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Series shows Cumbria open for business

Jan 31 2010 by Coreena Ford, Sunday Sun

TOURISM is set to soar in flood-hit Cumbria thanks to a new fly-on-the-wall TV series.

The Langdale Chase Hotel in Windermere is the star of ITV1’s new docu-soap The Lakes, a 12-part series throwing the popular holiday destination into the limelight.

And since the series – fronted by Funnyman Rory McGrath – started earlier this month, hundreds of holidaymakers have inundated hotel bosses with potential bookings.

The hotel’s managing director Thomas Noblett said: “Bookings have soared and I’ve sent out hundreds of our brochures too.

“Our website has had more than 100,000 hits and we’ve had more than 1,000 emails, so if those enquiries convert into bookings, too, it would be fantastic.”

Mr McGrath and the television crew spent the whole of last summer at the picturesque hotel, following the lives and exploits of staff and guests as well as many other Windermere locals.

And the first episode, which introduced the colourful characters, was watched by 4.8 million viewers – more than the number who watched Channel 4’s fly-on-the-wall series Celebrity Big Brother.

Tourism chiefs now hope just as many will tune in over the coming weeks to follow Thomas as he gears up for a bid to swim across the English Channel to raise funds for charity with help from his general manager Andrew Tighe, who originally comes from Whitley Bay, North Tyneside.

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