A couple who have called Medway their home for more than 20 years are to appear on television's Escape to the Country in their bid to move hundreds of miles away up north.

Shane and Georgette Jarvis are preparing to up sticks and leave Cliffe Woods for a new life in the East Riding of Yorkshire where he now works.

They enlisted the help of the popular programme makers to find them their des res near the town of Howden where Shane is based as a production editor with the Press Association.

They are keeping tight-lipped on whether they have put in an offer on any of the four properties they were shown around. But they have put their three bedroom detached house in Town Road on the market for £495,000.

Shane, 60, and Georgette, 50, filmed the show over three days last month and were the first to take part since production was paused for Covid-19 lockdown.

Their requirements were a detached property, semi-rural location, rooms with a view and with a minimum of three and maximum of five bedrooms.

Georgette, who has been in the catering trade for years and used to run the Mockbeggar Farm Shop in Cliffe Woods , also wants a large kitchen to run her new business selling Caribbean food.

She's also after a large garden to grow vegetables and rear chickens. They submitted a maximum budget of £450,000.

Although they asked to be based in the market town of Howden, they were also shown homes in north Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

She said: "We went to counties we have never been before. They get you to think outside the box, especially with the mystery house, which is good."

For the last two years, Shane has been living in hotels and rented accommodation during the week and travelling more than 200 miles to come home at weekends.

They decided to relocate there when lockdown was announced so Shane could continue his "dream job".

Georgette said: "We thought what shall we do, stay in Kent or go up there?

"At first I resisted the idea of moving, I'm settled in Cliffe Woods, it's been my home for so long. But the people in Yorkshire are lovely and lockdown has given us the opportunity to meet the friendly community. You get so much more for your money there. I'm very excited, it's going to be a new life."

They decided to put their names in for the show months ago as a "whim".

Georgette said: "I love the programme and love looking inside other people's houses. We don't have time to do much together, so I thought, why not?"

When they were accepted Georgette had second thoughts and asked her husband to put them off.

She said: "I never thought they would come back. It was long hour days, but interesting to see the other side of filming it."

The couple will be making sure their two daughters, Amber, 22, and Tamsin, 21, have somewhere to stay at their new abode.

And Georgette, who comes from Jamaica, is looking to expand her new business, saying: "About 99% have never tasted Caribbean food, but they are really liking trying something new."

It is not yet known when the episode will screen.

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