The man who brought a cheese tradition back to life

A farmer who unretired his cheese making equipment 50 years ago to document making Double Gloucester for a TV programme laughingly said his first attempt was "disgusting".

Charles Martell, of Dymock, Gloucestershire, had one of the last surviving herds of Gloucester cattle when he was approached by BBC producer Andrew Snell in 1974.

Mr Martell said he had jokingly told someone he made cheese from the cows when they asked what they were for and somehow the BBC heard.

He became the first person in 30 years to make real Farmhouse Double Gloucester for BBC programme A taste of Britain.

"You can't imagine how this country was in 1970 in terms of food," said Mr Snell.

"The BBC told me nobody in Britain wants to watch a programme with food in it," but after some persuasion, the programme launched with Mr Snell and his Double Gloucestershire cheese in the first episode.

"The old adage was you can only make real Double Gloucester using the milk of the Gloucester cow," so he wanted to put it to the test.

Mr Martell said: "It's a hell of a thing to actually milk cows and make cheese because you need equipment and I had no money."

But after Mr Snell told him they'd be there the next Thursday with a film crew, he dug out some old equipment and made the cheese for the documentary.

Although, he said, the first batch was "disgusting. It was awful".

However, 50 years later, he continues to make Double Gloucester from the same recipe, and also branched out into distilling.

"It's been great fun," he said, adding he was fortunate to be there at the right time.

Of their recent reunion, Mr Snell said: "Both of our lives have completely diverged – it's a strange thing in life to get a moment when you can share what happened 50 years ago and what it's meant to both of us."

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