WE’VE all heard the stories of how Glasgow was a great city for film. Still is, some would say. But not like the golden days, when there was a cinema on every corner and queues along the streets.

Yet when it came time for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation to choose the world’s first UNESCO city of film the title went to Bradford. Glasgow got music; Edinburgh literature.

Bradford deserved the accolade, bestowed in 2009, for several reasons. It was the place where Billy Liar, The Railway Children, Room at the Top, and Rita, Sue and Bob Too were made, and home to several film festivals.

The cinephile culture in the north of England had also bred a network of filmmaking clubs, one of which is profiled in the marvellous Storyville: A Bunch of Amateurs, BBC4, Tuesday, 10pm).

The Bradford Movie Makers was founded in 1932. By the time Kim Hopkins came along to make her documentary the club looked like it was on the way out, one of many casualties of the times. With a mostly elderly membership, premises in sore need of repair, and little money coming in; the only thing keeping the club afloat was a kindly landlord with a casual approach to collecting rent.

It was not always like this. As you would expect from a filmmaking club there is no shortage of archive, and we see the glory days and nights. Film of gala dinners and prize-giving ceremonies jostles for attention with clips from some of the short films made by members.

The filmmaking tradition continues. One of today’s members, Harry, has a notion to recreate the “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” scene from Oklahoma. He can’t ride a horse however, and as a fellow member points out, Bradford doesn’t grow corn as high as an elephant’s eye. But will that stop him?

Hopkins was spoiled for characters, and their love for film, and affection for each other, shines through. “Maybe making a short film isn’t important in the universe,” says one. “But if I give up on that, what’s my purpose in life?”

It soon becomes clear that this is far more than a film about movies, important as they are. It’s about friendship and community, in tough times and good. Though it is hard to keep the faith when the roof is falling in and fly-tippers use the place as a dumping ground, the lads, and a few lassies, keep on keeping on.

Time spent with the club has paid off in a film that’s effortlessly funny and on the side of its subjects. But what of the Oklahoma remake, you ask. Does Harry, with the help of Phil and others, get to realise his dream? And what lies in store for the club when Covid comes along?

You’ll have to watch and see. Oh, and as in all the best movies, do stick around for the credits.

I’ve spent so much time recently watching programmes about shops and factories preparing for Christmas that I have had no time to do any gift shopping. That’s my excuse, anyway. As Waitrose at Christmas (Channel 4, Monday, 8pm) shows, not everyone is as slow off the mark.

Some 20% of sales take place at Christmas so there is a lot riding on having just the right products presented well. The competition is even more intense now budget supermarkets are keen to show what they can do for a lower price.

At Waitrose the preparation for December 25 starts at least six months before with the creation of new dishes and foodstuffs. Everyone wants to pick a winner, something that will fly off the shelves. Contenders include sausage and cheese profiteroles with grated parmesan on top and spun sugar an optional finish. The tasters agree that the mixture of sweet and savoury is a hit, but will the recipe pass muster at the factory?

We see buyers of food and drink doing their rounds, checking what will be available and at what price. Costs are up, just like everywhere else, and there’s a recognition that shoppers are proceeding with caution. One trend has been to start Christmas shopping earlier to spread the cost.

There is a thread running through the programme about the all-important Christmas advert, which this year follows the preparation for the big day.

We see the ad being made, by an Oscar-nominated director no less, with great care taken to get just the right mouthwatering shot.

This year, of course, there was a hitch when skin cancer charities complained about a scene where two farmers compared tans. I would have liked a camera in the room when the problem emerged, but even at Waitrose you can’t have everything.