Channel 5 will air a repeat of Jane McDonald's Yorkshire on Sunday, August 2, four years after the series was first shown. The 63-year-old singer and presenter, who grew up in Wakefield, has described the programme as a "love letter" to viewers explaining why she always references her home county.
Speaking to The Yorkshire Post when the series launched in 2022, she said: "It's a love letter to the viewers as to why I keep mentioning Yorkshire and Wakefield all the time! No matter what show I'm on, I always get a mention of Wakefield in somewhere. I just want to show everyone my beautiful city and my beautiful county."
Back to Wakefield
In the opening episode, Jane starts in her hometown of Wakefield and takes in the attractions of the city and its neighbouring market towns. She also travels to Holmfirth, the village where Last of the Summer Wine was filmed, and recalls the Wakefield Theatre Club, once one of northern England's largest variety venues.
During her time in Holmfirth, she visited the cottage that served as the home of the sitcom's beloved character Nora Batty. Now available for holiday lets, the interior has been kept faithful to how it appeared when the 1970s show began.
Standing inside the property, Jane said: "It's just like memories flooding back. I had a gas fire like that, we had a bread bin like that but it is just like going back in time." She added: "Do you know everybody had a mirror like that above the fire as well. I just remember my mother always putting her lipstick on in front of the fire so that is such a traditional thing to do. The show was so authentically Yorkshire I may as well be back in my Wakefield home."
Entering the living room, she continued: "Oh wow. Every person who is probably watching this has had a room so similar to this that you feel instantly at home because it reminds you of your gran or mum. That dresser - every week we had to strip it all down and polish it and then do hotplates and put them back up."
Concluding the visit, she paid tribute to Nora Batty: "What a fabulous trip down Memory Lane. Thank you Nora."
Meeting a Summer Wine star
Jane also caught up with actor Jonathan Linsley, who played Crusher in Last of the Summer Wine. As their conversation about the comedy drew to a close, she told him: "I'm thrilled to bits that you've been here and thank you for coming to see me."
Asked by The Yorkshire Post which moment stood out most for her in the series, Jane chose her home city. She said: "I think my home city was a highlight for me. Just seeing how its evolved. It was tough for a lot of people in Yorkshire in the 70s and 80s, but that's the resilience. We've got through, and it's coming back. I think all cities are, but I hope they all come back with new ventures and new ways of being what we had. We were so industrious before, and that's taken a big toll on everything around the communities, but hopefully, new flowers will blossom."
Jane McDonald's Yorkshire: No Place Like Home airs on Channel 5 on Sunday, August 2 at 2.30pm.
