Up north it's great to be back (8)
I believe the answer is:
champion
'back' is the definition.
(champion can mean to endorse or back)
'up north it's great to be' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'north' could be 'n' (abbreviation) and 'n' is found within the answer.
'be' could be 'am' and 'am' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for champion that I've seen before include "Winner of competition or supporter of cause" , "Winner - advocate" , "Guard" , "Excellent" , "Campaigner or winner" .)