Three stars of one of Yorkshire's own soap operas have been busy filming up at the Cow and Calf hotel on Ilkley Moor.

Yorkshire Television were shooting two scenes from Emmerdale at the hotel, on Hangingstone Road, as part of their Bed and Breakfast storyline.

Emmerdale has been flying high in the TV ratings recently, attracting an audience of almost ten million.

The actors who were shooting the scenes on Friday morning were Emily Symons, Matt Healy and Lorraine Chase, who play Louise, Matthew and Steph, respectively.

Maria Wild, landlady at the Cow and Calf Hotel, said: "The residents thought it was fantastic when they all came down for breakfast.

"The staff worked round it as normal," Mrs Wild added, "but it put a bit of an excitement factor into Friday morning."

This is the first time that Yorkshire Television have used the Cow and Calf Hotel for filming, but hopefully it won't be the last.

When asked if Yorkshire Television had any plans to return to the hotel, Mrs Wild said: "They've not said they won't be, which we're taking as a positive sign."

Emmerdale is one of Britain's longest running soaps.

The first episode was screened in 1972, and over 32 years and 3,600 episodes later, it is still going strong.

At its peak in 1989, the programme attracted 11 million viewers, and even now it is watched as far afield as Canada, New Zealand and Finland.

Emmerdale won a viewers poll on the This Morning programme to be the subject for a set of stamps to be issued later this year to mark ITV's 50th anniversary.

The show attracted 36 per cent of the votes cast.