Staithes sees huge increase in interest from visitors after appearance on Gone Fishing’s Christmas episode

Comedians and co-presenters Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse stayed in an old fisherman’s cottage in Staithes and chartered a small boat to fish off the coast.

The series has been running for three seasons, but only in Gone Christmas Fishing, which was broadcast on December 13, did the pair visit film in Yorkshire for the first time, when they explored the Esk and Tees rivers.

They also stayed in Chequers Cottage, a converted pub in Osmotherley that is now a holiday let.

And since Staithes’ appearance on the programme, searches for accommodation in the picturesque fishing village near Whitby have increased by 400 per cent, according to the website Independent Cottages.

Real Staithes tour guide Sean Baxter also told The Guardian that interest had ‘gone ballistic’ since the show’s air date, and espoused Staithes’ traditional charms and old-fashioned pace of life.

Staithes had already hit the headlines earlier this year when the tier system was introduced. Because the village is split between two local authority areas, Redcar & Cleveland and Scarborough, by the Roxby Beck, it ended up being divided into Tier 1 and Tier 2. Around 40 homes on the Redcar side of the river were subject to more severe restrictions. Since then, Redcar has been upgraded to Tier 3 and North Yorkshire, including Scarborough, to Tier 2, so the divide remains.

Gone Christmas Fishing also featured fly fishing guide Olly Shepherd, who runs tours of rivers, lakes and reservoirs throughout Yorkshire. Mr Shepherd said he believed the pastime’s exposure would lead to more interest from novices.

Staithes was one of the east coast’s busiest fishing ports during the 20th century, with more than 80 boats landing their catch there in the Edwardian period. The village now mainly survives on tourism and the permanent residential population had dwindled significantly due to the number of holiday lets and second homes.