Yorkshire’s Own Wensleydale On TV Screens Nationwide

The Wensleydale Creamery Features In Two National TV Programmes As The Yorkshire Brand Rapidly Gains Credibility

The Wensleydale Creamery, located at Hawes in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, is to feature in two national TV programmes, broadcasting on Channel 5 next week and shining the spotlight on the heritage of quality food production and farming in the region.
With its growing portfolio of Yorkshire dairy products, including Yorkshire Wensleydale, Yorkshire Butter and Yorkshire Yogurt, being enjoyed across the world, the Wensleydale Creamery’s leading Yorkshire manufacturer status and 1,000-year history of handcrafting cheese in the Dales has caught the attention of national film crews.

The Wensleydale Creamery welcomed former Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, to see behind the scenes at the Creamery for new documentary series, Made in Yorkshire, which discovers the surprising secrets behind the region’s most iconic foods. The programme will air on Channel 5 at 9pm on Tuesday 17th April. Watch now! 

The charismatic politician, who has lived in Yorkshire for most of his life and was the MP for Hull East for 40 years, journeys around the region for Made in Yorkshire, learning about and getting involved in the intriguing processes of Yorkshire food production. This included meeting with cheese-makers hard at work producing Yorkshire Wensleydale to grace the shelves of supermarkets and independent retailers across the UK and worldwide.

The Creamery also recently welcomed JB Gill, former JLS band member turned farmer, to try his hand at making Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese and visit some of the Yorkshire farms which supply the milk to produce its award winning dairy range as part of the Springtime on the Farm series, airing on Channel 5 at 8pm on Wednesday 11th April. Catch up here! 

The programme celebrates the hard work of farmers around the country battling all year round to keep providing food for the nation’s tables. JB visited dairy farmer and Wensleydale Creamery supplier, Kevin Clarkson, to follow the journey of Yorkshire milk from farm through to Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese. This saw him getting to grips with, and even trying his hand at, the cheese-making process.

David Hartley, Managing Director for the Wensleydale Creamery, said; “We’re passionate and proud of our Yorkshire heritage and provenance and were delighted to welcome Channel 5’s film crews, as well as presenters JB Gill and John Prescott, to showcase and celebrate our rich cheese-making history and the quality of food production and farming in the region.
“Yorkshire as a food brand is gaining recognition throughout the UK and Europe for its world-class offering, evidenced by the attention it’s warranting on a national stage, and we hope the nation will tune into Channel 5 this week to show their support for our region’s incredibly special food credentials”.

Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese has an historic pedigree, first produced in Wensleydale in 1150 by Cistercian monks. The Wensleydale Creamery continues to handcraft cheeses using milk from Yorkshire farmers, employing over 200 people and contributing £12M to the local economy.
The Wensleydale Creamery achieved European Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status in December 2013 for its Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese. The PGI status differentiates ‘Yorkshire Wensleydale’ from other Wensleydale cheeses produced around the UK as cheese-makers outside the designated area can only call their cheese ‘Wensleydale’ not ‘Yorkshire Wensleydale’.