More than two hundred people are set to walk the red carpet for an exclusive premiere of the hit television show, The Dales.
Skipton will be turned into a mini-Hollywood on February 20 when the town’s iconic Plaza Cinema showcases a preview screening of the second series of The Dales ahead of its return to the nation’s screens.
Welcome to Yorkshire – who supported the production of the new series – is hosting the event to celebrate the series’ return, after the first pulled in an average of 4m viewers per episode.
It proved so popular that ITV commissioned a second series – seeing Bradford-born presenter Ade Edmondson return again, complete with a helicopter. The new series includes everything from DJs to divas, boats to castles and many of the stars will be attending the premiere.
The series, which first aired in late March 2011, helped put Yorkshire tourism at the front of people’s minds – and had a positive impact on business across the Yorkshire Dales.
Self-catering holidays in the Dales was up 10% in April 2011 year-on-year, and up 20% in May 2011 on the previous year. Visitor numbers to attractions in the Yorkshire Dales and Harrogate also shot up a massive 35% in April 2011, compared to the same time the previous year.
Welcome to Yorkshire launched a dedicated website and since the first series aired, it has notched up more than 100,000 online hits.
Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said:
The series has become something of a phenomenon – we worked hard to encourage the series to be made because we knew how popular it would prove. The benefits of putting Yorkshire tourism in the national shop window cannot be underestimated and will continue for many years to come.
The producers should be applauded for their commitment to this show and the fantastic end product, which features some wonderful people and very human storylines brought to life by Ade.
There will be a real taste of Yorkshire at the premiere too, with local firms including Yorkshire Dales Ice Cream, the Russian Tearoom and Ultimate Balloon Company supplying food and services.
The show is expected to air on Monday evenings starting next month. For the latest information, see www.yorkshire.com/thedales
Ade with Anne Vetch and the Buckden singers
