One of the north-east’s favourite television staples is set to appear on screens across the pond for the first time.
The Beechgrove Garden, which has been produced in the region since it began in 1978, will soon be available on BritBox in North America after the streaming service snapped up the rights to show it.
Viewers in the USA and Canada will be able to get excellent gardening tips from presenters Carole Baxter, Brian Cunningham, George Anderson, Kirsty Wilson and Chris Beardshaw not long after episodes air over here.
The new series will kick off at 8pm today on BBC Scotland, before being shown across the UK on Sunday morning on BBC Two.
Beechgrove Garden remains one of Aberdeen’s best-known broadcasting exports
Similarly to last year, the Tern TV-produced show will feature the five regular presenters reporting from their own gardens.
However, the BBC has teased that this series will feature a return to the actual Beechgrove Garden on the outskirts of Aberdeen, to see how it has been reclaimed by nature over lockdown.
BritBox subscribers on the other side of the Atlantic will also soon be able to watch popular countryside magazine series Landward, which was also nabbed by the streamer as part of the deal.
‘A window into Scotland’
Louise Thornton, BBC Scotland’s Head of Commissioning, said: “Both Beechgrove and Landward have been loved by the Scottish audience for decades and now viewers across Canada and the USA are going to be able to enjoy their expertise in Scottish flora, fields, foodstuffs and fauna.
“During the pandemic, many people have woken up to the intrinsic value of nature and gardens to our lives and it is lovely to know programmes, which certainly provided a haven for our viewers during last year, are now going to be enjoyed on an international scale.”
Emily Powers, Head of BritBox North America, said: “BritBox is the only authentically British streaming service in North America and our community will appreciate this window into Scotland, especially as spring has arrived and the interest in gardening only continues to grow.”