On Friday night the Channel 5 people broadcast “our” episode of their series “Worlds most Scenic River Journeys” featuring the Río Guadalquivir. I was aware that it was about to be aired but still managed to tell everyone at work the wrong time to tune in and so they are likely to have switched on the telly an hour after the episode was broadcast and seen only the final credits!

Catriona and I have a habit of tucking into a takeaway on a Friday evening and so we had a pretty low key screening of the première. There have been quite a few episodes of this series already broadcast and we have seen all of them to date and, as a result, had a pretty good idea of how the episode was likely to unfold. Each river journey starts at the river source and follows it downstream. Along the way, viewers are guided and informed by those who interact with the river and its surroundings in various ways. We hear from historians and boat skippers, fishermen, wild swimmers, olive farmers, kayakers, paddle boarders and others who offer differing and often very personal perspectives and these stories are skilfully and gently interlinked by Bill Nighy´s silky narrative voice.

I have to say we have really enjoyed all of the episodes that we have seen and great credit goes to Ed Booth who is the series editor. Of course, we were particularly excited to see a “local” river and were more than a little curious to see what had made the final cut.

Out on the river the filming had been done by the producer Danny Spencer and shooting Georgia Pearce and they aimed cameras at Steve and I from various angles (including drone footage from above) and they also asked us to chat and respond to a few prompts while we were paddling around on the river.

Looking back on the day in October that we did the filming, my overarching memory is simply of having a good laugh in excellent company. The sun was shining, we were in a beautiful place and we were all happy to be there. Danny and Georgia made everything easy for us and so Steve and I just wallowed around in our usual way without taking ourselves very seriously. I think that this mood is perfectly captured in the sequence that made it into the program.

I have to say that one thing I was unprepared for the flattery that came my way and that was in no way merited. Bill Nighy, in a moment of madness, suggested that I was “a bit of a legend!”

Trinny and I nearly fell out of our seats when we heard this. I thought the Missus was going to get red wine all over herself and the furniture she was convulsing so much. For a moment and I worried that the evening might conclude with me having to carry out the Heimlich Manouevre or calling the emergency services. Thankfully, she regained her composure after a while. Since then, sadly, I have failed to convince her that I am, indeed, a legend. I have pointed out that Bill Nighy would hardly have said this is it were not true! Why would he make up something like that?

Legend or not, it was such a blast being involved with this whole project and it was great to be able to add our own perspective on this to those of the other participants featured in the episode. I know that Steve feels exactly the same way.

The final credits for all of this are, appropriately, the real legends: Ed, Steve, Georgia, Danny and, of course, Bill Nighy.