Giant oatcake and stories to mark city at 100

BBC Radio Stoke's Scarlett Hutton with the station's giant oatcake birthday card

BBC Radio Stoke has been marking the city's hundredth anniversary by gathering local stories and asking residents to sign a giant oatcake birthday card.

The team will be out and about across Stoke-on-Trent over the coming months, collecting both messages and "Stokie stories".

The tales from the six towns are to be gathered into an exhibition of photos and audio recordings going on display later this year at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Hanley.

"We want to grab a snapshot of the city's characters," a radio station spokesperson explained.

The BBC team is hoping to speak to 100 people in total, to mark 100 years since the city was officially federated, with some of the stories also played out on air.

"Whenever you ask people what makes Stoke Stoke, the answer is always: the people," the spokesperson added.

"So, we're going out and talking to as many of those people as possible to hear their stories to what makes them who they are."

Michael Dadge says Stoke-on-Trent is a "fabulous" city with "lovely people"

One of the 100, funeral director Michael Dadge, has been living in the city for about 20 years and described it as a "fabulous" place with "lovely people".

"Stoke sometimes gets a bad rap," he said. "People outside Stoke are very quick to criticise."

But he said the community spirit was evident daily, with volunteers going out litter picking and caring for the place they called home.

Nikki Gallagher moved to the city from Scotland about 10 years ago

Another is Nikki Gallagher, who runs a peer support service for new mothers and moved to Stoke-on-Trent from Scotland a decade ago.

"Moving down here, the warmth and the sense of community is something Stokies don't give themselves enough credit for," she said.

"They have been so welcoming, and there's a real sense of camaraderie amongst a lot of the community groups."

She added she had picked up some of the city's dialect and now often referred to people as "duck" and "shug".

Sue Smith came to Stoke-on-Trent by chance, after randomly pointing to the city on a map

Meanwhile, it was random luck that brought Sue Smith to the city about nine years ago with her late husband Barry.

Having spent more than 30 years in Canada, she found herself looking for somewhere new to settle in the UK and closed her eyes, waved her finger over a map and landed on Stoke-on-Trent.

"I really like the people," she said.

Despite living in the city for almost a decade, she confessed she had only recently tried her first oatcake – one of the staples of the city's culinary offering.

Young footballer Beans, who plays for Stoke City FC's Under 11s, has ambitions to one day play for England

Footballer Beans, who plays for Stoke City FC's Under 11s, has been playing for her local side for nearly a year and has ambitions to one day represent England.

She said it felt "really good" to be signed to the Potters, with dad Shaun adding: "I've got tears in my eyes now, thinking about it."

Stokie stories will be a curated collection of voices from about 50 locations visited by the team throughout 2025, including Trentham Gardens, The Potteries Centre and Longton Exchange.