A FORMER Courier reporter is hoping a television programme about Scottish football he co-presents can cause an upset at a national awards ceremony.

A View From The Terrace, which features Joel Sked and friends, has been shortlisted for the Best Sports Programme at the Broadcast Awards, which take place in London in February.

Filmed in an industrial estate in Livingston, the show is up against some TV heavy hitters from throughout the sporting world.

Joel said: “I think ‘surprise’ is probably the best way to describe the nomination.

“When I first saw it, there are lots of awards kicking about and I did not think much of it all. Then I saw who we are up against and then I thought, ‘this is serious’.

“You go on the Broadcast Awards website and see shows like Derry Girls, Chernobyl and Peaky Blinders – really revered, famous shows – and we are rubbing shoulders with them.”

A View From The Terrace, which bills itself as “an irreverent, sideways look at the world of Scottish football”, is one of six programmes shortlisted for the awards.

The show, broadcast on BBC Scotland and BBC One Scotland, has been nominated alongside the following programmes: 6 Nations Rugby – England v Scotland; Cheltenham Festival; ICC Cricket World Cup Final 2019; The Ashes; and The NFL Show.

Former Knox Academy pupil Joel, who appears alongside Shaughan McGuigan and Craig Fowler, as well as host Craig Telfer, said the show had won over Scottish football fans.

He said: “I think it is just because we are something different and we do it from a fan’s point of view. That is the big thing we want to get across. We have never played football in our puff – I have probably played at the highest level and that was trials for East Lothian. That resonates with a lot of fans.

“We are doing it from a fan’s point of view – what questions fans would be asking.

“We make no bones about it – we are a bunch of jobbers, a bunch of nobodies.”

Filming for each hour-long episode takes place over 10 hours, with another block of episodes expected to be broadcast in February. It is produced by Gullane’s Andy Maas.

Joel, 30, who lives in Haddington and worked for the Courier for 18 months from late 2012, felt the show was helping to remind people about the entertainment that Scottish football provides both on and off the pitch.

He said: “One of the big things is that over plenty of years Scottish football has got a bit of a bad reputation from outwith it. We are pushing the angle that it might not be the best but it is ours.”