 11 20 32. Text RUN.

WIRE IN THE BLOOD. 09011 11 20 33. Text WIRE.

SPENDER. 09011 11 20 34. Text SPENDER.

THE BIG C. 09011 11 20 35. Text BIG.

THE BLINKING BRIDGE. 09011 11 20 36. Text BRIDGE.

HIGHWAY. 09011 11 20 37. Text HIGHWAY.

TOWNSCAPE. 09011 11 20 38. Text TOWN.

OUR FRIENDS IN THE NORTH. 09011 11 20 39. Text FRIENDS.

100 GREATEST ADS. 09011 11 20 40. Text ADS

HOW TO VOTE

Phone the number listed after the programme for which you want to vote, or text the key word to 63332. Calls cost 25p and 25p plus standard SMS rate for text. Mobile rates may vary. Lines close at midnight on Monday.

You can vote online at www.rtsviewerschoice.co.uk or send your vote to Viewers' Choice, PO Box 196, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE99 1TN