Celebrity Escape to the Country assisted Cheryl Baker in her search for a home at the beginning of the show.
On Friday evening’s broadcast, host Alistair Appleton had to welcome the famous visitor and used the occasion to deliver some rather classic comments.
To begin, he invited viewers to answer a trivia question: ‘Pop quiz, how many times has the UK won the Eurovision Song Contest?’
Alistair eagerly held up five fingers and proclaimed the number, so we didn’t have to wait long.
He continued: ‘Of course, as a gay man I know all the winners, but most people could only name one.’
In case you’re not as knowledgeable as Alistair, the songs were Sandie Shaw’s Puppet on a String in 1967, Lulu’s Boom Bang-a-Bang in 1969 (which was a four-way tie), Brotherhood of Man’s Save Your Kisses for Me in 1976, and Katrina and the Waves’ Love Shine a Light in 1997.
However, Alistair believes that most people remember the musicians that topped the charts with Making Your Mind Up in 1981.
‘That is Buck’s Fizz with that amazing twwwwww-,’ he announced as he mimicked lifting up a skirt with the beautiful British countryside behind him. ‘Skirt rip,’ he added.
He’s referring, of course, to how Cheryl and Jay Ashton (who also joined them for the hunt) had their long skirts torn off by Bobby G and Mike Nolan as part of their Eurovision choreography.
Alistair then informed viewers that Cheryl and her musician husband Steve Stroud were seeking assistance with their ‘escape to the country.’
We’ll need Alistair to clear his calendar and be in charge of presenting every celebrity on TV, as well as us whenever we walk into a room.
The sequence was spotted by TV critic Scott Bryan who shared the clip and wrote: ‘This is the greatest opening a television show this year.’
This is the greatest opening a television show this year
#EscapetotheCountry #Eurovision pic.twitter.com/doBKqhcdnE
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) December 29, 2023
It appears other X, formerly Twitter, users were in agreement with him. Mike Lawrence wrote: ‘This did make me chuckle.’
‘Always had rather a soft spot for him,’ added Liam Sims.
Cheryl, 69, and Steve, 69, finally located their potential ideal house in East Sussex’s Herstmonceux after examining many properties.
They closed the show by informing Alistair he’d been successful since they were ‘already making plans’ to visit the ‘beautiful’ property again.
Cheryl, on the other hand, said that it was considerably smaller than their existing Kent home, and she was concerned about where she’d put all her theatrical clothes. We’d be delighted to take a couple of hers for Metro HQ.
Strictly Come Dancing stars Janette Manrara and Alja Korjanec, actor Christopher Biggins, Jenny Ryan – you may recognise her as The Vixen on The Chase – and television personality Dr Ranj are also taking part in Celebrity Escape to the Country.
Celebrity Escape to the Country is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.