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A Cotswold Farmshop, Channel 4 review: Gloucester Services is lovely but it doesn't make gripping TV
The delicious artisan produce and beautiful surroundings couldn't mask the fact A Cotswolds Farmshop lacked tension or comedy
Docusoaps can entertain even when the subject matter is mundane. One of the first reality stars in this country was Maureen Rees from Driving School, which was not a show exactly filled with thrills. A couple of years ago, Channel 4 had a surprise hit with a series about Tebay Services on the M6.
Now they’re following up with A Cotswolds Farmshop, about Gloucester Services on the M5. Like Tebay – they have the same owners – this is no ordinary service station. No Costa Coffee, KFC or bleak little corner filled with arcade games. Instead, Gloucester has a farm shop offering artisan produce from the local area. It certainly looks lovely, and is worth a visit if you’re passing through that part of the country.
This series, though, is dull. Perfectly pleasant, nicely soporific, but dull. Nothing of note happens at the service station itself, so cameras follow the company buyers as they go out to meet suppliers. This makes for very pretty television but by the halfway point I was crying out for some tension or comedy.
All we got, though, was Alex the cheese buyer heading off to taste some wild garlic-infused cheese made by a chap named Jonathan Crump, and saying: “I’m really not a fan of flavoured cheeses. I like a proper cheese.” “It’s not looking good for Jonathan,” said the ominous voiceover. In fact, Alex placed an order.
An excitable buyer sampled some perry for the first time and saw how it was made. “Look at all the pears! They’re tiny! So cute!” She loved the drink, although you suspected she greets putting the bins out with the same level of uber-enthusiasm. “Would you say perry is the UK’s champagne?” she asked a supplier. “Oh, without a doubt,” he said. But isn’t sparkling wine the UK’s champagne?
We were introduced to a staff member with an interesting back story: after a difficult childhood, followed by two prison stretches for selling Class A drugs, she was taken on by the company via a training course run by a local charity. From washing pots and cleaning tables, she has now been promoted to team leader and loves her job. A positive story, and nice to hear. But the rest of it was cheese and pears. Next week: sausages.