BBC TV will be singing the praises of The Trentham Estate next month.
Having noticed the full appeal of its award-winning gardens, thanks to the nationwide publicity the Virtual Tour of the Spring Bulb Festival generated during the lockdown, the producers of Songs of Praise made contact with The Trentham Estate to discuss the possibilities of filming a socially-distanced service for the show.
Months of discussions recently resulted in the visit of the Songs of Praise crew, “headed” by Aled Jones, to The Trentham Estate.
Eagle-eyed visitors were delighted recently to spot the famous Aled Jones MBE – the Welsh singer and radio and television presenter who, as a teenage chorister, reached widespread fame during the mid-1980s.
It was that unexpected treat for those visitors, as they walked through the Italian Gardens and Upper Flower Gardens, which first sparked rumours of the filming, and which led to the producers of the show giving their permission to revealing the provisional date for screening.
“We really enjoyed filming Songs of Praise at Trentham Gardens on Sunday,” said Series Executive Producer Director, Emyr Afan. “It’s a truly beautiful location and it was great to be in Stoke. Watch out for an episode from Trentham Gardens on August 16!”
In addition to Jones, the show will feature the Salvation Army Choir, the AMC Gospel Choir, and soprano Olivia Safe – as well as a segment about the 92-miles Two Saints Way, which connects the shrines of St Chad at Lichfield and St Werburgh at Chester, and passes through Trentham along the way.
Trentham Estate is no stranger to BBC TV, and has already hosted film crews from the Antiques Roadshow, and Gardener’s World in the recent past.
Grant Mantle, Marketing Manager at The Trentham Estate, commented: “It was wonderful to welcome the Songs of Praise team and the fantastic soloists and choirs to the gardens last weekend. We have always felt like Trentham is a perfect fit for the show so were delighted when they asked us to film here. It was a beautiful day for singing outside and visitors were able to catch a peek of the work that goes in to creating a show like this. We cannot wait to see the final programme”.
To keep up to date with all developments at The Trentham Estate, visit https://www.trentham.co.uk.