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Regional news programme Inside Out has returned for its 26th series. Here, presenter Chris Jackson shares his experiences working on the show.

There can’t be a more privileged job than that of a journalist. Each day is different and we get to meet people from every background and share in their joy, desperation, hopes and dreams.

As job descriptions go it’s pretty irresistible, but it was never offered to me as an option by a careers advisor. “How about air traffic controller?” came the suggestion. Luckily I ignored it and followed my own path. As a result I have one of the best jobs I could have imagined and on my home turf too.

With Inside Out I often find myself fighting for justice – championing the Davids as they fight the Goliaths. It could be one consumer against a rogue trader or an individual pitted against the might of the state.

I sometimes wonder where that drive to right wrongs comes from and I think it can be traced back to my schooldays. In the late Sixties corporal punishment in school was still legal and despite my protests of innocence I was punished with a “six of the best” slippering for something I really didn’t do. Perhaps it’s that childhood memory that makes me indignant whenever I see somebody treated unfairly. 

Since the regional current affairs programme started in 2002 our great team of investigative journalists have done some tough investigations.

We uncovered a culture of racism amongst parking wardens in Sunderland, which ultimately led to the company losing the contract. We exposed a bogus solicitor who ended up in jail as a result of our story and we hunted down a missing artwork that was originally paid for with public money.

I love the fact that we hold those in authority to account, but we’re also right in the thick of it when, say, the Cumbrian floods hit. We’re there before the national news teams arrive and long after they’ve gone. It’s our patch and we share in all the highs and lows.

Looking back over the past 12 years we have covered some amazing stories and the team have enjoyed putting me in some difficult and quirky situations, from filming inside a County Durham nudist colony to jumping out of a plane, stalking disabled parking bays with Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson to having my cat registered as a qualified hypnotherapist (pictured).

Each week I get to meet people from all walks of life, from the delightful young Tilly Lockey who lost her hands to meningitis to the inspirational Mo Mowlem who passed away at just 55. 

Even in tough circumstances we try to bring about understanding and closure, such as when we brought together the family of the woman killed in the Cumbrian train derailment at Grayrigg and the engineer who failed to check the faulty points.

I often say that journalists aren’t brain surgeons. We don’t save lives. However I can categorically say we have the ability to change them.

That was certainly the case of a Taiwanese-born artist who after many years in the UK had become a much-loved part of community. A simple mistake when officials failed to stamp his passport meant he faced deportation and separation from his wife and young child.

No amount of protest or evidence would change the British authorities’ decision – until we got involved and very easily proved it was all a bureaucratic blunder. I can’t tell you how overwhelmed he was that he could put his life back on track.

I saw tears too when I tracked down descendants of an old Sunderland sea-dog who’d sung sea shanties into old wax cylinders back in the 1920s. Dozens of relatives gathered together without knowing why I’d asked them to come. They then heard their great-great grandfather singing to them from beyond the grave. It’s one of those moments I’ll always treasure.

Over the past 25 series we’ve picked up a fair few awards for our journalism and I’m humbled to have been named Presenter of the year three times in the Royal Television Society regional awards.

Perhaps the best reward is when people come up to me in the street and tell me how much they like the programme and in particular how they learn something new about somewhere they’ve lived all their lives. You can’t put that on the mantelpiece, but is really is a compliment worth cherishing!

Chris Jackson is presenter of Inside Out NE & Cumbria

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