DESPITE ‘dry January’, the excitement of the family business appearing on Sky TV proved too much for staff at Alder Vineyard, when the second episode of Dawn French drama ‘Delicious’ aired last week.

As well as filming in the Launceston area last autumn — as eagle eyed viewers spotted in the first episode of the series at the end of December — film crews also picked Alder Vineyard, Lewdown, as a setting for some of the drama’s scenes, with picturesque views of Dartmoor surrounding it.

Assistant vineyard manager Tom Hodgetts and his family nervously tuned in to Sky One last Friday night.

They had a 40-minute wait for their scenes when watching the programme, though, and were worried for a short time that the vineyard would not appear at all.

Tom added: “They didn’t say a lot [when filming], just that [the vineyard] was going to be in some sort of scene with Emilia Fox. I guess they don’t want to give too much away.

“It was amazing. Really nerve-wracking, wondering if we were actually in it. I had to have a glass of wine — I was going to do dry January! I kept saying ‘what if we are not in it?’

“They told us they were going on holiday to Italy — we were sat there watching, thinking they aren’t even in Italy yet!”

In fact, Dawn French’s character was helping to plan a surprise 40th birthday party for Sam (Emilia Fox), and Emilia Fox was distracted by a chef who took her character wine tasting in the episode.

Emilia Fox was even subject to a real wine tasting lesson. When Tom’s grandfather, Bob Westlake, heard crews were going to film with plastic champagne glasses, he quickly sourced real glasses and showed Emilia Fox how to wine taste properly.

A set was built with the vines directly behind for the half day’s filming, when the crew descended on Lewdown. “The whole of Jethro’s car park was full of vans and buses, it was a pretty massive set-up,” Tom added.

Filming at the vineyard was Emilia Fox’s first day on set, and staff were under strict instructions not to photograph while filming was taking place. However, Emilia took the time to say thank you to Tom for the two bottles of Alder wine they asked the crew to pass on to her. The vineyard first got the heads up that producers were interested in filming there last year.

Location manager Johnny Bamford, who lives in Crackington, called Alder Vineyard around a month prior to filming there last September, as Tom explained: “They were looking for a vineyard somewhere with nice views around it.

“They saw us and I don’t think they even went to look at the other one. We have got the views of Dartmoor, but it was foggy on the day — you couldn’t see Dartmoor!”

However, the production crews did not let the weather get in the way. When the show with scenes shot at Alder Vineyard aired on Sky One on Friday, Tom said it looked ‘amazing’.

The crew seemed to like the setting of the vineyard, and the owner of the production company Bandit Television, Phillippa Giles, even returned there for a visit at harvest time with her family.

The first series of the programme was about a love triangle between Sam (Emilia Fox), Gina (Dawn French), and celebrity chef Leo (Iain Glen — Game of Thrones), who narrated from beyond the grave.

The second series reunites the cast with writer Dan Sefton (Good Karma Hotel, Secret Diary of a Call Girl) and director Clare Kilner (The Wedding Date).

The Sky One drama series became a smash hit since filming in Cornwall’s Tamar Valley in 2016, and became the channel’s highest-rating show since 2011.

This series of the romantic drama picks up a year after Leo’s (Iain Glen) death. Business is booming at the Penrose Hotel (Pentillie Castle) but life isn’t set to run smoothly for Gina (Dawn French) and Sam (Emilia Fox). Gina’s estranged father rocks up and a new chef causes a stir. And, as Sam turns 40, she decides it’s time for a shake-up. Iain Glen and Sheila Hancock also return to the series.

“The reaction to the first series was great,” said Dawn French.

“What I didn’t know about the show was that it would be so lush. I knew the production team intended for it to be good-looking and sensual, and that the food was going to be another part of the cast. But I didn’t know just how beautiful it would look and how painterly it would be. When I saw the first series, I loved it and I thought, at last, someone’s taken time to make a series where everything looks gorgeous and given it room to breathe. I could not have predicted it would do so well for Sky.”

The series started on December 29 on Sky One, with the next episode airing this Friday, January 12 at 9pm. It is also on NowTV every Friday at 9pm and you can catch up with the series on demand.