He’s a celeb! Grandad Les all set for big TV fame
If you’re a regular at North Biddick Social Club, you’ll almost certainly have crossed paths with bingo caller and leek club secretary Les Barber.
The grand ad-of-seven is a well-known face across Washington and Houghton, having moved to the region he now calls home in 1970, after serving in the merchant navy.
But last night, Les and his family was broadcast into homes across Wearside and beyond as part of a new Channel 5 show; four-part series The Estate: Life Up North.
Ahead of the first episode, the Echo caught up with Les to find out about becoming part of the programme, meeting the film crew and opening up his life to the cameras.
Originally from East London, Les, 77, now lives at Gladstone Terrace, Houghton, with wife Yvonne, 63.
A keen gardener, Les has been secretary of North Biddick Social Club’s Leek Club for more than 20 years, and a club committee member for more than a decade.
So when Channel5’ s crews expressed an interest in meeting some ‘interesting characters’ to star in the new show, Les was the obvious choice.
“[The crew] more or less lived with us for quite a few months and they were canny people,” he said.
And over the course of four episodes, viewers will follow Les through his dayto-day life.
From tending his neighbours’ gardens, meeting his four children and seven grandchildren and attending his regular check-ups at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) after fighting cancer, it’s hoped that the show will give audiences a real insight into the lives and challenges of real people.
The series was filmed between September and December 2019, with work finishing just before Christmas. It may not have quite sunk in yet that Les has become a local celebrity, adding that ‘he’ll believe it when he sees it’.
But the best thing about starring in the show? Les says that is that he and his loved ones will ‘have it forever’ to treasure, and watch over again.
The second episode of The Estate: Life Up North will be broadcast on Channel 5 at 11.05pm next Tuesday.
Alongside Les and his family, the programme will also follow five other inspiring stories of people living in the local community.