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22
Aug
How Ian became Yvette – and a Masham institution
This article is one of a series by subscriber and local contributor Paul Wade.
Masham has had its fair share of personalities over the years, but few of them have become as widely recognisable as Ian Johnson.
That recognition is as a result of last year’s Channel 4 series, Our Yorkshire Shop: A Victorian Restoration. Over four episodes the programme told the story of a community building and refurbishment project to recreate Peacock and Verity, a grocer, baker and tearoom of 100 years ago.
Ian was one of the show’s stars, but the series’ water cooler moment was in the final episode, when he transformed from his role as the project’s highly skilled joiner into his alter ego Yvette Nightingale. Whilst TV viewers may have been a little taken aback, fellow Masham residents will not have been surprised.
Masham joiner Ian Johnson in his workshop.
Born to a Fearby farming family in 1962, Ian has always lived and worked in the area, having been apprenticed to a local joinery company when he left school, a business which he now owns and runs himself. He works hard for Masham, being both chair of the parish council and organiser of the town’s bi-weekly market.
He told the Stray Ferret:
I have been dressing as Yvette for around 20 years and she is a fixture around town. She effectively made her debut when I and a few others organised a pantomime, which as usual featured a character in drag. That character was to become Yvette.
During the covid era, when I took on responsibility for running Masham market on Wednesdays and Saturdays, I decided that it would be Yvette who would take on those duties.
Yvette during the filming of the Channel 4 shop restoration series.
Yvette rarely attends the market these days, but sometimes opts instead to go to the pub on a Friday night and attends popular local events such as the Steam Rally in July and Sheep Fair in September.
But perhaps the quiet satisfaction for Ian is the benefit that the character brings to Masham. He said:
Many houses here which are now adorned with key safes, demonstrating just how important tourism has become to us.
Ian - and Yvette - do a lot of Masham's community.
The Channel 4 series attracted a lot of attention, and it was even featured on Celebrity Gogglebox, so how does Ian feel about becoming a reality TV star?
He said:
It is a surprise, but great fun. Yvette seems to have gained some traction and is a recognisable and accepted part of the town.
I enjoyed the filming process, even if making TV can mean a lot of hanging around, but the show has encouraged lots of tourists. One couple even came to Masham with the express wish of wanting to meet me/Yvette. Happily on their second day here they managed to track me down!
Yvette in various guises.
One thing has since led to another. An appearance on the BBC’s Escape to the Country was followed by an encounter with a Belgian TV producer making a travelogue in Masham, who was recommended to speak to Ian.
We filmed in the morning at my workshops and decided to continue the conversation in the afternoon. For fun I thought I would surprise him by turning up for the after lunch session dressed as Yvette.
The double-take was noticeable – but once he got used to the idea, he said that Masham would definitely see an uptake in Belgian visitors once the programme was broadcast!
Ian and Yvette have, maybe accidently, turned into a good partnership. One of them helping to keep Masham run smoothly, the other – undoubtedly reinforced by a little newly found celebrity – making the town an even more fun and colourful place to be.
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