The radio station was called Radio West. In 1981, shortly after the series had finished, a real-life radio station of the same name was launched in Bristol. It used a picture of Trevor Eve as Eddie Shoestring in the publicity information announcing its launch. The real-life Radio West was not very successful, but merged in 1985 with Wiltshire Radio to form the station "GWR". GWR became very successful, and has now grown into a large company whose portfolio includes stations such as CLASSIC FM
Robert Holmes was brought in as script editor having previously enjoyed an excellent working relationship with producer Robert Banks Stewart on two Doctor Who serials, when Holmes had been the script editor and Banks Stewart had been commissioned as a writer by him.
Robert Banks Stewart and Richard Harris jointly created Shoestring. The BBC commissioned Harris to write the first episode Private Ear (1979) but then rejected his script. Banks Stewart had to re-write the episode and Harris left the programme.
This series has the same format as the tales of the masked hero Midnight, which was about a crime fighting announcer at a radio station. This character originally appeared in Smash Comics, a Quality comics publication, but is now owned by DC Comics.