The Griffin Inn in Irnham wins first place on Channel 4 show, The Griffin Inn in Irnham

A village pub has shot to fame after winning a reality TV show.

Confident in their business, owners of The Griffin Inn in Irnham, Jamie and Leila Benton-Jones, applied to be on the Channel 4 show, Four in a Bed.

The show sees four bed and breakfast owners compete to prove their establishments have value for money by visiting each other's enterprise.

Deep into the third lockdown, Jamie and Leila's business, which offers six luxury ensuite rooms and a restaurant, was accepted for the show.

Jamie, 48, said: "We initially thought it didn't sound too complicated but then we realised it was two weeks of filming. It's only an hour-long programme each day so we thought it would be over five days.

"If it hadn't been for lockdown we wouldn't have been able to do it as we would've been too busy with weddings and running the pub.

"But we thought it would be quite fun as all the schools were shut, you couldn't travel so it was a great opportunity."

Their two young children, Darcey and Blake, went to stay with their grandparents to allow the married couple to immerse themselves in filming, which also coincided with their wedding anniversary and Leila's birthday.

Despite Jamie often posting vlog-style videos on social media, having a film crew was a new adventure for them both.

"The film crew were very experienced while we were complete amateurs trying to come across sensible and remembering what we were saying when we had to repeat it three times,” said Jamie.

"All interviews were done outside and it was March so it was very cold - we were shivering wrecks half the time.

"Neither of us had been on TV and we weren't aware how challenging it was.

"We had to learn very quickly what we were supposed to be doing."

Through the episodes the pair were able to visit bed and breakfasts across the country including in Birmingham and Glastonbury.

Each host was required to take guests to a local destination, and for Jamie and Leila there was no better place than their home, Irnham Hall, where they also host weddings.

Jamie, whose family has owned Irnham Hall for more than a century, shared anecdotes of his childhood growing up there, such as when he shot burning arrows at the family portraits.

“It's the kind of thing that brings the place to life,” said Jamie.

“All of the contestants enjoyed those kinds of fun stories. Stately homes like this, so many are turned into hotels which is rather disappointing.

“Having it as a home is really important.”

For the pair, the two weeks consisted of long days, with film crews descending on the room to capture them waking up and preparing for bed.

They also faced some more challenging stays, including one night where they barely slept due to the room being sweltering.

Judging on the show is based on whether guests would pay the full price to stay at the establishment.

It was Jamie and Leila's enthusiasm which won guests over, and despite concerns about some of their flooring, the pair received a full 100 per cent with guests willing to pay the full £125 per night.

The pair were thrilled with the news:“We had no idea we were going to win as it was so even between all the contestants that anybody could have won.

“It only occurred to us that we had won when each couple gave us 100 per cent.”

Already the pair has seen an increase in bookings and are looking forward to welcoming people to stay the night.

Jamie thanked the Smoothing Iron in Grantham, which they often use, and praised his ‘amazing chef’, Michael Prescott.