‘Yorkshire ticks every box’: Helen Skelton and Dan Walker share what makes the region special after Channel 5 series Yorkshire Great and Small filming

Dan Walker and Helen Skelton star in the Channel 5 series Yorkshire Great and Small With Dan and Helen. The next episode will air on Thursday, October 10, 2024, at 8pm

Helen grew up in Yorkshire, spent most of her childhood taking trips along the coast and locals enjoy talking to her.

“The ultimate compliment for us is that people just join in the conversation,” she said. “I was walking down the street in Boltby and these two people testing a car just started chatting to me and then people in a garden just started talking to me about a rhubarb over the wall and I think that’s just very stereotypical of the kind of places we film in.

“I think if you’re from a rural part of the world, families and reputations spread far and wide so you always know someone who knows someone, especially in a farming background.

“For me, you get every box ticked in a relatively small area, so you get big views and vistas, you get coasts and water, beaches and waterfalls, you get nice people and nice food, moors, dales and everything in between.”

Dan’s family used to travel to various places in Yorkshire when he was a child and has fond memories of the region.

“I used to go to Whitby as a kid, my dad took us to Malham Cove and various other places,” he said.

“Whenever you post a picture of somewhere that you’ve been, loads of people then come in the comments and say I remember going there when I was a kid, or I took my children there or did you go to this fish and chip shop.

“I suppose it’s a chance to catch up on some of those old memories or say come and visit this place, come and spend your money at the cafes, restaurants, come and say hello to the guys at Runswick Bay because they need our help and our support to keep them going.

“I just love Yorkshire and I’m always drawn to that part of the world. Helen and I always say almost in every episode and end of filming, aren’t we fortunate to live in a place like this and to be able to film in a county like this with so many amazing people and lovely stuff to see.

“It’s an amazing location and it really sings whether it’s raining or the sun is beautifully shining down upon you.”

Yorkshire can be mistaken for being very small in that most people know each other.

No algorithms, no AI - just the best news, compiled by us for you in our daily newsletter. Sign up now

The bluntness, wit and sense of humour are traits Dan likes about people from Yorkshire.

“What happens normally is, we have a chat and I ask ‘is anyone here related to Helen’ and then occasionally a hand goes up, they all know the Skelton family which is lovely,” Dan said.

“I remember filming at Parcevall Hall Gardens which I’d never been to before, it’s a beautiful place, gorgeous gardens designed by the godson of Queen Mary.

“To give you an idea of how people are in Yorkshire, I was talking to the head gardener there while filming, we’re walking through this lovely rock garden that he made.

“I’ve got this rucksack on and he just says to me, ‘take your bag off Dan, you’re not on holiday’ and I love that straightness and sense of humour of Yorkshire people.

“Yorkshire doesn’t work without the people who make it work and keep it well oiled and we’re just trying to shine a light on as many of them as possible.”

Even though Helen is very familiar with the region and what makes it a popular place to visit, she said that there are things about the region she didn’t know before and has learned a lot while filming the Channel 5 series.

“I think I was well versed in the rural aspects of Yorkshire, the tourist side and the draw it has but I didn’t really tap into the tortured artist side,” she said.

“I think that we’ve done quite a bit on literature and poetry.

“What’s nice about Yorkshire is that there is some really gritty, interesting, relevant art which I probably didn’t have an appreciation of before and I hope we’ve managed to shine a little light on it in a way that people enjoy.”