A PRESTON pensioner has found fame on the small screen because of the 25 years he spent working as a miner.

Joe Crofts, 73, of Blackpool Road, Preston, will be making his debut next week in the new BBC2 series A Man's World.

The Yorkshireman found fame after answering an advert appealing for former miners. He was one of 40 men picked from 2,000 applicants to appear on the show.

Joe explained: "I think it was my age that interested them. The series is about jobs exclusive to men in the first half of the century." The producers of the series wanted to get to the heart of masculinity and growing up in post-war Britain.

Steve Humphries who produced A Man's World, said: "To get a man in his 70s or 80s to open up and reveal his true feelings about himself and his life is incredibly difficult."

But Joe was happy to talk about the gruelling work of a miner. He said: "I saw the changes over 25 years from pit ponies and getting coal with a pick and shovel right through to modern times.

"It was a lot more dangerous then, largely because there wasn't the modern supports that they have today, we only had wooden props.

"It was hard work physically as well, but at least we didn't have the stress like you have today. Physical stress heals quickly but mental stress is worse."

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