DOUGIE Vipond, presenter of BBC Scotland’s Landward programme, was in Langholm last Friday talking to chilli growers.
Landward is a farming and countryside programme focusing on issues which affect the community and reports on a wide range of topics from around Scotland.
Dougie took a walk down the High Street with Mark Hodgson, who was a founding member of Langholm chilli club, meeting a variety of people and seeing an assortment of chilli plants.
For the past couple of years chillis have been putting Langholm on the map of Scotland and the town was proclaimed Chilli capital of Scotland in 2018.
Chillis on show this year in shop windows range from the Scotch Bonnet to a Carolina Reaper, the hottest chilli in the world.
The programme makers were alerted to Langholm’s reputation for chilli-growing after the club sent some plants to the BBC Scotland programme in March.
The team at the show grew on the plants and, once the Royal Highland Show was over, they contacted the club about coming down to do a feature for an episode.
The members were given only three days’ notice of their arrival. Dougie came with the producer and a cameraman to do the filming.
The feature includes Dougie in the High Street and in the backyard of the Douglas Hotel.
Maureen Brockley talked Dougie through the different types of chillis being grown and gave some to him so he could cook them with the programme’s regular chef Nick Nairn.
The programme is scheduled to be broadcast either at the end of September or in early October.
Langholm chilli club has set up a signed chilli trail with 32 locations and is planning to build a polytunnel at Langholm Social Club.