SKIPTON-based confectionery manufacturer Whitaker’s Chocolates is all set to star in a national television show which documents the work of some of the region’s most prominent food factories.

It is one of four businesses featured in Made in Yorkshire, which will be screened on Tuesday, April 10, on Channel 5, and is presented by former deputy prime minister and ‘honorary Yorkshireman’ John Prescott.

Whitaker’s Chocolates is the UK’s largest distributor of ‘personalised chocolates,’ producing 10 million chocolates each week, and is a fifth-generation-run family business.

The programme-makers say that Made in Yorkshire explores behind the scenes of some of Yorkshire’s best-known food brands and sees John Prescott experience life on the factory floor at the historic company to understand how it grew from a village grocer’s shop to a multi-million pound company with customers in 25 countries around the world.

Managing director William Whitaker (pictured) said: “We had a great time hosting Channel 5 and Mr Prescott.

“This is an exciting time for us, so to be able to share it with the rest of the nation, and someone as passionate about the county as the former Deputy Prime Minister, is a real honour.

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“We have a lot to be proud of here and we hope viewers will be interested in seeing how Whitaker’s Chocolates works and the contribution we make to the region.”

Mr Prescott, who was born in Prestatyn, Wales, and was MP for the Hull East ward for 40 years, said of the series: “What an eye-opener for me to explore Yorkshire food products that went from the village shop to supermarket shelves across the UK. It was an absolute pleasure to appear in.”

Whitaker’s Chocolates supplies personalised chocolates and truffles to the hotel, restaurant, catering and retail sectors.

It recently diversified into the bespoke gift market with a range of full-colour digitally printed personal chocolate bars and boxes.

The two-part series Made in Yorkshire was produced by Crackit Productions which is also behind Stop Search Seize and The Secret Life of the Hospital Bed.