Editor’s Pick of the Week: Hollywood fever hits Knaresborough and Harrogate

Hollywood fever went into overdrive this week. Filming has been in full swing in Knaresborough for a Christmas film starring Kiefer Sutherland, Rebel Wilson and Danny Dyer.

Things got so chaotic on Tuesday night that stringent measures were introduced to keep the stars away from the crowds when we visited the following morning to speak to traders about what impact it’s having on the town.

The circus came to Harrogate the following day when Rebel Wilson went shopping at Mint Velvet.

She arrived at the women’s clothes shop wearing what a colleague described as an ‘Arsene Wenger-style’ oversized puffer coat, but expanded her wardrobe by buying two padded bomber jackets from the stylish James Street store.

Staff at Mint Velvet gave us some lovely quotes about the visit and told us she also popped into Bettys. That means she almost certainly walked past my office window and, somewhat embarrassingly, I didn’t notice, although I think I’d be more likely to recognise North Yorkshire Council leader Carl Les.

Cllr Les presided over a six-hour meeting this week at which the council budget for 2025/26 was set. No surprises for guessing the maximum council tax increase was approved.

The oddest story this week was the theft of a life-sized plastic cow from a field at Kirkby Overblow. The heifer heist sprung a long list of puns, including one by North Yorkshire Police saying it would "appreciate any sightings of this 'moooving' cow". Who says police are humourless.

Being an occasional runner, one story that really stood out was that of Harrogate man Charlie Parish, who is taking on a 250-kilometre ultra-marathon in the Sahara desert. Three people have died taking part. It makes my Saturday morning 5k park runs on the Stray in Harrogate, Fountains Abbey near Ripon and Conyngham Hall near Knaresborough seem a bit inconsequential.