Stamford Cheese and Deli owners appear on BBC programme Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing during an episode filmed at Burghley House

A husband and wife have praised a BBC programme for championing independent businesses.

Alex Podstolski, from Stamford Cheese and Deli, appeared on the latest episode of Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing.

Together with husband Piotr, she was contacted by the production company earlier this year with a list of questions about their business.

An episode of the hit show was filmed at Burghley House in May and the team were keen to visit local businesses as part of the schedule.

The couple jumped at the chance to promote their shop, which was based in St Mary’s Street at the time of filming. It has since relocated to the High Street.

Piotr said: “The crew were all so friendly and funny.

“It’s wonderful that the programme wants to support independent businesses like ours, especially as we come out of a pandemic. We’re not a big company - this is our life and it’s everything that we have.”

The couple had to close the shop for a couple of hours while the filming took place, but they’ve been reaping the benefits since the programme was aired on Sunday, with tourists popping in this week after watching the show.

Alex, a reluctant star of the show, said: “We had seen the programme before so we were more than happy to take part.”

The BBC Two series features comedians Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse who visit different places each week to go fishing.

A preview to the show claimed their target at Burghley was bream but added “who knows what else they might catch in this rarely fished water”.

In her short appearance, Alex was seen providing a range of cheeses and other treats for the fishermen to enjoy next to the lake at Burghley.

Now in its fourth series, the third series had an average audience of 1.8 million viewers.

The comedians stayed in the old dairy within the ground at Burghley Park, describing the estate as the “poshest place they have ever stayed” and their first morning of fishing as their “most successful session ever”.

Ahead of the fourth series, Paul said: “The fish of the UK needn’t worry too much as Bob and I return for another series of Gone
Fishing.

“I love Bob and he needs me more than ever so we’re back on the river bank for more high jinks and another series basking in the timeless wonder of the glorious British countryside.”

Bob said: “I love doing this show and am over the moon to get the chance to go fishing with Paul again. I am already working on heart healthy recipes to cook and new ways to irritate
him.”

The episode, which aired on Sunday on BBC Two, is available to view on the BBC iPlayer.