A surprise guest with a film crew brought a bit of fun to a village yoga class near Ripon last week.
Hugh Dennis, best known as a comedic actor including in sitcom Outnumbered, was in Studley Roger filming for archaeology show The Great British Dig.
The TV crew asked if they could join Kirsten Agar Ward’s Iyengar yoga session at Studley Roger Village Hall, so they could invite participants to help with the dig.
While there, Hugh and co-presenter Natasha Billson joined in the class, which was all filmed by the production company. Kirsten told the Stray Ferret:
“I’ve been filmed quite a bit before, not for TV but I’m fairly used to it, up to a point. I was a little bit nervous, I have to admit, but once I’d started I just got into what I was doing.
“It was a very unusual situation. It was fast-paced and fun, and they said they’d enjoyed it and seemed quite relaxed at the end.”
The session proved fruitful for the visitors, who recruited a number of locals for their dig, which will be shown as part of a new series of the programme next year.
Kirsten hopes some of their yoga session will be included in the final edit, not only to raise the profile of her classes but also to spread the word about Iyengar yoga.
She trained extensively in India and is a senior level three teacher, travelling around the world to deliver classes as well as setting up the Bath Iyengar Yoga Centre in 2000.
Now based back in Yorkshire, she leads sessions in Ripon and Harrogate too, along with online classes which attract international participants from Tasmania, Costa Rica and elsewhere.
She said:
“I’m very committed to teaching this method. it’s very structured and progressive and safe. The teachers are rigorously trained.
“It’s very good for meeting people’s needs, because you aren’t just doing one thing, you can adapt and grade it according to people who are coming, whether they are old, young, bendy, stiff, have health problems or whatever.
“I’m very pleased they came to film the class. Part of the Great British Dig is they’re trying to build community and that’s what I’m trying to do too, so it was a good mix.”
Read more: