Series shows Cumbria open for business

Jan 31 2010 by Coreena Ford, Sunday Sun

Thomas, 47, said the staff had tremendous fun filming last year.

He said: “Rory and the team were here for quite a few months and we soon got used to the cameras. We might have been a little wooden to start but we soon forgot the cameras were even there. Andrew and I were funnier than Rory. He couldn’t keep up with our banter.

“We are a very close team here and are very lucky to be such great friends, and that hopefully comes across in the show.”

He said the series now has a serious message to get across, in light of the floods which struck the region just months after the filming crew packed up their equipment.

“The Lake District really suffered with devastating floods and a heavy snow fall, and everyone seems to think the Lakes are closed, but this is certainly not the case,” Thomas said.

“The tourism trade has taken a bad hit, and I’m still getting phone calls from people saying ‘I’m getting married at the hotel in March, will it be OK to go ahead then?’.

“The reality is we were only affected for about three days.”

Meanwhile, Cumbria Tourism is bracing itself for a high demand of this year’s holiday guide to the county, as a direct result of the show.

Alex McCoskrie, marketing director of Cumbria Tourism, said: “The television series represents money-can’t-buy advertising for the area.

“Our annual holiday brochure is always very popular but considering the amount of people that are tuning in, and the fantastic footage it is showing of the Lakes, it would not surprise me at all if we run out of brochures by the end of the series.”

The Lakes is shown on ITV1 on Mondays at 8pm.