A televised debate about whether Ironbridge was the cradle of the Industrial Revolution will be screened to an audience of millions on BBC One.

The Ironbridge story will be shown tonight at 7.30pm on Inside Out and will be presented by Mary Rhodes.

It will star Paul Belford, an archaeologist at Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, and Adrian Farmer, co-ordinator of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.

The two men will debate whether Ironbridge or the Derwent Valley could rightfully claim to be the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. There will also be interviews with residents.

The programme will explain how three centuries ago a discovery was made which revolutionised the process of iron-making and triggered the Industrial Revolution.

However, it will then explain how the Derwent Valley was the setting for a revolution in textiles which led to the start of mass production.

Mr Belford will tell viewers that Darby’s key innovation was the event which triggered the Industrial Revolution.

He will say: “In all sorts of areas of industry production was able to massively increase, really as a result of the steam engine technology which was developed here. What happened here in Coalbrookdale transformed the world.”