THE Duke of York will visit next month's 161st Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate.

Show director Charles Mills will escort the Duke when he tours the showground on Thursday, July 11, meeting officials, competitors and exhibitors at England’s premier agricultural show.

Mr Mills said: "We have some of the best animals in Britain competing, first class entertainment, state-of-the-art farming equipment, terrific demos in the forge and the cookery theatres to name a few. We very much look forward to welcoming His Royal Highness and ensuring he has a fantastic experience as we did with The Princess Royal last year."

The Duke last visited the event in 2002. It regularly attracts more than 130,000 visitors over three days and this year runs from Tuesday, July 9, to Thursday, July 11.

For the first time, a two-part series dedicated to the Great Yorkshire Show will be filmed.

Presented by Anita Rani and Jules Hudson, with special guests Julian Norton and Peter Wright from The Yorkshire Vet, the two one-hour specials are being produced for Channel 5 by Leeds-based Daisybeck Studios, the production company behind The Yorkshire Vet and Springtime on The Farm.

Filming begins this month as the build-up begins and throughout the Show itself.

Paul Stead, managing director of Daisybeck Studios, said: "We’ve been working towards this with the Yorkshire Agricultural Society for the last three years. We’re delighted that Channel 5 have commissioned this celebration of the finest agricultural show in the country for broadcast at the heart of the primetime schedules.

"We aim to cover the best of the best across livestock and produce as well as featuring crafts and country pursuits on display around the Showground in Harrogate. It’s as much about the people and their passions – whether they be animals, cheese, cake, gin or goods made from Yorkshire materials. It’s a real opportunity to show the rest of the country why this country show is simply so fabulous. We hope the audience come to it and our greatest wish is that this could become an annual fixture in the TV schedules in the way that the Chelsea Flower show is."