Seb in a bad whey
THE GREAT CHEESE CHASE BBC1, 7.30pm
PEERING
over the top of the vertical grassy hill, presenter Seb Choudhury is feeling petrified.
In the name of television, he has decided to compete in one of rural England’s craziest traditions – cheese rolling.
Every spring, thousands of people converge on the Gloucestershire village of Brockworth to watch the terrifying race, which sees 25 people basically throw themselves down the super-steep Cooper’s Hill in pursuit of a wheel of double Gloucester cheese.
First over the line wins the cheese – and the glory.
It’s up there in lists of the world’s most dangerous festivals, alongside the likes of Spain’s Running of the Bulls and Italy’s Battle of the Oranges. Although I’m guessing a run-in with a bull would hurt more than an orange. But once you see footage of people cartwheeling down the hill, often ending up bloody and battered at the bottom, you might feel slightly queasy.
“I knocked myself out last year,” says one proud participant. While another recalls how he needed 22 stitches in his head.
A volunteer confirms: “We’ve seen some legs the wrong way, lots of blood.” Seb, while no doubt wondering why he didn’t sign up for a more sedate British tradition – afternoon tea, anyone? – finds out more about the race, the cheese and the history. This is a great documentary on a truly wacky event that will leave you gawping at the telly with an open mouth.
And as the grand finale, watch out for Seb’s attempt.
“All you have to do is bounce well,” says Rod the cheesemaker. Sage advice.