Cumbria holiday park stars in new Johnny Vegas comedy
Comedian Johnny Vegas has been trying his hand at holiday home living on a Cumbrian park this spring – and BBC TV viewers will be see the results later this year.
The Benidorm actor was at Skiddaw View Holiday Park, leading the cast in Home from Home, the pilot of which will be shown in summer.
Based near Bassenthwaite Lake in North Cumbria, the park and its spectacular mountain scenery will form the scenic backdrop of the sitcom.
Featuring alongside Johnny Vegas will be Gavin and Stacey star Joanna Page, along with Silent Witness actress Emilia Fox.
Home from Home is about a family man, played by Johnny, who has long cherished the dream of buying a holiday lodge in the Lake District – and finally achieves his ambition.
What happens next has been the focus of the filming at Skiddaw View Holiday Park which provides almost one hundred lodges and caravan holiday homes.
The park is set in 20 acres of countryside near the village of Bothel, and was acquired by its present owners, Philip and Barbara Carr, just over 25 years ago.
They have since turned it into one of Cumbria’s highest quality and most popular park holiday destinations, both for private buyers and those wanting to hire a holiday home.
From the outset, the couple resolved to run the park along sustainable lines, and are long-time holders of the David Bellamy Conservation Award at its top gold level.
Among its many natural attractions are walks around the park’s grounds which provide valuable habitats for birds and animals including kestrels, owls, rabbits, badgers and red squirrels.
Philip and Barbara have also re-established a spring-fed wildlife pond on the park which supports a wide range of aquatic life including plants, frogs and dragonflies.
They have planted over 4000 indigenous trees and shrubs, and sown wild flowers with high pollen-bearing blooms which attract honey bees and a wide range of common and less familiar butterflies.
The couple say they greatly enjoyed playing host to Johnny Vegas and the cast during the filming which was based around two of the lodges on the park.
During his time at Skiddaw View, Johnny used his Twitter account to enthuse to his followers about the spectacular scenery all around him.
The sitcom is part of a new season of comedies to mark the 60 years since Galton and Simpson’s Hancock’s Half Hour started on BBC Television.
There is more information about the park at www.skiddawview.co.uk
